Forum Chinese Restaurant – Great Chinese Cuisine, Island Plaza Tanjung Tokong

Feasting with suckling pig has always been an exclusive banquet in Chinese cuisine. Putting cruelty thoughts aside, suckling pig is a piglet which is fed on its mother’s milk and slaughtered between the ages of two and six weeks. The skin of the piglet is so crunchy and its meat is so soft and succulent. There are not much supplies of suckling pig in the market. Therefore, the price could be very high and has been classified as one exclusive dish.

There are quite a number of restaurants in town which serve suckling pigs. However, less than a handful of restaurants are able to preprare a good suckling pig dish. I have come across one restaurant which is able to prepare up to standard suckling pig dish and that is Forum Chinese Restaurant.

Forum Chinese Restaurant or 富臨閣 is not a very high profile restaurant and usually it is not crowded with people during the normal days unless there are wedding dinners or functions.

It is not hard to locate Forum Chinese Restaurant. The restaurant is located inside Island Plaza. If you are driving from Gurney via Jalan Tanjong Tokong, you will see Island Plaza is on your right, and Forum restaurant is on the 3^rd floor of the shopping centre.

The set below is from Forum Set Menu (SET C) – RM688++

Baked Lobster Combination – baked cheese lobster, prawn fritters with mayonnaise and also fish maw stuffed with minced prawn.

The prawn fritters were fresh. The baked cheese lobster was rich with cheesy taste and  was very delicious when served along with the sweet and succulent lobster meat. As for the fish maw stuffed with mince prawn, the fish mau had been cut into thin slices and it didn’t have the usual fishy smell.

Braised Shark’s Fin Soup with Shredded Fish Maw & Crab Meat – the shark’s fin had been braised with chicken stock and completed with shredded fish maw and crab meat with a touch of prawn roe.

As for this dish, the shark’s fins are aplenty. However, the taste of this soup was a bit mild compared to another type with dried scallops which I had tried before. My personal opinion is the fish maw had diluted the taste.

Roasted Suckling Piglet served with Slice Buns, the piglet had been roasted until the outer skin was crunchy while the meat was soft and succulent. The preparation of suckling piglet at this restaurant is one of the best in town.

The skin was so crunchy, yet it was not too oily.

The unique bun slices were served together with the suckling pig. For those who prefer something to go along with the suckling piglet’s skin, you may have it together with the bun.

Of course, the skin and the bun would not be complete without homemade sweet sauce and some spring onions.

After enjoying the crunchy skin slices, the meat of the whole piglet was cut into small pieces. You may choose to have the meat stir-fried or remained its original form. We chose the latter so that we could enjoy its tasty and soft meat.

Sauteed Two Kind of Vegetables –the dish was complete with fried lotus root, green beans, celery and black fungus with a finishing touch of deep fried salted squid and almond flakes.

The was just a usual mixed veggie dish. The plus point is on the generous amount of almond flakes and fried salted squid slices.

Steamed Garoupa Fish with Shredded Mushrooms in Soy Sauce – fresh garoupa had been steamed with top quality soy sauce, garnished with chives, spring onions, mushroom slices and ginger.

The fish was fresh and the meat was cooked with the correct timing. The texture was so soft. The only drawback is the fish is a little too small to cater for 10 pax.

Braised Village Chicken with Fresh Ginseng – the chicken was boiled for a long time with herbs like ginseng, wolfberry and dried longan.

The soup was very delectable, it was full fresh ginseng smell. For those who always work till late night or have a weak body, this soup will replenish your energy and make you stronger.

Pan-Fried Crispy Egg Noodles with Seafood – the crispy egg noodle had been placed as the base of the dish, while it was topped with Chinese cabbage (小白菜), mushrooms, carrots, fish fillets, pork slices and prawns. It was then covered with starchy gravy.

This type of dish is always served to stuff up those who do feel full after the entire feast.

Double Boiled Pear with Snow Fungus – The pear was cut into cubes and boiled together with wolfberries and rock sugar.

This hot dessert marked the end of the whole banquet. It was definitely a very refreshing and throat-soothing healthy dessert.

Overall, most of the food here are delicious. There are plentiful of parking space in Island Plaza. The usual day will be not crowded with people, and the pricing is at the middle to slightly higher range. The restaurant manager Mr. Ooi is a very nice person who will try his best to satisfy all his customers.

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
WIFI Available

Operation hours: 11:00am – 3:00pm; 6:30pm – 10:00pm (Monday – Saturday). 9:30am – 3:00pm; 6:30pm – 10:00pm (Sunday and Public Holiday)
Contact: 04-899 0088
Address:803-01, 3rd Floor, Island Plaza, 118 Jalan Tokong, 10470 Penang.
GPS: 5° 45′ 01.84″ N, 100° 30′ 60.66″ E