What makes our 8 Course Chef Tasting Set Dinner Menu Dining Room @ Macalister Mansion Penang (Malaysia Tatler's Best Restaurant for 2013 and 2014) special is that you do not need to worry what's for dinner, you are game on to experience the multitude of surprised dishes that the Chef has in store for us.
Dining Room @ Macalister Mansion Penang Address
228, Jalan Macalister, George Town,
11400 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
The decor is pure colonial couture with all-white furniture accented by a giant faux white tree in the centre of the room, exudes a full elegant, classy and romantic ambiance.
The kitchen at the Dining Room is headed by Chef Johnson Wong (who was trained in a Michelin-starred restaurant) and his menu of modern contemporary cuisine that favored local produce (which changes every two months) is just so tasty and his humble, friendly manner makes the meal a relaxed one.
As mention earlier, the only menu available is a 4-course dinner where patrons can choose from. Other than that you don't expect pages of dishes to choose from but for us tonight, we are here to taste out the 8 Course Chef Tasting Menu. The menu according to Chef will only be revealed at the end of the dinner. This concept of Chef Tasting Menu is quite popular in oversea especially so in Japan (Omakase - Chef Choice).
According to Chef Johnson, the element of surprise is part of a special dining experience as the curiosity on what is coming out next and what to expect will tantalize your taste bud with eagerness and expectation.
Before the arrival of the first course, we have the pre-dinner dish to start off with - the first of which is a refreshing Orange Sorbet and Basil
followed by the Smoked Fish Cracker
Mushroom Bao and Tomato and Balsamic Tarts to start the lovely dinner.
Chef Johnson takes great pain to ensure that you will enjoy every dish that is served by giving an introduction to the composition of each ingredient in each of the dishes that is served.
This is then followed by the Amuse Bouche where we had the Beef Bacon with Mascarpone and Buckwheat. To eat this dish, you first mix all the ingredient that form a creamy cheesy smooth texture of the mascarpone and was nicely blended to the Fried Beef Bacon and the crunchy feel of the Buckwheat.
Served on the side, the Chef has baked the special coffee roll which is served with smoked butter. Love the strong fragrant of the coffee aroma in the soft roll with the smokey taste of the butter spread.
Starting with first-course is the appetiser which is the Snow Crab. Crab meat is mixed with a yuzu and corn based and served with freshly cut apple cube; to provide a refreshing light sourish taste that comes from the pomelo as it gives out a tinge of bitter sweet taste, while the apple jelly turns on a smooth silky texture. A great start that lingers us for more.
Next is the Charred Scallop. The Scallop are lightly grilled and topped with a Matcha emulsion with seaweed, cauliflower cream and buckwheat.
Our third course is the 62.5 Egg. According to the Chef, the eggs is cooked for more than 1 hour at 62.5 degrees. It is then; separate off the egg white and only the yolk will be used for the dish. Served with a bed of Dashi boiled Barley and burnt leek that provides a smokey taste to the dish. To eat it, you prick the eggs and mix with the barley. A comfort food indeed it was.
Next, comes our soup which is the Tiger Prawn. The soup has a light sourish spicy taste (kind of like a light clear Tom Yam) but with a strong hint of the Lemongrass. Added on it is the Ginger Flower that exudes out a nice fragrant to the soup. Topped it with the white fungus, it provides a nice blend of texture to the bouncy tiger prawn meat.
Before we move to the Main dishes, we had the palate cleanser - a lemon crust ice which has a strong sourish refreshing zesty lemon taste served with toddy palm and nutmeg.
For the Main, we had the Black Cod which is served with a Red Wine Sauce, Duxelle (a finely chopped (minced) mixture of mushrooms or mushroom stems, onions, shallots, and herbs sautéed in butter, and reduced to a paste) and Dill. The fillet of the Black Cod is first slow-cooked for an hour to ensures that fish meat has a firm, tender and flaky texture. This method of cooking the fish is to contain all the natural flavours and texture of the fish.
We then moved on to the next course which is the Sakura Chicken. The chicken is sous-vide to ensure the succulent texture of the breast meat and then pan sear to give it a light crisp to the skin. It is served with a Blue Mussel reduction with beetroot and berries paste and frozen olive oil.
After the hearty meal, it is time for the 7th course which is the Lime Textures. This is a dish where it is all made with one ingredient which is the Lime. To start off with we have the Lime Yoghurt Mousse topped with Lime Meringue which is lightly touched. A nice combination of soft and light crunch to this zesty dish.
The final dish is the Wild Forest. It is made to resemble truffle in the wild. The truffle ice cream is served with the frozen chocolate sponge with a side topping of blueberries and frozen raspberry. A nice end to our lovely surprised dinner.
This is our menu for the night, but if you plan to dine here, get ready to be mesmerised by the journey of this special dining gourmet experience. We hope you will be able to enjoy it as much as we did although you will never experience this menu that we had.
"Bon Appetit"
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