Exclusive Wedding Dinner Package @ Pearl Palace Restaurant – Setia Pearl Island , Sungai Ara

“Setia Pearl Island, SP Setia, Pearl Restaurant? Where is it?” This is the first question that came in to my mind when I was told by my friend that he is going to organize his wedding dinner there.

Friend: “I tell you the restaurant is like a 5-star hotel. If I didn’t tell you this is just a normal restaurant, you might think that it is a high class restaurant in the hotel.”

Me: “Are you sure? I never knew about this place, is it located at rural area? How many people can it cater?”

Friend: “SP Setia is at Sungai Ara and the restaurant that can cater for 30 tables. It has a common hall which can cater for another 80 tables. The hall is very grand and elegant.”

Me: “Never heard about that, if I had the chance I will try it out.”

Right after my friend told me about this place I got a call from Gill from Gourmet Garden the following day for an invited food review at SP Setia Pearl Palace Restaurant. I am thinking what a coincidence as I have just asked my friend about it last night.

To go to Setia Pearl Island, you need to move further into Sungai Ara. For more details, you can contact them using the phone number provided or refer to the google map below. The restaurant that we are visiting is Pearl Palace Restaurant and it is located at 2nd floor of Setia Pearl Island.

Upon entering the entrance, it gave us a classical and oriental feeling.

All the exclusive sea horses and sea dragon are being displayed along the entrance.

The enormous abalones and scallops were displayed at the rack.

The giant sea cucumber and also the shark’s fin were placed on top of the same rack. The price of the items on this rack are no doubt extremely expensive.

If you think the items on the rack is expensive enough, check out the thousand-year old of ginseng, it may cost you a fortune. The price of this masterpiece can simply cost you a terrace house.

The cozy and relaxing ambiance on the overall restaurant.

The view outside of the restaurant. You can see the airport and also the development of Penang.

Fish Steamboat 鱼锅 (Medium RM45) was our starter. The reason for its name is due to the majority of the ingredients are fish. The soup was fish-based. The serving of the meat was garoupa fish and in the soup you could also find some fried fish fillets. The soup was milky and full of fish taste. It is great for someone looking for a healthy and non-fried dish. Personally, I love this dish.

Steamed Beancurd with Salted Egg and Prawn 百花蛋香豆腐蒸凤尾虾 (Small RM25, Medium RM35, Large RM45). Another healthy dish which has the combination of steamed Japanese beancurd, fresh prawn and salted egg slices. However, I personally feel that the arrangment of this dish and the previous fish steamboat has made the flow of banquet a bit dull. It would be great to have something in contrast  such as a spicy dish or some fried dishes after a bowl of fish soup.

Braised Fresh Mushroom with Bamboo Shoots 浓汤竹笙扒玉菇
(Small RM15, Medium RM22, Large RM35). This dish is a combination of enoki mushrooms (金针菇) on top, bamboo shoots as base and tomatoes at the edge. It is a good choice for vegetarians. However, to distribute this dish evenly to all the diners on  the table was another challange as the enoki mushroom were sticked together.

Braised Dried Abalone and Sea Product in Claypot 小干鲍烩海味煲 (Small RM80, Medium RM160, Large RM220). As for this dish it was cooked with Japanese dried abalones, scallops, sea cucumber, dried oysters and green peas. It was an exclusive dish to have. The abalones were cooked long enough to absorb the taste of the seafood. After the ingredients were braised for sometime, the dish was served hot in a claypot. I personally love this dish especially on the exclusive abalones and scallops.

Deep Fried Chicken With Marmite Sauce 妈蜜鸡 (Small RM12, Medium RM20, Large RM30). The chicken was marinated with marmite and was then deep fried. The aroma was nice and it really lured you to try out. The taste was slightly sweet and it would be perfect if it was less sweet.

Pomfret in Two Preparation 俩味斗昌 (Market Price). For fish lovers like me, you are going to love this. The fish was fresh and  wa served in both pan-fried and steamed version. What an excellent combination to have!

Fried Wet Hor Fun with Slice Abalone 鲍片湿炒河粉,  the hor fun was cooked with slices of abalone. This dish with abalones was specially prepared for this review. The abalones tasted great although they were from the can.  However, the hor fun was not very fresh as it stranded after a few stirs. There is still room for improvement for this dish. Price for Hor Fun without Abalone slices (Small RM12, Medium RM24, Large RM38).

Double Boiled Aloe Vera with Red Dates 冰糖芦荟红枣 (Small RM8, Medium RM18, Large RM30). Ladies, if you care for your skin and want to be good-looking, this dessert with aloe vera, red dates and wolf berries soup will fulfill you needs. For some it might be too sweet, but to me it was just nice.

Overall, some of the dishes at this place were excellent while some still have room for improvement. The price with such an exclusive and high range dining ambience is considered value for money. The price of wedding packages are also available as below:

• For year 2010 (including ballrooom rental) available in RM368+, RM428+, RM588.
• For year 2010 (excluding ballrooom rental) available in RM338+.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Quick Facts:

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

Operation hours: 11am – 3pm and 6pm – 10pm (Close on Monday)
Contact: 604-643 9888, 644 9355 Fax: 604-645 9888
Address: 8 Persiaran Kelicap, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Penang.

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