Penangite Reviews Auntie Gaik Lean’s Old School Eatery, a Michelin Star Restaurant

Last December the Michelin Guide Kuala Lumpur and Penang 2023 was unveiled and only four restaurants in the country were awarded one Michelin star ––one of them being Auntie Gaik Lean’s Old School Eatery. As a Penangite, I was rather astounded by the recognition, to say the least, as I had dined there several years prior and wasn’t particularly impressed by their offerings. In fact, I had made a mental note to head elsewhere to search for Peranakan fare.

The various interviews with Auntie Gaik Lean circling around piqued my interest in the restaurant when I read that many items on the menu were made from scratch such as the gulai tumis. When a family member invited me to dine at the restaurant, I decided to give the place a second shot despite my personal reservations. I called one week earlier and was greeted by a friendly voice that told me to make my reservation over Whatsapp.

I received an automated message telling me to choose from four time slots: 12 pm, 1.45 pm, 6 pm, or 7.45 pm). Despite reading on Insider that the establishment requires bookings to be made two weeks prior, I managed to secure a slot for dinner.

When I arrived at the restaurant five minutes before my 6 pm slot, I was surprised to see that the restaurant was almost full despite the unfortunate reputation that we Malaysians have for being late. I surmised from a glance around the place that most of the diners seemed to be from other states or overseas. The din inside the restaurant was also loud due to the acoustics of the place.

The place has a charming and quaint exterior as it used to be a jewellery store and the main door is flanked by two large glass display showcases with various items inside such as a motorcycle and a traditional coconut grater.

Inside, it's accented by wooden furnishings and minimal decor.

As we sat down, the staff kept urging us to place our order, presumably because there is a diner time limit of 1 hour 45 minutes. The orders were only taken by the owner’s son, who didn’t allow any of his staff to take on the task and we had to rattle off our orders quickly as he shuttled from table to table.

Here's What We Ate

The menu had a mention of the restaurant’s Michelin accreditation, so it has been changed in the last few months. By doing a quick check online, prices seemed to have only risen by a ringgit or two for only certain dishes.

The Pie Tee was not listed individually as part of their Appetisers, only part of a Baba Delight platter of spring rolls, lor bak, cucur udang, and Acar Awak but it is also available on its own in a set of ten at RM30. It was served with a generous helping of chopped red chillies and spring onions.

The pastry tart shell was thin and crispy enough but unfortunately, the mix of shredded Chinese turnips, carrots, and dried shrimp within had very little flavour to it and tasted bland when eaten on its own without the side of chilli.

We also ordered up what are typically regarded to be staples of Nyonya fare. We wanted to try other vegetables on the menu such as the Kerabu Pucuk Paku but they were all unavailable except the Jiu Hu Char.

The dish appeared sizeable at first glance, but it was just masked by the green lettuce and the portion was rather small at RM24 per plate. The shredded dried cuttlefish did not do anything to add flavour to the julienned vegetables which were soggy instead of crunchy and the result was lacklustre.

Next, we had the Curry Kapitan, and it is actually evident from the picture that the curry was very watery instead of the rich coconut milk chicken curry that I am used to having. The chicken pieces were tender, but the sauce was not soaked up by the chicken and had very little flavour to it. The portion was also small for this dish.

The most disappointing dish of the night was the Assam Hae or stir-fried tamarind prawns priced at RM43 per plate. Perplexingly, despite the restaurant being almost full, the seafood was not fresh and lacked the bold and tart flavours of the tamarind. I could not even finish my helping as the prawns appeared to have gone bad with a mushy texture instead of being crunchy and easy to peel.

The Curry Tumis Siakap priced at RM115 came with a sizeable portion of fish and appeared promising and was plated well as it was served with heaps of lady’s fingers, shredded ginger flowers, and peppermint leaves. But rather than tasting hot and sour, the fish just tasted…bitter and salty.

The only saving grace of the menu was the Nasi Ulam (priced at RM18), a mixed herbs rice which was aromatic although we’ve still tasted better elsewhere. Even the bowls of plain white rice that we ordered individually were clumpy.

Another refreshing item that we had was their Iced Bandung which was served with basil seeds and cooled us down from the humid weather (RM6 per glass).

At this point, I was convinced that we should head elsewhere for dessert, but we decided to give the place one last chance and ordered their Sago Gula Melaka at RM7 per bowl. This is one of my favourite local desserts as I love the texture of chewy pearl sagos.

Instead of being served in a pudding form, this one was also watery and drowned in coconut milk and palm sugar that did not taste fragrant.

The total bill for the night came to RM387.40 including drinks and dessert for a table of five.

Needless to say, it was disappointing. For me there are other Nyonya restaurants on the island such as the Nyonya Breeze Restaurant at Straits Quay that you can check out. When I recall my dining experience at Dewakan in KL which also boasts 1 Michelin star, there is just no comparison.

When I spoke to 5-6 other Penangites who have dined at the place, they also reported being dissatisfied with their meals. I have also received multiple recommendations for Baba Phang at Jalan Sri Bahari which is where I will be heading next as I won’t be making a repeat visit here.

For reservations, Whatsapp 0174344398 or book through Table App.

Business hours: 12 pm to 2.30pm 6.00 pm to 9.30pm Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays

Pork-free | Address: 1, Bishop St, Georgetown, 10200 George Town, Penang