Dinner at ๐๐น ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฐ๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด at Island 88 this evening. Itโs a casual neighborhood pub run by Prague-born owner-chef, Petr Feher, which serves a range of very well-executed dishes.
Petr Feher has had an amazing decade-and-a-half career with the Four Seasons hotel group, rising from a sous chef at its Prague location to being the executive chef at its San Diego one. He left Four Seasons to lead the kitchens of Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas at one point - I remembered having the-then most expensive burger in Las Vegas at that gleaming, gold-hued resort back in 2002 - Wagyu beef, foie gras, truffles & all.
Petr came to Malaysia in 2010 to take charge of the kitchen of The Datai in Langkawi, an uber-exclusive island-resort of tranquil beaches a short hop from Penang. He then came to work for Penangโs historic Eastern & Oriental Hotel and never left this languid island of lotus-eaters ever since.
Doing all the cooking himself nowadays, Petrโs emphasis now is back to comfort food - but his meticulous attention to detail is always there.
Our meal this evening:
Appetisers
Ice plant & mushroom salad - fab starter, as Iโd never hesitated to order any dish with the crisp ice plant. The one here was amazing, with its creamy aioli dressing.
Avocado guacamole dip with tortilla chips - slightly blander than weโd have liked - couldโve done with more lime juice.
Mains
Hungarian beef goulash - Petrโs fave comfort food. There are a range of goulashes in Europe, ranging from the stew-like Czech version to the more liquid, almost-soupy Hungarian version. Petrโs Czech, but has a Hungarian mother, so his version of the dish actually straddles the two culinary traditions. Very tasty albeit slightly more chili-spicy than what one gets in Europe, in a nod to the Malaysian palate.
Linguine aglio, olio e peperoncino - perfect rendition in terms of textures and taste profile, although the presence of hyper-explosive chili peppers was quite unexpected. Just pick them out and everythingโs fine.
Mac-and-cheese with chicken breast - very tasty rendition, with sun-dried tomatoes providing bursts of sweetness and tartness which cut into the richness of the dish.
This has to be the pub with the best food on the island!
Address
Alfresco Dining
G-22C, Island 88, 118 Tanjung Tokong Road, 10470 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +6012-203 2202
Operating hours: 11.30am to 2am daily
