It was a pretty special event for us foodies in Penang last weekend: Singapore’s gangster-turned-celebrity chef, Benny Se Teo, was in town for a collaborative two-night dinner event at Tong on Armenian Street. It’s a 6-hands effort with Tong’s own two chefs, Kenny Yeo and John Goh.
Benny Se Teo is Singapore’s poster boy on the possibilities of reformation and redemption - from his hardcore criminal past and 10 years in prison, Benny did a 1-year stint at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, which gave opportunities to disadvantaged youth, and also worked under top UK chef, Gennaro Contaldo.
Once he got back to Singapore, Benny Se Teo set-up Eighteen Chefs, modelled after Fifteen, where up to half its staff were disadvantaged youth and ex-convicts. There are 10 branches of Eighteen Chefs in Singapore today.
Some of my oldest foodie friends flew into Penang from Singapore and Hong Kong just for this.
The menu for the evening was pretty nifty and straightforward - I think it’s more to introduce Penang diners to Benny (it was full house that evening), rather than for Benny to show what he’s really capable of.
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Yuzu Kombu Capellini with Caviar - this is an almost ubiquitous dish in Singapore, pioneered over 20 years ago by Gunther Hubrechsen, ex-L’Arpège (under Alain Passard) when he was a head chef at Les Amis Group in Singapore.
The capellini here was more al dente than we’d expected, and had a slight brittleness (pre-cooked then chilled?).
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Crab Meat Tataki - this was tasty and perhaps the evening’s standout dish.
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Brie Cheese with Portobello Mushroom and Bacon Jam
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Shrooms with Eggs - pretty dish, but the egg was coddled perhaps a couple of minutes longer than it should, and the egg-yolk had lost its molten quality.
- “Artery-Cloggingly Good” Heart Attack Fried Rice, with Dr Wong’s Signature Char Siew - this was the piece de resistance for the evening. The “char-siew” (Cantonese caramelised BBQ pork) was very tasty - one of the best I’d ever had - but the “fried rice” turned out more like flavored glutinous rice loh mai fan than the light, fluffy rice we were expecting. It came with a generous sprinkling of crisp lardons (loved these) and some really good pickles (cucumbers, jicama and carrots).
The piece of steak on the side seemed superfluous - it was also rather cold and dry, unlike the medium-rare steak strips one gets in Eighteen Chefs back in Singapore.
- Dessert: Lemon Tart with House-made Tart Shell and Meringue - this was okay.
Overall verdict: Really, really good to see Benny in Penang, and so happy to catch up with Singaporean friends who came. Just wished the food was as good as we believe they can be.
Address
Tong Restaurant
Inside 88 Armenian Hotel, 88, Lebuh Armenian (Armenian Street), 10200 George Town, Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: +6016433 0768
Opening hours: 3pm-10pm, Mon-Tue, Thu-Son. Closed on Wednesdays.
Sometimes I find the source of the pasta makes a bigger difference to texture than cooking time (for eg macaroni in india can go from undercooked to mush, or be perfectly al dente, depending just on the brand).