BY CK LAM

An ambiance of calm and tranquility with stunning charm welcomed me as I walked into Suffolk House which is known as the first “Great House of Penang”.  This recently restored 200-year old Anglo-Indian architectural building was built on the estate owned by Captain Francis Light, the founder of British settlement of Penang.

I had the pleasure of visiting their lovely Suffolk House Restaurant which is headed by Chef Johnny Fua. This restaurant is managed by the people who also owned the fine dining restaurants - 32 Mansion, Bagan and Beach Blanket Babylon.

Chef Johnny points out that fine dining is an art to be enjoyed. The ambiance, environment, comfort and decoration combines together with the artistic preparation of the food to deliver a whole new dining experience. He encourages his customers to sit down and enjoy the entire fine dining course, while taking in the creativeness instead of viewing it as a meal or simply rushing through the whole course.

All the dining halls in the restaurant are decorated to its own uniqueness, with many gorgeous mirrors and framed art paintings. The lighting is soft and creates a wonderfully relaxing yet intimate ambiance.

The menu at Suffolk House is well-crafted, offering guests a nice selection of seafood, poultry and steak from the five main courses, with prices ranging from RM85 to RM120. The price comes with a set consisting of amuse bouche, two appetizers, soup and salad plus dessert and coffee/tea with frothed milk.

The Creamy Chicken tikka roll came first followed by the Crispy money bag with baby shrimp, asparagus, roasted pepper & ricotta cheese. Morsels of shrimp and asparagus wrapped in the crispy bundle was served sitting on a bed of garden greens decorated with cilantro lime tomato relish.
The salad was made of beetroot, apple, cucumber pickles, fried onion ring and added walnuts for the crunch and mint leaves for the refreshing taste. It was topped with crumble feta & mesclun leave and dressed in sour cream mayo.

The Curried parsnip & apple soup with a lovely texture has the savory sweetness of the parsnip and the delicious tang of apple together with a hint of spiciness from the curry spices. This soup goes well with the green olive butter toast.

Finally the scoop of Tomato sorbet with sour plum shaving was served creatively with added pieces of appetizing sour plum.

For the main meal, there was the Char grilled rack of lamb with mint lamb jus and Fettuccine with spinach & mushrooms. The two pieces of lamb, medium done was tender and succulent. It was beautifully assembled on the plate along with fettuccine, salad and carrots craved into little torpedoes. Indeed a satisfying combination!

The Pan fried cod fillet with garlic aioli & basil tomato coulis with Basmati rice pilaf has the piece of cod ladled over the bed of rice flaked with bits of basil and sautéed pea shoot and carrot.

The meal was capped off with a combination trio of dessert, which was served with my choice of black Nespresson coffee. The Blueberry cheese tart with raspberry jam, Grand Marnier with orange zest flavored chocolate ice cream and the Symphony of Banana crepe suzette with crème caramel & strawberry concluded the eight course set dinner. The dessert was worth every sugared bite for me!

This is an ideal place for an unforgettable event entertaining your guests and family or to spice up your date. Lunch hour starts from 12 noon till 3pm, with teatime from 2.30pm till 6pm followed by dinner from 7pm right till late 11pm. The lunch menu changes daily while the dinner menu changes weekly on Tuesday!

Suffolk House is located on Jalan Air Itam, next to the Malaysian German Society. If you are coming from Air Itam, look out for the left small lane before Methodist Boys School. This lane will take you passing by the Malaysian German Society and eventually to Suffolk House.

Reservation: +604-2281109. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Written by CK Lam, food blogger and editor of http://www.what2seeonline.com ; featuring the Best of Penang Food. She constantly combs Penang for the best gastronomical delights and loves promoting Penang Cuisines, Culture and Heritage.