Tong Hoi Seafood: Reunion Dinner Ups and Downs

At Least Still With Family

Update Nov 2025: According to Google, this place is closed.

The book of Proverbs in the Bible has a good saying about food and company. It reads, "Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith."* Very apt if you think about all the great meals you had in the past. After all no one enjoys a meal if the company is bad. Conversely a humble meal can truly be delicious when eaten with loved ones.
*Proverbs 15:17

Bear with me here as this may seem like a digression but it was decided that this year's Dinner would be eaten in a restaurant. After much deliberation (I suppose as I was not involved) the decision was made to have the first meal of the (Chinese) year at Tong Hoi Seafood Restaurant. The restaurant is located inside the Lone Pine Club at Bandar Baru Air Itam @ Farlim.

We had the usual eight course dinner. And there was nothing much to shout about. Seriously. The Yee Sang had the familiar store-bought blandness; the shark-fin's soup was the usual starchy-glutinous-liquid; the other courses were not memorable as they were either under seasoned - herbal chicken, or cold - the "steamed" fish*. Having said that, there was a bright spark amongst the uninspired dishes. The prawns which were flavorful, fresh, succulent and served in a generous portion. At least the kitchen displayed that it had some mettle amongst the sea of mediocrity.
*How they manged to serve cold steamed fish is beyond my powers of comprehension

The biggest disappointment was dessert. A large bowl filled with longans straight from the tin with ice cubes. It seemed that effort was very much spared to even gussy it up a little. The saving grace about the dessert was the hot, crispy peanut-butter filled crepes which came late, even after a few reminders.

As for the service? Well, they can't be faulted. The waiters and waitresses were doing a valiant job rushing around to fill up cups with tea, serving food and laying tables for the next service. Though seemingly severely understaffed, the boys and girls*, men and women were doing the best they could on arguably the most busiest dinner service of the year. I think I even saw the manager and senior manager on the floor. Really an all-hands on deck moment.
*I think some have yet to finish high school and were out to make a buck. Or two.

So what was good about the night? Thankfully such a meal was eaten with close relatives which goes back to the point mentioned earlier about good company. They really took the dinner up a level that only those who have watched you in diapers can. Catching up with cousins and bantering and teasing one another. These are the elements that make good company and turn a bad meal experience into something much better.

As for the verdict about the restaurant, well, I can't say the place is a no-go because (1) of the unusual 0nce-a-year circumstances* and (2) a google search showed that people enjoyed the food on a normal day. So I will withhold my verdict for now until I have another opportunity to go there again when things are normal. That said, I do hope they find a way to make the whole experience better next year**.
*I believe other restaurants would face similar difficulties too.
**I don't think my family will be going there next year but for the sake of others it is hope they improve on such days.

Tong Hoi Seafood Restaurant @ Lone Pine Country Club Block 5, Lebuh Rambai 14, Taman Lone Pine, Paya Terubong, 11060, Penang. Tel: 04-829 0308