KY eats – Hainanese Delights at 1926 Heritage Hotel, Penang

A couple weeks ago I went back to Penang for a short stay, while I usually take every chance possible to catch up with Penang street foods, this time I decided to try something slightly different by going to the Hainanese Delights restaurant within 1926 Heritage Hotel on Burma Road (where I also spent the night, but that’ll be on another post)

chicken curry kapitan at Hainanese Delights, 1926 Heritage Hotel

The restaurant is actually operated by my friend’s dad since about 4-5 years ago. A true blue Hainanese family who follows the traditional recipes of the forefathers.

For the four of us, we started out with the chicken curry kapitan (RM 15) with some “Bengali roti”, the traditional Indian bread that’s has a crispy brown crust but super fluffy inside. The chicken peels off the bones easily, and the curry kapitan carries an intense flavor that goes very well with the equally fragrant bread, I can imagine having this as a great breakfast.

braised lamb with lady’s fingers, lorbak & spring roll

Penang lorbak, or lohbak (RM 5.50 per roll) is usually made with pork, but as this is a pork free restaurant, they substitute it with chicken. I must admit that I had my doubts at first, but they’ve really done a fine job with the poultry and the result is a version of lorbak that live up to the reputation.

The spring roll (RM 5.50 per roll) here is another one of their best sellers, stuffed with crab meat and other ingredients. Dipping it with their specially mixed lea & perrins sauce that carries a hint of mustard resulting in a pretty complex and rather delicious appetiser that’s unlike your normal run off the mill spring rolls. This is something I’ll definitely order again.

Braised lamb with lady’s fingers (RM 20) consists of 5 slabs of tender New Zealand lamb covered in brown sauce that goes perfectly with those steamed okra. You can have it with some steamed rice, or perhaps, beer?

assam prawns, Hainanese fried mee

Assam prawns (RM 7.00 each, min 4) is more of a Nyonya dish than Hainanese (I cooked this too), but the chef did a fine job preparing this dish, though I thought it would be great if they serve it with some sambal.

Lastly, we also tried the Hainanese fried mee (RM 8.90) from the kitchen. A dish that can definitely stand on its own with a combination of vegetables, chicken, prawns, and a side of sambal with a kick.

These were just a small sample of what is offered at Hainanese Delights, other dishes include lobster thermidor, crab mornay, Hainanese mushroom soup, inchee kay bin, yam duck, lamb stew, lamb curry, and of course, their pretty famous Hainanese chicken rice (which I had to forgo trying due to schedule). I’m going to bring mom here next time I’m back!

wenqi and her awesome cakes, tianchad & gf, KY & wenqi

We ended the night with some cookies and cheese cakes made by WenQi. These are some really delicious cakes made with quality ingredients, and she is starting to sell them at the restaurant and on her own as well. Will update this space when that is ready!

Thank you WenQi and see you again!

Address:
Hainanese Delights
1926 Heritage Hotel
227 Jalan Burma,
10050 Georgetown, Penang
GPS: 5.42415, 100.32063
Tel: 04-228 1926