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2016-06-08
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Original review at http://www.nahmj.com/2016/06/03/penang-culture-changi-airport-terminal-2/Penang Culture is one of the few restaurants in Singapore offering Penang food. And good news for our Muslim foodie, Penang Culture is a Halal restaurant. We didn’t notice until we saw quite a few groups of Malay gathering for a meal at the restaurant. Currently, there are 3 outlets located at JEMS, Century Square Shopping Mall and Changi Airport Terminal 2. Why aren’t they having an outlet in town?! That
Penang Culture is one of the few restaurants in Singapore offering Penang food. And good news for our Muslim foodie, Penang Culture is a Halal restaurant. We didn’t notice until we saw quite a few groups of Malay gathering for a meal at the restaurant. Currently, there are 3 outlets located at JEMS, Century Square Shopping Mall and Changi Airport Terminal 2. Why aren’t they having an outlet in town?! That’s really a pity.
The kitchen is helmed by Chef Wong Thin Lipp, a Penangite who has 20 years of culinary experience in Penang. So diners of Penang Culture could be pretty assured that the food are authentic.
To mark their 5th year anniversary (Wow! 5 years! They have come a long way!), Penang Culture celebrates by introducing a few delicious twists.
All its outlet has semi-service except at the Changi Airport Terminal 2 that has full service. Nonetheless, it is still a casual dinning environment. Our feasting was at Changi Airport Terminal 2 outlet. We find the staff attentive, friendly and warm. We started off with Penang Culture signaguture dish, the ($5.95). The characteristics of this dish is the vegetables and fruits are more chunky, the You Tiao is extra crispy and the sauce is thicker and richer comparing to our local Rojak. I like the sauce but would prefer the vegetables and fruits to be thinner so that I could enjoy more of the sauce. Most diners at the table find the dish mediocre. I suppose preference play a large role here. The first new creation introduced on the menu in celebration of their 5th Anniversary is the Penang Fire Wings ($6.55). This creation is rested on the belachan (prawn paste) coated chicken wings. It is then tossed in a sweet plum and Thai chilli sauce. The result of the wings tasted like Yangnyeom flavoured Korean Fried Chicken Wings. And beware for those who has low spice tolerate; it is quite spicy Penang Curry Fish Balls ($4.95) is one of the must have if you like curry fish balls. Even for people who don’t fancy the dish, like myself, enjoyed this dish tremendously. The deep fried fishball that has a slight chewy and yet soft fish balls were immersed in the rich fragrance curry sauce to soaked up the essence of the gravy. Coming up is another dish which I will avoid as I am not a fan of cooked salmon and I did enjoy the BBQ Salmon ($11.95). First, the salmon doesn’t have a strong pungent fishy flavour as the restaurant uses high grade Norwegian salmon. Secondly, with the Chef’s sweet spicy paste make a huge different. The chilli paste which consist of an array of spice and herb does elevate the dinning pleasure. One of the classic Penang food is the Assam Laksa which diners will never want to miss. Base on this classic dish, Penang Culture has added luxurious factor with addition of Norwegian Salmon pieces to the bowl of delight and this creation is known as Salmon Assam Laksa ($11.95). The Assam Laksa at Penang Culture is more rounded and balance as such expect a less sour but yet rich and flavourful soup. The soup is boiled using Sardine, Kembong (mackerel), lots of spice and herbs, hae kor (fermented shrimp paste) and with the key ingredients, the assam (tamarind). Since it is less sour, diners who have low sour tolerance will rejoice while diners who enjoyed the typical Assam Laksa would frown upon. Maybe Penang Culture could come up with 2 version for diners to choose. Most who visited Penang would be familiar with Penang Hokkien Mee (a soup based prawn mee similar to Singapore version). Penang Culture has added Lobster and Scallops in this dish to provide the Premium Lobster & Scallop Noodles ($16.95). Premium Crab Meat & Salted Egg Fried Kway Teow ($15.95) is adapted from the Penang Fried Kway Teow. With Salted Egg added into the it hence it result in a more salty taste profile. So for those who prefer less salty could opt for the original Penang Fried Kway Teow ($8.95) instead. To round up the meal with a sweet note, dessert is never to be missed. We have 2 desserts; Cendol and Bubur Hitam.
For Cendol, diners could opt for the original or with durian, Penang Chenol ($4.55) or King of Cendol ($6.95) respectively. The restaurant has provided 3 version of Bubur Hitam. First is the original version, with coconut cream, named simply as Bubur Hitam ($3.95). Next is the Bubur Hitam with Vanilla Ice Cream ($4.95) and lastly is with durian pulp for the durian lovers, the King of Bubur Hitam ($6.95). One of the highly recommended drink is the Ampla Juice ($4.95). There is also an ice blended version, Ampla Ice Blended ($8.95). It has a complex flavour. I could savour green apple, guava and starfruits. I would encourage all to give it a try if you aren’t familar with this tropical fruit.
Other recommendation include the Cempedek Milkshakes ($6.95), Coconut Milkshakes ($6.95) and Durian Milkshakes ($6.95).
We thought well of the food served at Penang Culture. I am glad that they are at the airport as I have one more option to dine at when I am travelling since I have a habit of dinning a the airport prior departure of upon arrival.
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