Higher Ground opened for business barely two months ago, occupying what used to be stables in the late-19th and early-20th century, but was last the location for George Town Wines. Very spacious cafe, with an industrial-chic vibe.
What we had:
๐๐๐๐จ ๐ฝ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ฉ with smoked salmon, with sautรฉed mushrooms and spinach. This was executed with panache, though I could do without the Japanese tobiko/flying fishroe on top.
๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐ค ๐ ๐ค๐ก๐๐ค, with seafood, cherry tomatoes, arugula leaves & micro-herbs, with a sprinkling of parmesan.
This was garlicky and seemed to have that Chinese/โOrientalโ quality that seeped into Italian cooking at the cafes here. Canโt quite put my finger on why that happens - itโs never like that in proper Italian restaurants in town, but seemed unavoidable if one goes into any of the casual eateries/cafes here, or anywhere in Malaysia.
๐๐ง๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ on sourdough, topped with poached eggs and served with roasted vegetables and ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณรฉ๐ฆ. This was done pretty well, although the ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณรฉ๐ฆ could be improved - this one appeared lumpy, instead of satiny-smooth as should be.
Dessert: ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ (๐
๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐๐จ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐) ๐๐ช๐ง๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐๐๐๐๐จ๐๐๐๐ ๐. Another one of the eateryโs East-meets-West concoctions. The matcha gave the dessert a slight bitter hint which undercuts the sweetness.
Address
Higher Ground
19-19A, Lebuh Leith (Leith Street), 10200 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +604-228 0340
Operating hours: 9am to midnight, daily
