"Ah sometimes, it’s nice to be in familiar surroundings. Foong Wei has been a family favourite for many decades (yes, I’m that old). It was one of my late grandmother’s favourite restaurants and it still brings back memories of her when we eat her favourite dishes here

We threw a small family lunch here today and the old favourite dishes were as good as normal. Their shark fin’s soup is loaded with crab. The deep fried snapper in sweet sour sauce is such a visual stunner but it eats as good as it looks. Their Peking duck shows why this dish was fit for emperors. The braised sea cucumber and fish maw (hoo pio) is such a wonderfully Malaysian dish that I’ll never find in the UK. We don’t take rice because we always enjoy the restaurant’s house special oyster omelette

I hope that Foong Wei will continue to be here whenever I return home. Its great cooking is like a familiar hug for me and my family"

Yee Gan Ong

"Tried the prosperity yam ring basket, while it tastes okay, it was not fantastic. The yam did not have the usual earthy flavour, and it was less dense as expected. The seafood tasted like the frozen variety.

The bean curd with crab meat, boneless chicken with prawns; ginger and onion with deer meat, mixed veggies were all decent, but nothing to get excited over. Overall, the dishes were quite pricey for the taste. Can easily find better Chinese restaurants in Penang Island at more reasonable prices."

Lim CY

"This is one of the famous chu char that has been around for the longest time. I have had many meals here but today was the first time I came back after a few years. One thing I noticed was how dated and old this place has become. A nostalgic theme is something else. This just looks old. I have nothing against oldness but at a certain time, a little effort to freshen up is warranted.

I started with the shark fin soup which was delicious. Adequately thick, superbly flavoured and hot on arrival. Together with the vinegar, it was a sublime dish. But I found the asam prawn a bit dry with pretty small sized prawn. It was good but unsatisfying. As for the bean curd and minced meat, pretty average fare but generous slightly watery gravy for those who like some sauce on their white rice.

I found their dong po rou a little different. The meat itself was beautifully fatty with a lovely melt on your mouth texture. However I found the gravy a little too fluid and the taste a lil sweet and unbalanced. Maybe it takes getting used to. With regards to the seafood fried roll, I think they were trying to introduce the filling / paste. It's made of several seafood ground into paste and then fried with a tofu skin. It's a tried and tested preparation and I enjoyed it as a starter dish.

The food is generally good but dining experience will be enhanced if they can do a little upgrade. Like it or not the decor will influence your dining experience."

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