July 8, 2010

Suffolk House Restaurant @ Jln Air Itam

Celebrated both my dear PChoon and my own birthday together here @ Suffolk House. We initially planned to pig out at Hard Rock Cafe but it was fully booked due to a private function - so we settled for our next choice - and was utterly disappointed :(

Suffolk House is managed by Penang Heritage Trust and is neatly tucked away along Jalan Air Itam, by right - it boasts a rich cultural heritage factor and is the ideal venue for dine and wine while admiring this colonial establishment.

We were, however, disappointed with the lack of proper space usage and appropriate deco particularly at the entrance and broad walkway leading to the restaurant. And was even more disappointed to realize that this is not anywhere near fine-dining experience - patrons - mostly foreigners were chatting away loudly in the rather limited restaurant space while the restaurant seems to play elegant soft music louder and louder in an attempt to bring back the atmosphere, to no avail.

Not much words to describe the culinary experience here except - extraordinary.

Interior






We opt to have their set dinner which entails us choosing only the main course (which determines the price).


There were a total of 8 courses altogether in the set and here they are (note that I made up all the names as I did not capture all of them from the menu)


ONE Assortment of Bread


TWO (i forgot what this was)


THREE Guava Juice Soup with Scallop


FOUR Salad and Nut Platter


FIVE - Main Course

PChoon's Steak



The steak was very red (rare) but PChoon was ok with it but I definitely cannot accept it. The texture was not bad though nothing to shout about.

My Cod Fish


I thought the underlying bedding was comprised of mushrooms but I thought wrong - they tasted sweet and I don't know what on earth they were made of to-date. Just tasted awful to me.

SIX Cheese and Crackers Platter


SEVEN Dessert Platter



Comprised of ice cream, cakes, dark chocolate, jelly, mini waffle.

EIGHT Coffee or Tea


Both of us opted for coffee. According to Lye, they serve Blue Mountain coffee but I can't tell, though I have to admit that the aroma of the coffee was just simply marvelous when it reached our table.


Surroundings of Suffolk House @ night





The bill came up to a whopping RM 322 for 2 sets - out of this world for sure.

No more returns for dinner but will definitely try out their afternoon tea. And I'm glad I didn't bring honey here.

6 comments:

  1. the food looks very nice...and got very nice ambiance..i like

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  2. Hey there, I read through your review on Suffolk House and I have to comment on this part:

    'disappointed with the lack of proper space usage and appropriate deco particularly at the entrance and broad walkway leading to the restaurant;.
    I have been there for a guided tour during my visit to Malaysia and being an architect myself, I have to stress the main purpose of the building. Suffolk House is first and foremost a historical and heritage building with f&b facilities.
    The lack of appropriate deco-I am not sure if you are referring to decoration items or signage. Suffolk House is a Georgian building and thus, Georgian decoration is very minimalistic and sparse. Also, furniture was hard to come by in the 18th century and home owners relied on what was brought in by ships. Hence, the décor concept used and portrayed in Suffolk House is intended to relive what the house would’ve been like 200 years ago. That is why you see very minimal furniture and you would also note that the way the furniture has been arranged, would’ve been the way the house was furnished centuries ago.
    As for space usage, the whole house isn’t just a restaurant. As I mentioned earlier, it is a heritage building with an f&b facility. Only the back portion of the house has been turned into a restaurant whereas the rest of the house has been turned into cultural exhibits where you go on tours to explore the whole house. The house is also available for events. I hope this gives you a better understanding of the house. I suggest that you go for a historical tour the next time you visit. Cheers!

    adrian_cavendish@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey Adrian, here are my responses to your comments:-

    I have been there for a guided tour during my visit to Malaysia and being an architect myself, I have to stress the main purpose of the building. Suffolk House is first and foremost a historical and heritage building with f&b facilities.

    --Cheryl : We were fully aware of this prior to our visit.

    The lack of appropriate deco-I am not sure if you are referring to decoration items or signage. Suffolk House is a Georgian building and thus, Georgian decoration is very minimalistic and sparse. Also, furniture was hard to come by in the 18th century and home owners relied on what was brought in by ships. Hence, the décor concept used and portrayed in Suffolk House is intended to relive what the house would’ve been like 200 years ago. That is why you see very minimal furniture and you would also note that the way the furniture has been arranged, would’ve been the way the house was furnished centuries ago.

    ----Cheryl : As you have mentioned yourself - you are an architect - and we aren't. For this reason you should not expect and assume that other people in general can fully understand and internalize concepts of Georgian building; minimalistic and sparse decor; and so on. Having said that, we are, however, entitled to our say as to how we as general public perceive space usage.

    As for space usage, the whole house isn’t just a restaurant. As I mentioned earlier, it is a heritage building with an f&b facility. Only the back portion of the house has been turned into a restaurant whereas the rest of the house has been turned into cultural exhibits where you go on tours to explore the whole house. The house is also available for events.

    --Cheryl : I have a strong feeling that you did not read my post very carefully. Please read the top portion where I mentioned 'Suffolk House is actually part of Penang Heritage Trust(with a hyperlink)....' I am aware of this prior to my visit. And I'm sure you can tell from the photos that we visited this place during the night and there were no luxuries of guided tour nor anybody around to offer us anything hence we only had the option to roam about the front area on our own. It is fair enough for us to comment that there were not much to see in proportionate to the space available and I am still holding to this opinion of mine.

    I hope this gives you a better understanding of the house. I suggest that you go for a historical tour the next time you visit. Cheers!

    --Cheryl :Thanks for your lengthy comment

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dear Cheryl,

    Thank you for your feedback. My intentions for commenting arent to oppose but to merely to increase awareness.

    I just feel that when one writes about a certain place/event and it goes public, he or she should gain more knowledge on the said venue before publishing it, to stick true to venue's true essence and purpose and to be responsible for the information you publish as a lot of people read your blog.

    I respect your opinions. Because we cant assume and expect other people to understand what the house is, that is why most historical buildings have guided tours to disseminate the correct information so that the general public can perceive the building according to its true essence.

    Adrian Cavendish

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for your feedback and I do appreciate your open-ness as well as info sharing on Suffolk House.

    This is a food blog hence I guess readers too should use their own discretion when assessing non-food related topics such as my opinion on the background and architecture of a heritage building as this one.

    Having said that, your points are taken hence the very reason you are seeing lights to your comments on my blog :) it would be much simpler for me to delete them than responding.

    ReplyDelete