Lunch yesterday was at Kucina, the bright, cheery Italian eatery on the 3rd floor of the sea-fronting Marriott Hotel along Gurney Drive. We had some family members from Singapore who are in Penang for their Chinese New Year holidays. One of my uncles wanted Italian for lunch, so Iโd recommended the one in the very hotel they are all staying in. Kucina was good when it opened for business about a year ago - in March 2024. I remembered being very impressed by the freshness and quality of the ingredients used, and the impeccable cooking standards then.
Our lunch yesterday:
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Irish rock oysters - these were okay, smallish.
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๐๐ฏ๐ด๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ข ๐๐ช ๐ก๐ถ๐ค๐ค๐ข ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ท๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฐ - roasted pumpkin, arugula, crispy kale, cranberries, almond flakes, with aged balsamic vinegar dressing.
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๐๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ฏ๐ช ๐๐ช ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐จ๐ฉ๐ช - crisp-fried risotto balls, forest mushrooms and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Iโd always loved this dish, but the ones here seemed to lack the quality of proper restaurant cooking, and more like supermarket items thatโs been warmed up.
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๐๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ช๐จ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ๐ข ๐ฅ๐ช ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ป๐ข๐ฏ๐ฆ - slow-roasted eggplant, tomatoes and mozzarella, with arugula. A tad overcooked and dry-ish.
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๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช ๐๐ช ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐จ๐ฉ๐ช - pasta dumplings with Portobello mushroom filling, garnished with king oyster mushrooms, cashew nuts & white truffle oil.
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๐๐ถ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ข ๐๐ช ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ป๐ฐ - braised wagyu beef cheek, pearl corn polenta & arugula.
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๐๐ด๐ด๐ฐ ๐๐ถ๐ค๐ค๐ฐ ๐๐ช ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ - braised lamb shank, gremolata (chopped parsley, lemon zest, garlic) & orzo (rice-shaped pasta).
Sad to say, Kucina did ๐ป๐ผ๐ maintain the lofty standards it once had when the restaurant first opened last March 2024. The menu items remain the same, but the standard of cooking has declined. Not sure if itโs because a different team cooked today.
Even the bread served at the start was not good - mealy and tasteless.
The one redeeming factor was the attentive, very efficient service by the wait-staff.
Address
Kucina โ Italian Mediterranean Restaurant, Level 3, Penang Marriott Hotel
55 Gurney Drive, Georgetown, 10250 Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +604-566 1888
Opening hours: 12pm-2:30pm, 6:30pm-11:30pm daily
