When the pursuit of high culinary art comes into the picture, where should ego reside? News regarding some of the world’s haute-est restaurants is the perfect sample for such discourse. Are these places haughty fortresses where imperious head chefs flex their innovative and technical chops to the extreme, while guests (and staff) relegate themselves to the humble roles of subjects genuflecting to genius? When does experimental ambition start to impede upon the comfort of the diner, and should we let it?
Now might be the most salient time to recall that the joy of cooking and the joy of eating need not be mutually exclusive, and there is a rising outpost in George Town that encapsulates this spirit of happiness with a sincerity that can be tough to come by. Mémoire Molecular Gastronomy Dining on Lebuh Pantai is the brainchild of award-winning chef Chong Chian Fung, who has trained in Singapore’s most prestigious hotel kitchens over the past two decades. He returned to Penang in 2023 to embark on his own one-man venture, marrying familiar Malaysian ingredients with cutting-edge methods. This year, the establishment was recognised in the Michelin Guide Kuala Lumpur and Penang’s Selected list.
You might remember the heyday of molecular gastronomy happening around 10 to 15 years ago, when freeze-dried powders and transparent chips were mind-blowing novelties. Chong admits much of the rage has died down since what was once hailed as futuristic food is now just… food. Nevertheless, he remains loyal to his penchant for pushing limits, hoping to make culinary modernism approachable by way of native nostalgia.
As soon as our reservation is made (and yes, despite the lack of a confirmation screen, it does go through), Chong gets in touch to check in on dietary preferences. Closer to the date, he shares selections for mains and additional supplements, and we opt for the six-course dinner tasting menu (RM288, or around $93). There is no wine pairing, but a decent list of bottles plus three to four house whites and reds ranging between RM48 and RM68 provide a healthy variety for a spot this small.
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A 12-seater countertop makes up all of this very intimate restaurant, which though tight, thankfully does not feel too cluttered during service. We can easily glimpse into the kitchen from our angle, and Chong is evidently conscious about ensuring the stations are immaculately organised. Take note: Mémoire is a bit unstrategically located on the ground floor of a Baba Nyonya eatery; be not discouraged by the mixed signage outside.
We are handed a drip bottle of distilled pickled nutmeg liquid to saturate a white coin, and it soon unfurls into a fragrant hand towel, putting us in a science project mood from the get-go. This charming prelude of audience participation becomes a recurring theme later on.
The first edible item is an adorable bubble of cherrywood-smoked brioche with kapitan curry-flavoured dab of home-churned butter, basil oil and chicken jerky for a warm and welcoming umami bomb.
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The owner insists on making nearly everything from scratch, and even certain ingredients, like calamansi and ginger flower, come from his father’s garden.
Mackerel otak-otak, black garlic tuile, passionfruit and pickle
An amuse-bouche of mackerel otak-otak, passionfruit mayonnaise and cucumber pickle between two black garlic tuiles arrives on a fog-spewing pedestal, tipping us off to Chong’s flair for showmanship.
The bite is a good blend of creaminess, acidity, tropical freshness and mild fermented funk, but texture-wise, the parfait is a little chewier than the traditional fish cake.
Chong reaches for the light switch before taking a torch to our next dish, a salad of cuttlefish, beetroot, green mango, cucumber and paku ferns tossed in a shrimpy sauce — nutty, tangy, spicy and invigorating. Its likeness to Penang-style rojak, down to the fermented prawn paste and satisfying crunch, is impressive. However, the presentation leaves behind a somewhat jarring smell of smoke.
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The incandescent Light of the Forest, a rojak-inspired salad
Next comes a remarkably amusing crispy canvas of roti canai accompanied by five “paints”, complete with a brush and palette knife, which gets a chuckle out of us. We shamelessly overindulge in the artistic process, decorating our piece with colourful vegetable purées and sambal curated to reference the various accoutrements customarily served with the flatbread.
Would it taste better to devour the sheet hot off the skillet? Sure. Might this put off the very pedantic gourmands among us? Not unlikely. Still, we delight in the chef’s gesture of making his diner feel involved, and after our whimsical activity, the cracker is tastier for it. Also, in case you are thinking it, Chong assures the tools are properly cleaned and food safe.
Floral creations painted on roti canai
For our main, we opt for the out-of-the-box dish of dry-aged duck with ciku on mustard mashed potato. The protein is tender and meaty with a glossy, snappy skin reminiscent of Chinese roasted duck, and stands up strong against the savoury caramel-like ciku hoisin sauce and fantastic chimichurri chilli. Other elements could be pared back: the fruit compote is simply too saccharine, and the fried ramen arch, though pretty, is tough. More successful is the grouper roulade with beancurd skin and prawn mince, incredibly sweet and flaky with a skillfully achieved crust, plated with confited cherry tomatoes in a rich bisque.
Dessert draws upon Chong’s personal anecdote of wandering around a night market snacking on muah chee and bubble tea. Milky teh tarik ice cream slumbers beneath a soft mochi blanket, with a smattering of chocolate, peanuts and fried shallots to evoke old-school versions of the chewy snack. A quartet of petits fours are presented under biscuit tin “cloches” as the evening’s denouement. Salty cendol jelly is a win, but the explosive onde-onde sphere and whole white chocolate-coated calamansi comes off shocking rather than scrumptious, while the swirl of hawthorn leather is just fine. We respect the vision, but a reserved selection of perhaps just two mignardises might have helped round the meal out more elegantly.
In retrospect, one has to admire Chong’s bravery and inventiveness. Even a cursory glance at each course belies the punishing amount of prep required for each component, and to the owner’s credit, he does a right job of abiding by his mission statement: crafting meals that both draw on a local collective memory, and themselves leave a lasting impact. Some fine tuning and tact will surely go a long way. That honest connection to a passionate chef who cooks just as much for himself, his craft and his guests, though, we will not soon forget.
