EAT: Christmas Menu at Dining Room, Macalister Mansion

The Macalister Mansion is a gorgeous, boutique hotel  which is located along the historic Macalister Road in Georgetown, Penang. The Macalister Mansion is a 100-year old colonial mansion which was built in the early 1900s and have been restored into the beautiful state currently. Within the mansion, there are food and beverage outlets which is branded as distinct rooms in the mansion; Dining Room, The Den, Living Room, The Cellar, The Lawn and 8 Rooms.

This really reminds me of the many movies/dramas we watched of the huge mansion or palace, which has different names with unique concepts and themes. It sounds like a very interesting place to visit if anyone had the opportunity to. As for me, I’ve had the absolute pleasure of dining at Macalister Mansion’s  Dining Room, thanks to the gracious head chef, Mr Johnson Wong.

The Dining Room is a fine-dining restaurant of a white colonial decor, with a giant faux white tree in the centre of the room. As you enter the doors to the restaurant, you’ll be greeted by the courteous waiters/waiteress who will then guide you to your seats. Calvin and I had unfortunately been caught in a massive jam which took us 9 hours to reach Penang, but Chef Johnson Wong and his impeccable team had still graciously hosted us despite us arriving much later than scheduled. 

For our dinner in the Dining Room, Chef Johnson have prepared us two different course meals; one is the current menu that they are serving and another is the Christmas Menu which I have the privileged to sample before it was launched. As Christmas is coming in a few days, I have decided to focus on just the Christmas Menu at Dining Room for this post.

* * * * * * * * * *

To start the meal, we were served with four different canapés ; Orange Sorbet and Basil, Smoked Fish Cracker, Mushroom “Bao” and Tomato and Balsamic Tart. These canapés are finger foods, which often eaten in a single bite. I love how there were differing textures in these four canapés, you have the sorbet which is icy cold, then crispy with the cracker, soft with mushroom bun and crunchy with the tart.

| Orange Sorbet and Basil |

| Smoked Fish Cracker|

| Tomato and Balsamic Tart & Mushroom “Bao” |

Next up, was the Amuse Bouche of Beef Bacon, Mascarpone, Buckwheat. The word Amuse Bouche  actually translates to “amuse the mouth”, which I found apt to describe the wonder I just ate. It was sinful, yet delicious to sink into the Italian cream cheese and bite into the crunchy buckwheat and salty bits of beef bacon.

| Beef Bacon, Mascarpone, Buckwheat |

To kick-start the course, we were served with the Garden of Macalister Mansion. It’s one of the most gorgeous plate I’ve ever seen, too pretty to be eaten. For tomatoes lovers, this dish is the one for you. The inspiration behind it was to use the Momotaro tomatoes , serving both the flesh and the jelly of the tomatoes. The base of the dish is also of jelly texture, then topped with burrata (a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream) and basil.

| Garden of Macalister Mansion |

The next dish, My Interplay of “Tuna Nicoise” arrived, gorgeously plated as well. Tuna was Calvin’s favourite fish, so he was delighted to try this dish and my, oh my, it didn’t disappoint. We were served with Chef Johnson Wong’s interpretation on this classic tuna nicoise salad, where the slices of tuna was topped with fermented duck egg, drizzled with truffle dressing and paired with a mash of black olives on the sides. If you love olives, the black olives are heavenly to your tastebuds. It’s an explosion of flavour, the olives when mashed produces a stronger taste so you really get that oomph with it.

| My Interplay of “Tuna Nicoise” |

We had the Organic Farmed Egg, which is a corn based dish where Chef used Baby Maize Cob, Cameron Sweetcorn and Corn Flower. topped with the Organic Farmed Egg Yolk. I love eating corns, all sorts of them so this dish is really one of my favourite. The combination of them all, coupled with the runny yolk which added a perfect, unctuous texture to the corn. Yummy, would be an understatement here.

| Organic Farmed Egg |

Andaman Lobster was next, where bisque emulsion is served together with charcoal leek and peanut crumbles. Bisque is actually a smooth, creamy soup made from the lobster. With this bisque emulsion, the taste of the lobster is itensified, and you can taste the subtle richness of cream. The combination of both is a perfect marriage, one that is pleasurable to taste.

| Andaman Lobster |

| Palate Cleanser |

Then, for the Palate Cleanser, we had an icy lemon flavour mixed with toddy palm and topped with nutmeg. We were then served the main courses for the meal, which was the Tooth Fish and 12 Days Aged Duck, a white meat and a red meat respectively. I liked the idea of being able to able to have both white and red meat, although my preference have been white meat. Having more variety is always welcomed for me.

The Tooth Fish is served in a lemon consommé, giving it a citrus refreshing taste to the fish, couscous and celery. The tooth fish is a family of the cod species, which explains why it looks and taste similar. There is a springy, nice texture to it. As for the 12 Days Aged Duck, one bite into the duck and boy, am I hooked. Having the duck aged, helped to intensify the flavour ensuring the duck meat is thoroughly flavoured. Every bite of it had the smokey duck richness, and is paired with cabbage, burnt onion and celery.

| Tooth Fish |

| 12 Days Aged Duck |

Before we end the dinner, Chef Johnson Wong mentioned to us that we had another two course of desserts! The first one is the pre-dessert and followed by the dessert itself! The pre-dessert is called The Rose, which is granite, beetroot and dill. The granite, is an icy cold desserts which probably got its name for its similar appearance to the granite stone.  As for the dessert, we were served the Winter Expression. As with the Christmas season, a meal is not complete without the chocolate yule log, served with the eggnog ice cream and winter berries. Even for a non-chocolate fan, I found myself taking more bites of this dessert as it was delicious!

| The Rose |

| Winter Expression |

Despite how frazzled we were, we thoroughly enjoyed the many dishes of 8-course dinner experience, prepared specially for us by Chef Johnson Wong. The ambiance there was cosy and very romantic for couples. It can get a little cold though, so be sure to have a scarf with you (for the ladies!). I wished I had more time to take pictures of the restuarant, but by the time dinner ended it was already 12 AM! So, once again, I must extend my sincerest thank you(s) to the amazing team at Dining Room of Macalister Mansion for the impeccable service.

* * * * * * * * * *

This Christmas Menu, priced at RM358 nett per person is available on December 24 and 25, and you can already make the reservation by calling 04-2283888 or email them at contactus@macalistermansion.com. There is a wine pairing option if you fancy, which is an additional RM 160 per person.

// Dining Room //

228 Macalister Road,
10400 George Town,
Penang, Malaysia.

(011) 3742 0098
(04) 2283 888

* * * * * * * * * *