Jenelle Tan of Michelin-selected ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐น has upped the ante with her newest dining wonder: 10-day-old sister-outlet ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป on 473 Chulia Street. Here, Jenelle put on her creative hat and, again, came up with a whole new selection of inventive, modern-fusion dishes.
We started off with some bespoke gin-based cocktails which blended in local herbs like lemongrass and torch-ginger.
Our dinner last night, corny dish-names on the menu aside, was a truly enjoyable affair as we waited to be surprised with each course:
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๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ - creamy blue cheese dip with traditional Chinese biscuits, served with slow-roasted garlic and cherry tomatoes in balsamic dressing
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๐๐ฒ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ - crisp Indian cheese fritters, with creamed spinach dip
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๐๐ผ๐น๐น๐๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ - chickpea salad with toasted curry leaves, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh coriander and paneer cheese
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๐ง๐ฟ๐๐ณ๐ณ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ง๐ผ๐ฎ๐๐ - house special black truffle mousse on toast
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๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ ๐ก๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐น๐ฒ๐ - stir-fried โnoodleโ strips of fresh coconut flesh, topped with grilled prawns, homemade prawn butter and a ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ฏ tuille. This was the house signature dish - and was very tasty from its deep, rich shellfish flavours which complemented the creamy coconut strips very well.
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๐ข๐๐ฎ๐ธ-๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐ธ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฎ - over-baked penne pasta, with seafood-coconut custard. My favourite dish for the evening - it was creamy-rich and delicately spiced.
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๐ฃรข๐รฉ ๐ฆ๐น๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ - grilled crispy bread with French pork liver pรขtรฉ & pickled onions. The addition of pickled onions was a brilliant touch, as it cuts into the richness of the pรขtรฉ.
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Dessert: ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ - deep-fried Mars Bar with vanilla ice-cream. The last time I had this was in Glasgow, Scotland - a cholesterol bomb, so itโs a rare indulgence.
Flavours were full-on here, and clever twists to traditional dishes often catch the diners unawares.
Am off to India - Mumbai and the cities along the Malabar Coast for the next 3 weeks.
๐๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐
Belachan Tapas Bar
473, Chulia Street, 10200 George Town, Penang.
Tel: +6 010-380 6350
Opening hours: 5pm to 11pm, Tue to Sun.
