[Penang] Peninsula House on Beach Street

[klyeoh (Peter)]

Dinner at the most exciting restaurant opening in George Town so far this year: 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝗮 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 at the stately 87-year-old India House on Beach Street. It was the brainchild of four friends - Lee Shi Hong, Miles Teow, Tan Yaw Tzong and Lim Guan Hong - behind the trendy Norm next door.

Our dinner spread:
𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦-𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘢, 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘵.

Appetisers
𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘴, 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳, 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘰, 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘫𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘶𝘤𝘦, 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘴.

𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘥𝘰, 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦, 𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘥-𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘻𝘶, 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘵, 𝘢𝘷𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘳.

𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘥, 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘴, 𝘱𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘬 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘻𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘪, 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦-𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢, 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘤𝘦, 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘴, 𝘩𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘭𝘯𝘶𝘵, 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪 𝘰𝘪𝘭.

Mains
𝘓𝘢𝘮𝘣 𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯, 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘰, 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯 & 𝘫𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘢.

𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘯 𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦, 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘰.

𝘉𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪, 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘰 𝘷𝘰𝘥𝘬𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘶𝘤𝘦, 𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘰𝘴, 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦-𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢.

𝘉𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩, 𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘵é, 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘢, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘳𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘪𝘭.

Desserts (clockwise from top-left): 𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘮𝘪𝘹𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦; 𝘉𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘦 (3 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴), 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘢 𝘪𝘤𝘦-𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮, 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵; and 𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘌𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴: 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘴, 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮, 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘥, 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩.

Consultant-Head Chef, Ahmad Suffian Salim, is a highly talented and experienced chef, conceptualising the launch menu. Runs a tight ship in the kitchen.

The main dining room occupies a beautiful space - the two-week-old eatery is currently fully booked each evening, even with two time-slots for dinner.

Address
Peninsula House
1st floor, India House, 25, Beach Street, 10300 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +6016-439 1335
Opening hours: 6pm to midnight daily, except Wed (closed).

[Harters (John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)]

Lovely looking place. And lovely looking food.

Was this a tasting menu or are the photos of more than one person’s food?

[klyeoh (Peter)]

@Harters

Was this a tasting menu or are the photos of more than one person’s food?

There were 4 of us in our party, and we ordered a la carte.

[MK]

This looks really awesome - food as well as ambience.
Do they have a lift / handicap access?

[klyeoh (Peter)]

@MK

Do they have a lift / handicap access?

Unfortunately, no.

I need to ask them if they have a service lift which customers can request for use under special circumstances.

[klyeoh (Peter)]

Back to Peninsula House for an early pre-theatre dinner last Thursday.

𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘢 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘢 𝘨𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘪𝘭.

𝘙𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘬𝘦, 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮, 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘪 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘦.

𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘯 & 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘴, 𝘥𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪 𝘦𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯.

𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘶𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘦𝘴, 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘢𝘫𝘪 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘶𝘤𝘦.

𝘊𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘬, 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘦, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘶𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘸 𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘴, 𝘱𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘴, 𝘢𝘫𝘷𝘢𝘳.

Very well-conceived and executed dishes. This place is really smashing it.

[MK]

Thank you so much.
Not that I am handicapped as such, but those stairs would be impossible to climb for me and quite a lot of other people.

[klyeoh (Peter)]

Back to Peninsula House at noon today, the first day they have decided to launch their long-awaited lunch service - 11am to 3pm. The bright, high-ceilinged main dining room has a light, airy feel as the bright sunshine poured in through the floor-to-ceiling glassed windows, and the skylights above. Very pleasant atmosphere indeed - I don’t think any other dining rooms in George Town can top that.

Totally empty dining room today - looks like we were the only ones who are aware of the new lunch service starting today.

Bread basket served as we browsed the compact lunch menu. House-made bread, with taucheo (fermented beanpaste) & plum mousse

Our starters:
Commons Farming Greens Salad - crispy cauliflower, pickled celery, mixed nuts, Muscat grapes, with honey-mustard & herbs dressing

Tuna & Snapper Ceviche - sweet potato puree, corn & pomelo, leche de tigre, crushed peanuts, Thai basil, house-made lavosh cracker

Broccolini - with globe artichoke, labneh, hazelnut chili butter, crispy quinoa

Mains:
Chanterelle Strozzapreti - mushrooms, miso bagna càuda, smoked Provolone, crispy sage and Kulim oil

Pan-seared Wild Caught Grouper - baby potatoes, Commons kale, pistachio, and Café de Paris butter

Duck Cannelloni - capsicum chili gremolata, bigarade sauce and aged parmesan

That pasta dish was singularly the best thing we’d tasted all week! Toothsome pasta, perfectly-seasoned dish.

Desserts:
These are the same as before when it first opened, so no changes for the sweets as yet.

Butterscotch Madeleines, with macadamia ice-cream and espresso shot

Peninsula Chocolate Tart, with mixed berries compote

Absolutely the best lunch we’d had in a long time, an absolute triumph. We are already making plans to come back for lunch again later in the week!

[klyeoh (Peter)]

Lunch at 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝗮 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 on the last Sunday of August, which also happened to coincide with Malaysia’s Independence Day - it was on Aug 31 1957 when Malaysia came into being, after nearly two and a half centuries of British colonialism which began with the founding of Penang in 1786.

Our lunch spread:
House bread with roasted garlic butter

𝘼𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙨
Broccolini with pickled sweet onions, artichoke, green olives, and chopped mixed nuts

Smoked mackerel arancini, with smoked ricotta, romesco (red peppers purée), fried capers, and lime gel

𝙈𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨
Slow-poached, wild-caught grouper, with black caviar beurre blanc, and a mélange of COMMONS spring greens

Slipper lobster étouffée with tagliatelle, crustacean bisque, lemon zest and pangrattato

𝘿𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙨
Peninsula chocolate tart with mixed berries compote

Beurre noisette Madeleines, with macadamia ice-cream and espresso shot

Always a pleasure to dine here, with their bright, airy dining space, calm Zen-like ambience and flawless service. Since its opening a year ago, this place has really set the benchmark in Penang on what a good restaurant should be like.

[Harters (John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)]

What a delightful lunch. The broccolini appetiser sounds lovely - so much so that I’ve made a note to try and make a version at home

[klyeoh (Peter)]

@Harters

The broccolini appetiser sounds lovely - so much so that I’ve made a note to try and make a version at home

I still remembered the very first time I came across the broccolini - it was at Quay restaurant at the Rocks in Sydney, Australia, back in 2002/2003. Never saw that vegetable anywhere I’d been before, so I was quite intrigued and tried to find out more about it - alas, the internet back then did not have as much information as nowadays, only stating that:
“Broccolini was invented in 1993 by the Sakata Seed Company in Japan through a natural cross-breeding of regular broccoli and gai lan (Chinese kale) …” and “… was marketed as “Broccolini®” in the United States starting in 1998 after a partnership with Mann Packing Company.”

Nowadays, we find it everywhere, and it’s still one of my fave vegetables.

[Harters (John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)]

@klyeoh

we find it everywhere

Same here, although we call it tenderstem broccoli. It comes into season in the summer months after the lookalike but, to my mind, better flavoured, purple sprouting broccoli which we get in hate winter and early spring.

[klyeoh (Peter)]

@Harters

better flavoured, purple sprouting broccoli

Oh yes, absolutely love that, too.