Very good Modern-Thai dinner at ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ป๐ป๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฎ (upstairs of Caffeine Cartel) on Campbell Street yesterday evening.
Fronted by the very talented 28-year-old Pennapra โMeiโ Yathai who hails from Kamphaeng Phet in Central Thailand, the freshest, best quality local ingredients were used to produce some really flavoursome dishes.
Our dinner included:
Amuse bouche: snowpeas ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ - a very spicy start, and which jolted our tastebuds awake. For a moment, I was worried about the chili content level of our dinner this evening, but this proved to be a false alarm: subsequent dishes we had were all mildly (subtly) spiced.
Norwegian salmon on ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ช๐ข๐ฐ (glutinous rice), lumpfish caviar and red curry sauce - absolutely delicious. The taste/textural combination somehow reminded me of the classic Japanese saba-zushi from Kyoto. The lumpfish caviar lent a smoky-fishy saltiness, whilst the red curry sauce, a bit on the gentle side, provided a rich-sweetness to the overall dish.
๐๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ข๐ฎ ceviche, with Thai green papaya, Golden Lily mango and Norwegian salmon sashimi - best-tasting salad dish Iโd had in a long time. It was a masterful palette of complementary flavours and textures: crunchy, green papayas and purple cabbage, plump sour-sweet mango cubes, and fat nuggets of salmon sashimi. The sweet-sour-salty-(slightly) spicy dressing infused and integrated the whole salad mix together harmoniously.
House signature ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐บ๐ถ๐ฎ seafood bouillabaisse, with flower crab, mussels and prawns - the word โtom yumโ conjures up images of sweaty diners slurping the famously incendiary but irresistible red-hued, chili-laden seafood consomme. But Iโm no chili-head, and have been forever intimidated by what is Thailandโs most famous food export.
Thankfully, the dish here walked on the gentle side - resembling more a San Franciscan cioppino than even a New Orleans gumbo. The flower crabs were bought alive the very same day from the famed Batu Lanchang afternoon market, yielding sweet fresh fronds of crabmeat.
The bisque-like soup was in an absolute masterclass of its own here. The subtlety of flavours here was astounding - one can detect the familiar taste and scent of tom yum - and yet, it was as if the ghosts of chilis, galangal, kafir lime leaves and lemongrass had gently floated through the broth, leaving behind the merest, haunting hints of their presence.
Grilled baby squid with home-made ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐บ๐ถ๐ฎ mayo - each diner was served braced of cephalopods, so precisely cooked, their flesh yielded to the faintest nibble, yet retained the delightful toothsome quality expected of this dish. The tom yum mayo was light, with the chilis and lemongrass barely discernible.
Green curry sauce poured on the organic chicken breast, aubergine, mushrooms and red peppers. If David Thompson and Picasso had a love child, this beautiful, abstract palette of a deconstructed gaeng kaew wan gai would be it.
The juicy chicken breast, the petals of red peppers, the chunks of mushrooms, and the lavish aubergine divan - all were cooked separately for their ideal doneness, and brought together to form this 21st-century Thai green โcurryโ chicken. The green curry sauce itself was served tableside - our host, Ben Lo, poured it using a 50-year-old family heirloom Chinese teapot which used to belong to his mother.
The result was a dish which tasted as good as it looked.
Palate cleanser: nutmeg sorbet. The use of nutmeg is Ben and Pennapraโs homage to Penangโs heritage. In the Malaysian federation, only Penang amongst its 13 states has nutmeg plantations, and where the nutmeg is widely available as preserves and cordials, as well as served in cafes or traditional coffeeshops in the form of juices. Nutmeg was introduced to Penang in the early 1800s by the British East India Company, breaking the age-old monopoly on the spice in the Dutch-controlled Moluccas Islands, part of the fabled Spice Islands of the Far East.
Pennapra used the nutmeg sparingly here - resulting in a refreshing sorbet that whispers, never screams, of the nectar of a fresh nutmeg.
Host, Ben Lo, with the main course: grilled fresh Thai river prawns with ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ซ๐ช๐ฎ dip. These giant crustaceans were procured from Hat Yai, the Southern Thai city most accessible to Penang - a mere 3 hoursโ drive or 200 km (130 miles) away.
Gently barbecued to impart an intoxicating smoky fragrance, these sweet-fleshed and orange roe-filled shellfish tasted simply heavenly.
๐๐ฉ๐ข ๐บ๐ฆ๐ฏ (Thai milk tea) panna cotta. Iโd always loved Thai-style iced milk tea, and to have one which one can eat instead of drink was just as pleasurable.
Top-notch cooking using the very best quality ingredients here. The articulate, knowledgeable host, Ben Lo, ensured a smooth, well-paced dining experience, whilst carefully explaining the sources of the ingredients used, cooking techniques applied, as well as useful information nuggets for each course served.
One of the most rewarding dining experiences weโd had in Penang for quite a while.
Address
Pennapra Private Dining + Supperclub
1/F, 121, Lebuh Campbell (Campbell Street),10100 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +60124777168
Opening hours: 7pm to 10pm Tue to Sun. Closed on Mondays.