KEN HUNTS FOOD: Khoon Pastry House @ Argyll Road, Georgetown, Penang.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Khoon Pastry House @ Argyll Road, Georgetown, Penang.

Khoon Pastry House is truly one of the hidden gems in Penang. Forgotten by many, the quaint little pastry house recently went through a change- revamping the whole dining area while one may still notice that there is a touch of tradition still prevails in this snug space. In business since 1957, Khoon has all the while been famous for its pastries, the old Penangites would have at least, heard of the name. With business being competitive, Khoon Pastry House decides to roll out its Hainanese dishes where diners can hunt for the authentic Hainanese flavors of the yesteryears. We were deeply impressed by the flavors and thought that this place is worth recommending. Shepherd Pie, Hainanese Chicken Chop and Hainanese Spring Rolls are some of their signature dishes. Diners can also enjoy their range of luscious cakes and pastries, traditional snacks can also be found from the refrigerated cake counter. To find Khoon Pastry House, locate Odeon Cinema along Upper Penang Road and make a right turn into Argyll Road, you should be able to see Khoon Pastry House on your left shortly.

I was especially enamored for this dish- Beef Shepherd Pie (Rm 15.90), where the mashed Potato was lightly baked and served hot. The mashed was buttery tender, with a discernible aroma yet, not overly salted. The filling, on the other hand, may seem watery and bland but it was packed with flavor, the thickness was just perfect when it goes along with the mashed. Flavors were precisely calibrated and it was not needy for any extra sauces. If I were to nitpick, I would prefer the filling to contain more Beef for a meatier bite; otherwise, this was an almost-perfect dish.

Khoon Pastry House is not a one-trick pony. Another much lauded item was their Hainanese Chicken Chop (Rm 13.90), it appears to be deceptively simple and ordinary, but the flavors were able to "wow" me, especially the sauce. It was somewhat similar to Brown Sauce, with a unique touch of their own secret recipe and some Italian Herbs. The Chicken, on the other hand, was impressive either. I am not sure if the batter contains Shrimp Paste (Belacan) but it does posses a unique aroma and it was ethereal to go with the sauce. Recommended.

While we were amazed with the impressionable quality of the mains we had, the Hainanese Spring Rolls were just okay. The pastry skin was paper thin and the filling was generous but the dish was not able to "wow" us anymore; it could be due to the dishes we had prior to this were too good nevertheless. The filling of Spring Rolls was mainly Jicama and Chicken but the amount of Chicken was insignificant and we could barely taste it. The dish was also served together with a home-made Hainanese Worcestershire-dipping sauce.