Michelin Guides and Michelin Star rates are a series of annual guide books published by the French company Michelin. “Michelin Star” is a hallmark of fine dining quality. Restaurants that had been awarded or rated by Michelin tend to tout their Michelin Star status. In Penang there are not many restaurants that had been awarded with Michelin Star. I was a believer in Michelin rating until a recent visit to one of the Michelin-awarded restaurants.
The Michelin-awarded restaurant that I had visited recently was Tasty Congee & Noodle Wantun Shop.
The location of the restaurant is at the 5th floor of Gurney Paragon.
The layout of the restaurant was very cosy and the level of cleanliness was high. This place was very family-friendly too.
The cutleries looked clean and nice but unfortunately they were made from high-quality plastic which looked like they were made from porcelain. It was a huge disappointment for those who prefers non-plastic cutleries.
House Specialty Wontan Noodles in Soup – RM15.80, the noodle was cooked and drained before it was filled with wantun soup. It was then added with 6 pieces of wantun and sprinkled with spring onions.
The noodle was al dente and the wontan filling was very fresh. The taste of MSG was not significant, which is a plus point. However, a small bowl of noodle with just 6 wantons, some spring onions and a “non-edible” Michelin star cost a bombing RM15.80 per bowl! I believe there are many stalls in Penang that can prepare a similar or even better wanton noodle than here and the price is only a fraction of this.
Roast Duck with Rice – RM16.80, well roasted duck served with a bowl of white rice and some green vegetables.
The taste of the roast duck was good. However, the combination of roast duck with plain white rice only was too dry. It is understood that in Hong Kong most of the people had their roast duck with rice that way but this is definitely not Penangites’ style. Therefore, sometimes to capture the market for that area it requires thorough study of the taste of the local people whilst maintaining the quality and authenticity of the food. My suggestion was to provide an accompanying sauce for this dish in a separate bowl as this serves as an option to those who prefers a sauce for the plain rice or the roast duck.
Noodles with Barbecued Pork – RM15.80, the barbecued pork slices were placed on top with green veggie and based with dried wontan noodle.
Among the 3 dishes that we ordered, I still prefer this one. At least, the gravy served as a balance for the barbecue pork slices and also the noodle was not too dry. However, again with the price of RM15.80 for a bowl of wanton noodle was on the high side for the consumption of average Penangites.
Overall, the place is family-friendly and the car park is not a problem at the mall. The authenticity versus localization on certain dishes need to be re-looked at. Michelin awarded “1 star” for this restaurant and I am also awarding “1 star” to this restaurant for the price of the food.
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 (Private Area) | |
| WIFI Available | |
Operation hours: 11:am – 10:30am (Open Daily)
Contact: 019- 688 3366
Address: Shop L5-01, Level 5, Gurney Paragon Mall, Pesiaran Gurney, 10250, Penang.
GPS: 5.436282,100.311995d
The wanton noodle, both and dry are overpriced, ie. Rm16 and RM17 for one dry and one soup. The pork belly was also overpriced with about 15 peices of pork belly and around RM20 with a glass of warm water and one pu erh tea the total cost is more than RM70 for only two persons. They are overpriced. Will not go there anymore.
RGDS