Tea with a View @ David Brown's Sky Terrace, Penang Hill

It's been years since I last stepped foot on Bukit Bendera (more commonly known as Penang Hill), that I could barely recall how Penang Hill looked like.  Although I come to Penang on an annual basis for Qing Ming Festival, but we hardly could find time to take a ride up given the tight schedule.  This year, however, we decided to extend the annual visit a little longer so that we could re-visit Penang's golden gem again.

I must say, for the very first time, I realized how nicely managed Penang Hill is.  Totally impressed with the smooth ride on the nice air-conditioned train coaches.  I actually thought this was something I could not find in Malaysia - well, Penang has proven me wrong.

Anyway, back to the topic.  Right after alighting at the upper station of Penang Hill's funicular railway, I was feeling a bit hungry.  Since it was also time to feed my hungry, little niece, I suggested to find a spot to have some snacks.

So, just a few minutes' walk away from the upper station, there is a stairway that leads you up to Strawberry Hill.  Founded by the very same person who made Smokehouse a popular landmark in Cameron Highlands, David Brown's Sky Terrace @ Strawberry Hill is a great spot to enjoy the panoramic views of the Penang island while having a drink and delicious, light snacks.

Since scones are the talk of the house for Smokehouse, I couldn't resist but to order the Devonshire Cream Tea (RM 24).  This tea set comes with two freshly-baked scones with fresh homemade strawberry jam, Devon clotted cream and fresh butter, served with a pot of green tea.

I love the warm scones as they are very fluffy and buttery, very different from the ones I have tried before.  With each bite, you can feel the fragrance bursting in your mouth.  On top of that, the scones are quite moist and so, it is good to eat on its own.  Definitely live up to its reputation.  I barely touched the butter as I felt the scones didn't need more of it.  In fact, I kept spreading strawberry jam, which I quite like it as it was not too sweet but yet have a nice strawberry fragrance (you know it's the real thing).

A book to go with the scones would be absolutely perfect.

As snacks, I decided to order the Chicken Finger Nuggets (RM 20) as they sounded as though it would be kid-friendly.  I was initially expecting some processed frozen nuggets but surprisingly, they turned out to be made from real chicken meat pieces.  To put in another way, it was deep-fried boneless chicken strips.

The deep-fried nuggets are coated with a nicely seasoned breadcrumbs, which looked visually appetizing and tasted fantastic. The nuggets were crispy on the outside, but inside, the meat is so juicy.  As they were piping hot inside, it was mind-blowing given the cold windy breeze up at the hill.  For dipping,  it came with homemade tartar sauce and chilli sauce.  The chilled tartar sauce was alright and not too creamy but I felt that there was not enough pickles for that extra kick.  Nevertheless, it still goes well with the nuggets, more than the chilli sauce.

My brother also went to the cake display and ordered a cute Chocolate Mini Mousse (RM 15).  Despite the name, no, I don't feel it was mini at all.  This cold dessert was very smooth and creamy with a rich chocolate flavour.  This layered mousse is topped with dark chocolate ganache, followed by dark chocolate mousse and right at the bottom is a sweet white chocolate mousse.  Would could resist such chocolate dessert!

For drinks, my brother ordered the cappuccino (RM 12) which I didn't try but the coffee art was quite good.  According to him, the coffee was nothing outstanding.

Towards the end of the meal, I realized the food served in the Sky Terrace are actually prepared in David Brown's Restaurant & Tea House (which is an old bungalow located at the top of Strawberry Hill), before bringing down to serve.  The only difference is the casual setting at Sky Terrace.  If you prefer a more quiet and quaint environment, it would be better to head straight up to the restaurant as it has a beautiful garden setting.

Overall, the experience was fantastic.  Even before leaving Penang Hill, I told myself that I have to come back to Sky Terrace another time.  I must stress how beautiful the view is, and it is sort of Penang's version of Victoria Peak.  Especially given the cold, windy weather that day.

I already miss it.

David Brown's Sky Terrace

Strawberry Hill @ Penang Hill

11300 Ayer Itam

Penang

GPS:  5.424035,100.269787