Communal Table by Gen 根
Monica Tindall Seems we love to celebrate birthdays at Communal Table by Gen 根. Last year we were here for hubby’s birthday and today we return; a year older, a year wiser maybe… still just as excited to see what the team have dreamed up for their latest menu. It’s our first-time dining for lunch in the restaurant so I’m especially delighted by the natural daylight. The skylight and window walls allow for attractive illumination for photos. If you like to snap food pics as I do, you’ll appreciate this for sure.
As it’s a birthday, daytime drinking is encouraged, right? And, the only way to kick off a celebration is with bubbly, of course. La Prova by Sam Scott (RM220 bottle), an organic, biodynamic and natural wine, surely will mean no hangovers tomorrow ;-). This prosecco from Victoria’s King Valley is light and bright with plenty of blossoms, honeydew melon and a faint minerality.
Chef’s Menu
I have a hard time choosing what I want so am especially appreciative of the Chef’s Menu (RM 300). It includes two dishes from each category – the personal favourites of chefs from the current menu. Below I’ll also list the price if you’d like to order any of the items on their own.
Chef’s Menu – Communal Table by Gen 根
Snacks
Hearty cempedak fritters, Mandai (RM 10), are snacks you can really bite into. Made with cempedak skin, they’re brushed with a layer of kicap sambal, a sweet and spicy sauce, and garnished with cempedak seed paste and seeds. Canary yellow micro sawi flowers add colour to the crown.
The Oyster (RM15) is another generous snack and should indeed be plural as the betal leaf plate it comes on is actually topped with two oysters. They’ve been rolled in fish floss and sprinkled with shaved bottarga flakes (salted, cured fish roe famous in the south of Italy) and moistened with fermented banana mayonnaise.
Both plates have a thread of pungency, the former due to the smaller fruit cousin of jackfruit and the latter caused by fermentation. These are excellent choices, but if you’d like something a little tamer, there are also rice crackers and baby corn as options.
Small Plates
Dishes increase in size with the next selection of small plates. Herbal Tea Egg (RM45) is unexpectedly gently sweet in the most delicious way possible. Layer upon layer of mushrooms (fermented shitake, torched oyster and dehydrated enoki) surround the slow-cooked organic egg, which spills its soft yellow yolk when broken. Strips of black chicken and deep-fried puncak manis (sweet leaf) further bulk the bowl.
Cold flat Rice Noodles (RM 30) with local flower crab turns out to be one of our most-loved recipes. Tossed with deep-fried shallots, laksa leaf, ginger and fennel flowers, along with a tangy citrus and soy starfruit dressing, the plate it light, refreshing and very more-ish.
Bigs
When we reach the mains, our appetites are already near satiated. The Curry Rice (RM 40) and Stingray (RM 70), however, ensure that there is no question as to whether or not we’re well fed. The rice is warm in a clay pot and layered with duck confit, crispy potato shreds with garlic seasoning and a slow-cooked organic egg. There’s a deliciously creamy orange curry sauce on the side that can be mixed in at will. The pieces of duck make a tasty chew and crunchy chips lighten the textures. Woven around the plate, the ray has been baked with a tamarind glaze giving a deep, sticky coat. Plentiful spring onions contrast the deep hue of the fish’ skin and also freshen the flavours.
Desserts
One of the many things I value at Communal Table by Gen 根 is desserts that bring a meal to full fruition without making us feel regretful for consuming too much. The Tau Fu Fah (RM 25), soybean pudding, is mated with pickled longan and wild local honey granita. Lemongrass syrup on the side allows us to add to our preferred level of sweetness. Lastly, the Red Dates (RM 25) sweet is mini a quartet of warm puddings resembling my favourite sticky date dessert. They’re meant to be paired with white glutinous-rice gelato and lime mousse. In many ways, they’re both familiar and different but all the same, very very enticing.
Petit Fours
The Chef’s Menu concludes with a choice of durian or cempedak macarons. We select the cempedak and its flavour brings the meal back full circle reminding us of the first fruit fritter. Plated on a rustic wooden platter covered with dried cempedak seeds, and sided with a glass pot of lemongrass and pandan tea, it’s another aesthetically pleasing course.
Reasons to visit Communal Table by Gen 根: inventive contemporary Malaysian cuisine; serious portions that are perfect for sharing; highly recommend gourmets from the globe pay a visit.
Communal Table by Gen 根
68, Lebuh Presgrave 10300 Georgetown, Penang
en.penang@gmail.com
+6 012 578 3323
www.facebook.com/communaltablegen
Communal Table by Gen 根 Opening Hours
Tuesday to Thursday / 6 pm till late
Friday to Sunday / 2 pm till late
Closed on Mondays
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