Penang 2013 - Five27 Cafe at Straits Quay

The main reason we went to Straits Quay was to try out a new restaurant Five27. This was touted as the first "New Nordic-inspired" restaurant in Malaysia - with an emphasis on clean, healthy flavours and the freshest ingredients. The chef is said to have trained in Sweden and cooked for high-profile stars and celebrities.

The restaurant's modern European design is quite appealing. Large full height glass doors facing the marina let in lots of natural light.

As we were there for lunch and being new to the restaurant, we opted for the Special Lunch Menu which came with an Appetizer, Main Course and Dessert.

The Nordic Green Salad was quite well presented and the greens were impeccably fresh - served with a dill mustard dressing. If you were expecting edible flowers and fresh herbs from the garden you would be disappointed though.

Mains was a selection of wraps. We chose the Chili & Peanut Crusted Pork Loin with Pickled Vegies wrapped in Vietnamese rice paper. It was served with sweet potato mash and green pea sauce. The pork was very nicely seasoned and we liked the combination of textures and flavours from the different ingredients. 

The 2nd wrap was Gingery Apricot Glazed Chicken with herbs wrapped in a tortilla, served with black quinoa, yam chips and a mushroom sauce. Again the variety of textures and flavours was nice.

The big disappointment was the dessert. It was a bit mean in size, and the chocolate cake was dry.

Five27 is an interesting concept and we would definitely go back to try the other items on the menu. It would seem that dessert is not their strength though. Based on my recent search, the restaurant has moved to a new location on Chulia Street. The setting looks quite beautiful and definitely worth a visit.