Farquhar Mansion, Lebuh Farquhar – Soothing Ambience Fine Dining

There are many heritage mansions in Penang Island. Many of them had been restored to its previous glory state and converted into commercial use. These mansions are ideal for private upscale clubs, restaurants or museums. Among the many mansions that was recently restored was Farquhar Mansion. Located at Lebuh Farquhar, the owner had spent huge amount of money to restore the mansion. One remarkable difference of this mansion compared to others is the structure and building materials were exactly the same as the original.

The opening of Farquhar Mansion dated 2 months back and it aims at providing fine foods in an stylish and luxurious ambience. To go to this place, if you are driving from Penang bridge or Jetty, you will surely drive through Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah. This will lead you to the Western Cemetery on your left and on your right you will see Lexus Service Centre. Make a right turn which will lead you to a U-turn back at Lebuh Farquhar. Keep driving for another 150 metres and you will see Farquhar Mansion on your right.

For those that would like to stroll and loiter a while before entering the mansion, there are a few couches provided in the compound of the mansion.

Once you feel you are ready to be all sophisticated and stylish you are ready to enter the mansion. Just like other fine-dining mansions, the interior design is posh and classic. Most of the layout of the structure had been restored except for the flooring which is still in good condition.

The liquor bar that serves wine and other types of liquor.

Most of the tables catered for couples except a few tables which can cater for more than 2. The reason behind this is to give diners more privacy and a comfortable dining experience.

For those that prefer outdoors or even taking a puff, you can always take the outdoor seats.

There are also private rooms for members which are located at the top floor of the mansion.

The private lounge for members that play different types of classical and jazz music every day.

Another private dining area.

Each private room has a unique theme.

Set Dinner – RM178++ with the list of dishes below.

Pre-Starter

• White spoon -tempura chicken topped with orange tangy and mayo sauce
• Black spoon – mozzarella cheese topped with romaine tomato
• Glass – air dried duck breast with caviar

Bread & Butter

There were 3 types of homemade butter:

• Herbs
• Standard
• Tomato

Serving together with the butter was a Logan bread, the bread was homemade and it was served hot from the oven.

Pre appetizer
Poached egg cooked under 60’C for 3 hours, served with premium salmon, mushroom, caviar, salad with balsamic dressing and a thin slice of toasted bread.

The poached egg was very soft and smooth. No wonder it has to be prepared under a constant temperature of 60’C in 3 hours.

Appetizer

Foie Gras – with mixed greens, Farquhar dressing, roasted apple & port wine emulsion.

The soft and creamy foie gras mixed well with the farquhar dressing as it contained some sourish sweetness from the grape.

Soup
Clear mushroom soup with royal custard (made of egg white and milk), dehydrated mushrooms, balsamic sauce and olives.

The taste of the soup was clear and refreshing after a series of rich-intense appetisers. The dehydrated mushrooms were indeed dehydrated as they tasted dry and they did not absorb the goodness from the soup.

Main
Cod fish – with tapenade, prawn and scallop ravioli, potato cream, roma tomato confit and herbs emulsion.

The cod fish was very smooth and tasted rich. The ravioli was made of edible charcoal and it blended well with the scallop and prawn on sauce.

Lamb Rack – with lamb shank pie, stewed vegetable and lamb jus.

The marination of the lamb with salt and pepper was slightly overwhelming with strong pepper scent. This had covered the original taste of the lamb.

Pre-dessert

Creme brulée with vanilla flavour.

The crème brulee was prepared in a mouthful size. It tasted creamy and was simply divine.

Dessert

Chocolate & Almond Crusted Pumpkin Bar

The pumpkin paste mixed well with chocolate base. It was a rich but unique dessert.

The mineral water – RM22 per bottle, Pinot Noir Red wine- RM25

Cappuccino – RM12

Overall, this place has everything a fine-dining restaurant should have. The only difference here is there are many diners who brought little kids to this restaurant, which couldn’t be seen in other fine-dining restaurants. Another thing to note is some of the staffs here are still new and might not have an in-depth knowledge of the dishes. Parking is not a concern as there are private parking slots for diners and members. Since this place serves fine foods, the price of the food is high. I will only dine here when there are special occasions.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price (more stars, more reasonable)
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Quick Facts:

Family Friendly
Parking
Pork Free
Alcohol
Credit Card
Smoking
Reservation
Private Room
WIFI Available