But isn’t it half of the enjoyment, though? For me, at lease. The eye/camera eats first. Eating involves more than just the sense of taste.
If I were to be a regular I would get on their mailing list. They would shoot me a mail when they change the menu.
Yup, and my trusty little digicam was a bit busier than usual last night, as my dinner partner and I were the only customers in the restaurant. So, I could take quite a few photos without having to worry about being a nuisance to others. 
The “presentation” here was/is gorgeous!
Yup, one of those places where the prep chef in-charge of plating needed to use tweezers!
I remembered that the very first time I came across such finesse and detail in presentation was at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Roppongi Hills, Tokyo, back in 2005. My tomato soup came in a martini glass - dotted with tiny drops of basil oil which ran along the periphery of the glass, and which seemed to have been meticulously applied using a syringe!
I got a small package of the Sarawak peppercorn here, indeed, powerful and spicy notes, I like it nearly as much as the Kampot peppercorn which is a tad more fruity.
Very lovely meal, impressive plating. A lot of work cooking for 1 table though. LOL.
Does Gēn mean root?
Sometime last year, a friend who’s based in Sarawak (he’s lecturing at a university there) sent a kilogram of the said pepper to us here in West Malaysia. We sub-divided his gift between the 5 of us, and I still have mine sitting in the cupboard unused after 6 months!
Kind of reminded me of this Michael McIntyre skit:
Yes, the owners named it as such to pay homage to their “culinary roots”, so to speak.
We were back at Gēn two evenings ago, to try out its latest seasonal menu. Chef Patron, Johnson Wong, 32, is the 2024 MICHELIN Guide to Kuala Lumpur and Penang’s Young Chef award-winner, and with good reason. The restaurant is 6.5 years old now, which means Johnson started helming it in his mid-20s.
Johnson remains the clean-cut, earnest and staid personality that he is: no tattoos, no intentionally messed up or tinted hair, no earrings or pierced body parts. He still speaks like a veteran Chef Patron - pragmatic and serious.
Johnson’s creations have always been like little micro-gardens, complex-flavored, yet subtly familiar and reassuring to the Asian palate.
Johnson taps upon local herbs and condiments like ginger flower, red beancurd, ulam raja, daun kesum and many more to formulate and concoct his dishes.
Our dinner that evening:
Desserts
9) Strawberry | Ginger Flower | Tomato - this is really one of the best-tasting desserts I’d had in recent times. I’d come back just for this.
Johnson’s cooking has matured well in the last few years - his trademark-style: complex, subtle flavors, are still very much the characteristic of his dishes. But they are more impressive nowadays - all delivering a perfect balance of flavors and textures. This is the type of cooking worth making a detour for.
Everything looks so pretty!
Oh yes, that whole bunch of kitchen crew with tweezers! They took an extremely meticulous approach towards plating and presentation.
An impressive spread for lunch today as Gēn’s Chef-Patron, Johnson Wong hosts Chef Louis Tam of One-Michelin-Star Chōwa of Guangzhou, China. Chef Louis had also won the Michelin Young Chef Award in the 2025 Michelin Guide Guangzhou. He is showcasing his Japanese-French fusion cuisine in his 2-day Penang stint.
The impossibly young HK-born Louis Tam, the Head Chef of 1-MICHELIN-Star Chōwa.
Our menu degustation today:
Left: Herbed oil, made from the essence of local herbs; and Right: Tomato concentrate, made from sieving and freezing fresh tomatoes.
Pouring in the tomato concentrate, made from sieving and freezing fresh tomatoes.
Adding the herbed oil, made from the essence of local herbs.
Passionfruit gelee topped with slivered prawn ham.
Ginger flower sorbet, contained within a fresh ginger flower bloom.
Chef Louis sprayed on Parmesan espuma table-side.
Chōwa Chicken Pithivier, carved and ready-to-serve.
Pickled Lotus Root.
Shaving dried Threadfin Roe onto the Soy Fried Rice, topped with Silverfish.
Spiced Bone Broth - a very deep-flavored chicken broth, brewed with strong-tasting buah keluak and Buah Kulim.
Desserts
9. Honeydew, Kaffir Lime Barley, Wong’s Bird’s Nest. - creamy, fruity pudding made from honeydew-flavored milk, cubed honeydew melon and bird’s nest.
Petit fours
11. Banana sponge cakes with spicy sambal centres.
Very impressive cooking from two young, very talented chefs in this 2-day collaborative effort.
Just fab.
Is the gelee the “wrapper” for the dumpling, or is there dumpling skin under there?
I’ve been curious about buah kulim for a while now but haven’t tried to track it down. Is it just deeply savory, or comparable to something else (I’ve seen it compared to truffles but that seems lacking, like when huitlacoche is compared similarly).
I love chawanmushi and I love marrow, but I have never thought to combine the two, given the soft textures of both!
Stunning stuff!
The gelee itself was the “wrapper”.
It’s quite a challenge to procure as it’s not cultivated, and the only limited supplies in the market are obtained from the “Orang Asli”, aboriginal tribesmen who foraged for it deep in the tropical rainforests.
I wrote about it in this article here:
It’s more garlicky than anything else, hence the nickname “jungle garlic” given to it by the locals here. The parallelism drawn with truffles is because both have this haunting, all-pervasive quality when added to a dish - it sought to enhance, but never overwhelm the flavors already present.
The most common use of Buah Kulim here is in flavoring oils, later used for dressing salads or meats, or added as a table condiment.
An absolutely amazing dining experience, though one pays a premium for that: MYR 539 (£100 / US$130) per person just for the food, before drinks, taxes/service charges or tips.
