Tag Archives: eating out

Char Kway Teow

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Char Kway Teow is stir-fried ricecake strips with prawns, cockles and bean sprouts. It is a popular local hawker dish, notably from Penang. Think of it as Chinese fettuccine.

Some of the best things in life are not free nor cheap. Such as this delicious Char Kway Teow from Penang One Restaurant. But there is one thing that is still free. If you eat out in the daytime here, there is plenty of available light for food photography.

The trick is in finding the right position. Sit facing the door or window. Most people avoid it because they feel the back light may be too strong. What you want is to let the light skim the food surface and bring out its texture.

There may be a temptation to photograph a dish such as this from the top, try not to. The lower you go, the more three-dimensional the food appears. See how the bean sprouts jump out because there is depth? Let the light skim the shrimps (prawns) to make it succulent. Lai Chiak.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 640, f3.7, 1/30 sec.

Char Kway Teow

Nadeje

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Many like taking food photos from top down. Some prefer a side view. Which is better? Top or bottom?  Depends on the subject but most of the time it is a matter of personal taste.

As you may have noticed, I usually shoot food from an angle lower than 45 degree to near parallel. That way the dish appears more 3-dimensional and you see its texture better. A diagonal angle will appear more natural since it is closer to a seated diner’s POV.

If the layout or presentation is nice, it is worth exploring from the top. Some dishes, table surface or cutlery (when combined) lend itself to an overhead view.

At Nadeje Melaka Mille Crepe’s, the table top was a nice glossy black. The outdoor seating area also had nice diffused sunlight coming in. That allowed a clean and  minimalist look. I framed the picture with the OM-D’s AMOLED screen tilted up.

Photographed here: Nadeje’s Iced Malacca Coffee Latte, Pineapple Donut and Double Choclate Mille Crepe Cake.

Nadeje’s PJ branch is at B-01-01, Dataran 3 Two Square, Jalan 19/1, 46300 Petaling Jaya.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f5, 1/60 sec.

Nadeje Melaka Mille Crepe

Line Clear

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What do you get when you cross Starsky and Hutch with Siskel and Ebert? You get two thumbs up minus the guns. You still get the same menacing faces, though.

Funny thing about the crew at the iconic Penang restaurant named Line Clear is that whenever you point your camera at them, they will stop whatever they are doing and strike this pose. No smiles, no nothing. Just the same Clint Eastwood poker face with two thumbs up.

Line Clear is one of the oldest and most famous Indian-Muslim Nasi Kandar stalls in Penang. It operates from a side lane and is open 24-hours. Legend has it that the name was derived from shouts of relief when ‘night soil’ carriers finished rushing through the lane, back in the 1930s.

Line Clear Nasi Kandar Restaurant Penang