A fun fact about Catersmith: our small team has an array of different nationalities. We’ve got a French man who loves fried rice but won’t touch noodles, an Australian whose taste buds were sharpened in culinary school, and of course the Singaporeans from every race you can imagine.
You’d think it's hard to find a cuisine that all of us would like. But when we had the chance to try out the Penang CNY menu, everyone comfortably found a favourite.
If your invited guests are a diverse bunch like us, Penang food is the way to go.
Catersmith’s Top Picks
Sam's favourite
Salted Golden Egg Prawns
Pop off the prawn head, suck on its juices and mop up the salted egg sauce with the plump flesh – that’s my SOP with this dish.
The sauce was definitely the highlight for me. It was as thick as wet sand, with an intense flavour of salted egg yolks. Forget forks and spoons - this is a dish you should dive straight into with your fingers!
Diana's favourite
Penang Lor Bak
This humble-looking dish had me doing a double-take. I was expecting a pot of braised pork stew, but I knew this was a halal buffet!
Then I found out that Lor Bak is somewhat a version of Ngoh Hiang or five-spice meat rolls. What’s most awesome – this chicken has the texture and roasted flavour of char siew.
Haikal's favourite
Penang Mango Chicken
This is like KFC, Penang version! The chicken is deep-fried with a super crispy skin, then topped with a tangy, spicy sauce with shredded green mango and onion slices on top.
Imagine Thai green mango salad on top of crispy chicken. Simple but lovely.
Irwin's favourite
Lobster Thermidor
It’s challenging to master the art of cooking a lobster for in-house dining, even more so when it’s for a catering line! I was impressed to find that the lobster was still succulent, thanks to the creamy, eggy Thermidor sauce.
These fat little lobsters have been lovingly deshelled, had their flesh well-marinated, then stuffed back in their shells for a good bake. This is a good dash of French food on a very Asian line.
Janice's favourite
Assam Laksa
For those who are used to our local coconut milk-based laksa, this might be a shock to your taste buds. The Penang Assam Laksa is sour! That makes it really sedap. I loved the rather odd addition of pineapple cubes, mint leaves and ginger flowers.
I also liked the thick, bouncy noodles. Chef said that it was specially imported from Penang. It’s like a cross between Mee Tai Mak and Hong Kong fish noodles.
All-in-all, this is something you’d never find in Singapore, and apparently approved by the Penang locals too!
No wonder the team had serious Penang-food-withdrawals the next day. Interested to give these Penang dishes a try? Place an order now for Penang Prosperity CNY Premium Buffet.
