Belachan Tapas Bar Review: They Tantalised Our Tastebuds and Pushed the Envelope with Local Ingredients
For those who are familiar with the family restaurant Sambal which marries Oriental flavours and Western cooking methods on Beach Street, its proprietors have come up with an exciting new venture: the Belachan Tapas Bar. News of Belachan has been passed around by regulars of Sambal and we heard about it through a friend who has been frequenting the latter since its opening although we’ve personally never visited.
Unlike its name, the food here does not revolve around the spicy variety but instead has a tapas bar and curated cuisine concept. The name of its predecessor Sambal 三佰 is a play on its address in Mandarin and the name Belachan is a natural progression in continuity.
Set on the bustling Chulia Street in the heart of Georgetown, the restaurant doesn’t even have a signboard yet for now but is hidden behind unassuming metal folding doors. It can be identified by its address 473 painted in bold black letters on the side of the building.
Since mid-April, Belachan is only open by appointment and caters only to eight diners a night with bar-side seating although it is also open for company dinners upstairs. Come August, the restaurant is set to open fully with a private room upstairs and proper dining next door which promises to be cosy and casual yet classy. While the current 8-course tapas tasting menu is seasonal, the restaurant will also offer fixed-house specials with constant new additions.
From Hotelier to Restaurateur
The restaurant is owned by Jenelle Tan and her partner Esther Lim. Jenelle’s friendly and welcoming demeanour as she explains the dishes to each guest is proof of why her first outlet Sambal has made a name for itself through word of mouth and managed to weather through the pandemic despite opening in January 2021.
Formerly a hotelier, the Penangite worked at numerous hotels and resorts in Asia and parts of Europe before returning home. Through her experiences abroad, Jenelle says “My passion is all about the different cultures in all the places I’ve been in and how food always brings people together. Food is about the combination of the five senses: the smell, the taste, the textures, the visual, and the touch.”
Despite not having formal culinary training, Jenelle says that she has been cooking “I’ve always loved food and I’ve been cooking dishes such as nasi lemak when I was abroad and fish noodles ever since I can remember. I used to cook for family and friends and my grandmother and mother were always cooking.”
Jenelle has a firm vision for the restaurant and has paid careful attention to conceptualising and curating the menu, from sourcing the various ingredients, and making the sauces from scratch to the playful names chosen for each dish such as ‘Bollywood Chick Flick’.
“This will be a place where food will challenge the norm. Something out of the box yet close to the heart.” Rather than being the new ‘Instagrammable’ hotspot or a place for “cheap thrills”, she wants Belachan to be a place where diners come back again and again for the taste.
While Sambal is a family restaurant, Belachan will feature more daring and adventurous dishes that will feed a niche market that is willing to try new things and new flavours.” Her team of five, including Head Chef Kelvin, Chef Alex, and Tinesh the bartender who both have hotel backgrounds are also used to cooking by the book, but Jenelle is keen to push the envelope and tells them to “dare to be different.”
“I also really want to push sustainability and the abundance that our local produce has to offer. Rather than always relying on imported goods, we are a tropical country that has beautiful herbs that people have forgotten about such as sawtooth coriander and ginger flower. I believe in using things that support our local farmers and being proud of what local produce can do to trend in the F&B industry. They have strong flavours, and it is time to bring them back.
“The trend of Asian food is coming up strongly in Europe such as in cities such as London. Asian food really packs a punch, flavour-wise. We’re always looking for future expansions as well.”
Drinks at Belachan Tapas Bar
While some establishments may wow with their food but disappoint with their drinks, that isn’t the case here. The friendly bartender Tinesh whips up imaginative concoctions using an assortment of local herbs that are worth the visit on their own. One of these is the King’s G&T, a classic gin & tonic with a twist of ulam raja, lime, and a splash of tonic.
I ordered a ‘Stunning Bunga Kantan’ mocktail which impressed me even with the lack of alcohol. An ingredient typically used in Penang Laksa, the colourful flowers tasted surprisingly refreshing paired with passionfruit syrup and soda water. Meanwhile, the alcoholic version of the thirst quencher is ‘Senja’ with tequila, bunga kantan, lime, and assam boi.
Food at Belachan Tapas Bar
We started with the aforementioned Bollywood Chick Flick, which was an unusual salad of sorts with chickpeas, toasted curry leaves, paneer (a type of Indian cheese) and tomatoes.
While we personally don’t go for the whole gluten-free concept in general, the Coconut Noodles proved us wrong as they were easily our favourite of the night and were so flavourful that I wouldn’t have any idea that they weren’t noodles without foreknowledge.
The grilled white sea prawns’ succulence was a testament to their freshness while the stir-fried shredded coconut flesh was perfectly tender. Served with fragrant crispy prawn butter, every bite was heavenly.
Another standout was the Samballs, topped with small dollops of homemade honey Dijon mustard. The mix of minced pork, pig’s liver and pig’s heart created a fascinatingly creamy and peppery meatball which lacked the typically overpowering flavours of innards and was reminiscent of the Korean soondae or blood sausage.
While we weren’t sure of what to make of the Unagi Dhal Taco with Brazilian Spinach when it was placed before us, the plump unagi fillets were delightful and we liked the fact that it didn’t have any tiny bones in it which made it easy to chew.
While Marry Marrow was our first time tasting grilled lamb marrow, topped with fresh mint leaves, and paired with toasted garlic bread, we were enamoured with Belachan’s version of the ‘meat butter’ which was rich without being intense.
The dishes that didn’t quite make the cut for us were the Roe Roe Bonito or fish egg nuggets which were crunchy but a bit too hard. Another dish that didn’t impress was the Squid Egg Pancake using fresh squid roe and fried to golden brown which we found slightly bland.
Overall, priced at RM158 nett per person, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth here and we can’t wait to be back when it fully opens to see what Belachan comes up with next. We’ve also definitely been missing out on the offerings at Sambal, so that’s where we’re heading next!
Follow Belachan on Instagram.
Address: 473, Chulia St, Georgetown, 10200 George Town, Penang
Operating hours: Tuesday to Sunday (5pm - 11pm)
Contact: 0103806350