KEN HUNTS FOOD: Halfwake Cafe @ Lebuh Melayu, Georgetown, Penang.

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Halfwake Cafe @ Lebuh Melayu, Georgetown, Penang.

The chic, vibrant industrial decor of Halfwake Cafe honors the decrepit heritage building at Lebuh Melayu well. The run-down building was unappealing from the outside but as you traipse up the stairs, it leads you to a well-transformed, young and urban dining space, seemingly perfect for generating eye-catchy Instagram posts. The place is simple as a cafe, as elegant as a restaurant, and as cool as a bar. It has an elevated small stage for live band performance which adds a sense of theater to the overall experience. The menu shows no lackluster, though it proffers limited offerings; all of them were painstakingly created. Halfwake Cafe is not without a downside, the place opens on the evening of Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only (from 6 pm). Nevertheless, it is still a cool place that all cafe hoppers should mark their attendance, for its composite elements of urban-heritage design.

Sushi Fillet with Trio Lemon Butter Sauce (Rm 20) was less-substantial, few pieces of carefully seared Dory Fillet were served with their proudly created Trio Lemon Butter Sauce (English Parsley, Tomato and Mayonnaise-like Sauce), roasted Potatoes and fresh Greens dressed with Dijon Honey Mustard. The Fish possessed a meaty, firm texture sans the undesired fishy taste but it did not manage to excite me. The sauces were great, certainly intriguing but we would prefer some other types of Fish over Dory. The Dijon Honey Mustard was lovely, though it can be a little monotonous towards the end, the slightly acidic sauces counter balanced the tartness and everything worked well together.

We concluded the meal with a satisfying sweet note. White Chocolate Panna Cotta with Banana Caramel Topping (Rm 11) was absolutely delicious, though not as wobbly as we'd expected, the Panna Cotta was deliberately seasoned to the right sweetness and jeweled with Banana Caramel as well as squiggles of Chocolate sauce. The amalgamation works, the Banana Caramel introduced a fruity flavor and buttery-nutty texture to the dessert.