In times like these, we all seek an escape to a different world. And without the ease of hopping onto the next international flight out as before, perhaps the easier and smarter way would be to make a reservation at your fine dining locale. After all, chefs are a globe-trotting lot, with many taking up long years of apprenticeship in different continents under world-renowned names, gradually infused by their mentors’ creative nous, culinary skills and learned instincts in delighting diners. Such is the story of Chef Alfred Wee, co-partner and head chef of The Table by Monsieur in Penang.
The Table by Monsieur is an ode to contemporary gastronomy, rooted in French techniques and utilising the best seasonal ingredients the world over. Wee’s own culinary roots dates back to the 1920s with his great-grandfather being the proprietor of a coffee shop and both his grandfather and father spending their lives as chefs. Wee grew up helping out at his family seafood restaurant in Dungun, Terengganu from the age of 13, before forging his own path. He remembers his first job after graduating culinary school working in a la carte kitchen in Singapore before the life-changing experience which has since defined his culinary ethos.
“After about a year manning the cooking stations at the hotel, I was looking to do something different and I applied to Jaan which, at the time, was helmed by Chef Julien Royer,” Wee says. Royer, who is now owner-chef of the only three-Michelin starred Singapore restaurant Odette, is described as “the turning point” by Wee. “I learned so much from him, including seeing the enjoyment on the faces of diners when something truly spectacular is created, and working with different textures and temperatures.”
From here, Wee then vaulted into the stratosphere with three years (across two stints) at Robuchon au Dome in Macao, and even a spell at the four-time winner of world’s best restaurant Noma in Denmark. He is today, a sum of these parts, having learnt the gamut of French styles from Royer’s inventive interpretations to Robuchon mastery of culinary fundamentals. “At Robuchon, we would learn how to select ingredients and make very French dishes like chicken rossini and duck a la orange,” Wee says, remembering how every single ingredient was scrutinised to ensure its exceptional quality, from truffles to chicken.
Now back in Penang for his second sojourn – his first was a two-year tenure as head chef at Blanc restaurant in Macalister Mansion – Wee is focussed on his personal style; elevating the best ingredients by utilising his culinary lessons from some of this present age’s finest exponents of French cooking techniques.
Under Wee and his partner, Yennie Tan’s direction, The Table by Monsieur has morphed from its previous iteration – a charming café called Monsieur 85 – into a cosy two-storey restaurant with a private room, upstairs dining and counter seating downstairs. Its interiors recall that of Logy, a two-star Michelin restaurant in Taiwan with uncluttered counters to allow diners a chance to interact with the chefs.
Stepping into The Table by Monsieur, you are welcomed with a display case of the ingredients which features across its dinner-only tasting menu (starting from RM318+ per pax). Wee eschews any fancy names for his dishes, preferring to present a menu of key ingredients and its accompanying cooking techniques. This extends to getting his team of chefs to explain each and every dish to diners, to ensure that a fullness of the experience is transmitted before each bite.
With an enviable list of suppliers to provide for the freshest, and indeed, the most exotic ingredients – Wee takes inspiration from the supplier’s list to curate his ever-evolving monthly tasting menus. His favourite ingredient is foie gras, and he embellishes it with hazelnut and cacao nibs, a ginger glaze and bergamot and coriander accents. The outcome of his intervention is one which goes back to Wee’s most important lesson imparted by Royer; in that he doesn’t like to repeat dishes – and that he is always reimagining his dishes to offer fresh takes on exceptional ingredients.
Through constant research and development, Wee achieves often surprising and delicious results. He applies 12-hour curing on the pork belly, brining it and then rubbing in a combination of salt, sugar, cinnamon powder, star anise and cloves. Following 12 hours in the chiller, it is taken out and soaked in pork bouillon, red wine and herbs, and cooked sous vide for another 12 hours, before a final torched finish. It is then plated with apple puree, white wine poached apple and apple cider gelee; the classic combination of apple and pork yet reinvented to a stunning level. The meat is irreproachably tender after the slow cooking, yet retaining all its natural jus, while its enticing skin is a multitude of textures, at once crispy and melt in mouth.
This deep understanding of techniques also leads to a remarkably flavourful duck, infused with a glaze of acacia honey, orange, lime, lemon peel, Kikkoman, black pepper, coriander seeds and cinnamon powder. “It’s my version of a duck a la orange,” Wee says. It’s not a hard to see why Wee loves cooking. He has an intense focus on achieving the profound culinary conclusion in his mind. Case in point; the journey of senses which takes you from the taste of sea in the uni, to the warm crunch of corn croquette, and then exploding liberally with the creamy coolness of the corn veloute within. That same sort of juxtaposed flavours appear on his beef tartare, served on a shiso leaf tempura, with the herbaceous, beefy bite offset by pickled shallots, leaving the cayenne pepper to swoop in from the wings in the finish.
While Wee concedes that Rene Redzepi’s “ants on live shrimp” may prove a bridge too far for now at his new establishment, he is excited at the possibilities of what the restaurant can offer. The near future will see him introduce ice cream, and even pastries. Judging from his dessert of kiwi granite with lime sorbet, on a chocolate tuile and sable, the legion of diners who are yet to set sail on a voyage with Wee, are in for a treat.
The Table by Monsieur Penang is located at 316, Lebuh Pantai, George Town, Penang. Call +604 261 8266 for reservations.
Photos: Law Soo Phye
