Fine Dining Lunch @ Le Périgord, Penang

Having started operation in 2016, Le Périgord is a contemporary French fine dining restaurant in Penang, offering Penangites an opportunity to experience fine dining in a relatively affordable price. With stylish ambiance and a rather spacious setting, it yield a great pleasure afternoon or evening by enjoying a meal here, paired with a glass of delicate wine while chatting with friends.

The soup of the day is Potato Leek Soup, which turns out to be a classic good. Simple as the name suggests, the creamy potato mush carries an aromatic scent. Potato cubes are still tasted in the soup, acting as like the body of the soup.

The main course was served almost instantaneously after the appetizer. I had Grilled Salmon with Ponzu sauce, and it was served with butter rice and seasonal vegetable. The salmon was grilled to perfection, having slight crisp salmon skin with soft flesh, and the burnt texture was totally absent. The idea of dripping Ponzu sauce on top of the salmon was a good idea, as it provides a tangy sensation to the salmon.

Meanwhile, the butter rice acts as a carbohydrate part of the dish. I like the chef's idea of garnishing it with some flaky toppings, and the rice could be done better if it was more fluffy and softer.

While Tonkatsu certainly has nothing to do with French cuisine, it does click well with our taste buds. The usage of free range pork loin ensured the tenderness of the pork, and we were not able to tell it was pork if we were not reading the description of the dishes. Usage of panko crumbs was a bonus as it gave the pork cutlet a nice crisp texture.

The tonkatsu was sliced in thin cutlets to give a just nice chewing experience.  

On a sidebar note, the portion of the main dishes may be appear to be relatively smaller compared to the other eatery outlets. We were totally fine as it was just nice to give a three quarter full feeling. Big eaters might consider ordering some extra appetizers or desserts for a fuller feeling then.

The drink of the day was a cup of refreshing nutmeg juice. 

We were totally caught with surprise by the Périgord signature sakura cheesecake (RM 16 / slice). Made from imported edible sakura petal blended with sakura wine, sake and special ingredients, it yields an elusive and aromatic scent which we never tasted previously. Though the cheese flavor has been overshadowed by the sakura, this is actually an added point as it was nice. 

The cheese layer was dense and compact, cushioned by a bedding of biscuit crumbs. On a sidebar note, I actually ate the sakura petal but have no idea why it was extremely salty.

We like the thoughtful idea of having water served on every table in the wine bottles. The thoughtful server even helped us to put the water into the glass. Good service indeed, without incurring any service charges.