[Penang] Cantonese, Sichuanese and Dim Sum options at San Xi Lou, Gurney Paragon

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Yum cha today with a couple of old friends at the 1.5-month-old Penang outpost of Hong Kong-based Sichuanese/Cantonese fine-dining restaurant, ๐—ฆ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ซ๐—ถ ๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐˜‚. Its first Malaysian branch is located in the upmarket Gurney Paragon mall.

Its name in Chinese characters, San Xi Lou (Chinese: ไธ‰ๅธŒๆจ“) which translates as โ€œThree Treasures Pavilionโ€, was adapted from the famous Qianlong San Xi Tang (Chinese: ไนพ้š†ไธ‰ๅธŒๅ ‚), the famous Hall of the Three Treasures, belonging to the Qianlong Emperor (1736-1795) of the Qing Dynasty in the Forbidden City. The โ€œThree Treasuresโ€ referred to his three prized calligraphy scrolls which provided the inspiration for many Qing Dynasty imperial seals and art pieces.

Over at San Xi Lou, its โ€œThree Treasuresโ€ refer to the restaurantโ€™s specialisation in Sichuanese, Cantonese, and Dim Sum cooking (Chuan Xi, Yue Xi, Dim Xi).

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The obligatory fish-tanks filled with live sea creatures near the entrance. :grin:

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Our lunch orders:
๐˜๐˜ข๐˜ณ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ( ่ฆ้คƒ) - shrimp dumplings with translucent skin.

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๐˜š๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ช (็‡’่ณฃ) - minced pork-shrimp dumplings.

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๐˜Š๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ณ ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ฐ (ๅ‰็ƒงๅŒ…) - Cantonese-style steamed buns with caramelised BBQ pork filling.

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๐˜“๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ช ๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ช ( ็ณฏ็ฑณ้›ž) - glutinous rice filled with chicken, Chinese mushrooms, Chinese sausage, and salted egg-yolk.

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๐˜Š๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ณ ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ถ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ฐ (ๅ‰็‡’่ ่˜ฟๅŒ…) - sweet-crusted buns with Cantonese-style caramelised BBQ pork filling.

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๐˜’๐˜ข๐˜ช ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ฐ (้›žๅŒ…) - steamed bao with ginger-flavored, minced chicken-meat filling.

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๐˜’๐˜ข๐˜ช ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ ๐˜ง๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฐ (่ฑ‰ๆฑๅ‡ค็ˆช) - chicken feet with spicy black bean sauce.

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๐˜“๐˜ข๐˜ฐ ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜ณ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ฐ (ๆตๆฒ™ๅŒ…) - steamed buns with molten salted egg yolk custard filling.

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Fried radish cake in XO sauce.

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Mixed meats platter, consisting of ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ณ ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ (Cantonese-style caramelised BBQ pork), ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ (crackling-skinned roast pork), spiced jelly-fish, cold pork roll, and ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ (Cantonese-style roast goose).

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Dessert
๐˜‹๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฉ๐˜ถ๐˜ข (soybean curd) dessert - served warm from a wooden barrel. The junket pudding is served with either a delicate, floral-scented sugar syrup, or brown sugar granules.

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Best dim sum spot in town at the moment.

Address
San Xi Lou
163D-6-20, Level 6, Gurney Paragon Mall, Persiaran Gurney, 10350 George Town, Malaysia
Tel: +60 12-391 8168
Opening hours: 9am to 10pm, daily.

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OMG! That looks so delicious, Iโ€™m salivating over here :smiley:

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Thanks Peter:
San XI Lou is now on our list. We are from Canada ( Toronto area) and will be staying in Penang in late January for 3 weeks so I have been following these posts to get our restaurant list. But I have a question. In Canada fried squid tentacles ( my favourite ) are as common as Har Gow and Shiu Mai on dim sum menus but I donโ€™t see them on any Penang menus. Am I correct or just missing something. Thanks again.

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Youโ€™re right - we donโ€™t get squid tentacles on our dim sum menu here in Malaysia. Ditto in Singapore!

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Back at San Xi Lou today for lunch:

  1. Suร n Nรญ Bรกi Rรฒu (Chinese: ่’œๆณฅ็™ฝ่‚‰) - this is the classic Sichuanese cold appetiser of thinly-sliced, poached pork belly with fresh cucumber, topped with mashed garlic. The whole concoction is drizzled with a spicy garlic-chili oil dressing. Absolutely delish.
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  1. Century Eggs with Green Peppers - this is San Xi Louโ€™s adaptation of a fiery Hunanese dish, but made less aggressive and more acceptable to the Cantonese/Hong Kong palate. Topped with soy-marinated green peppers and toasted sesame seeds, the perfectly textured century eggs were simply the best one wouldโ€™ve ever tried.

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  2. Char-Siu (Cantonese-style caramelised BBQ pork) and Siu-Yoke (crackling-skinned roast pork). This is probably the best rendition of Cantonese roast meats in Penang - both meats cooked to perfection in their respective preparations.

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  3. Zhong Shui Jiao (Chinese: ้’Ÿๆฐด้ฅบ) - Sichuanese-style spicy pork dumplings in chili oil. Again, perfectly-executed - tiny wantan-like pork-filled dumplings, smothered in a hawkish chili-garlic-vinegary dressing with a faint numbing effect from Sichuanese peppercorn. Garlic, ginger and scallions contribute to the pungent aroma and overall taste of the dish.

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  1. Mapo Tofu (Chinese: ้บปๅฉ†่ฑ†่…) the classic fiery-red, tongue-numbing Sichuan dish of silken-soft tofu cubes simmered in a spicy, oily sauce with fermented broad-bean paste (doubanjiang), fermented black beans, minced beef, garlic, ginger, and copious amounts of Sichuan peppercorns to obtain that signature โ€œmalaโ€ (numbing-spicy) sensation.

The version served here was truly scrumptious, and 200% beyond my chili-tolerance threshold! Iโ€™d often wondered about people who kept on eating delicious but super-incendiary food, whilst tears streamed down their faces. Today, I understood why - this dish was simply irresistible!

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  1. Fujianese Fried Rice (Chinese: ็ฆๅปบ็‚’้ฅญ) - despite its name, this fried rice dish originates in Hong Kong, not Fujian. Invented by Hong Kong restaurateurs based on what they think the Fujianese/Hokkien people might like to eat, itโ€™s a flavorsome dish consisting of a rich, savory gravy replete with meats (roast pork, chicken & shrimp), dried scallops, and vegetables (mushrooms, carrots, kailan stems, etc.) poured over a bed of fluffy egg fried rice.
    Not the most photogenic of dishes, but the rendition here was absolutely delicious. Fujianese fried rice is a departure of other types of (dry) fried rice due to its gravy topping.
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  1. Dessert was again, its incomparable Tofu Pudding, served with two types of sweeteners: red sugar and osmanthus-scented sugar syrup.
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i highly recommend their โ€˜upgradedโ€™ water boiled fish with some fresh fish. Flaky fish, spicing perfectly balanced.

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Definitely whetting my craving for Chinese food!!

Landing in TPE in about an hour for a 5 hour layover and a couple of Kavalan. :wink:

Will be tucking into some Cantonese food in Guangzhou before the sun sets today. WhooHoo!!

Dying for some dim sum, which will have to wait โ€˜til tomorrow morn.

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Thanks, Iโ€™ll try that on my next visit.

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Very cool! Looking forward to your reports. Enjoy Guangzhou!

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