Given the northern state’s proximity to the Kingdom of Thailand, cuisine from the land of tom yam kung, pad thai and som tam has spilt over to Penang in the form of street food and restaurants. However, perhaps no other establishment on the island presents Thai dishes in an elevated approach quite like Pennapra Private Dining + Supperclub.
Despite only opening its doors less than a year ago, Pennapra has impressively become the only one of two restaurants in Malaysia to receive the prestigious Thai Select Signature award from The Royal Thai Government, awarded to restaurants around the world that meet stringent criteria for the authenticity and quality of their Thai cuisine. It also counts the former Royal Thai Consul-General of Penang, Dato’ Raschada Jiwalai, amongst its regular diners.
The eponymous chef of the restaurant, Pennapra Yathai, co-founded the restaurant together with her Penangite husband Ben Lo, a marketing consultant with more than two decades of experience working with brands such as Moët Hennessey Diageo, Absolut Vodka and Peugeot. Yathai hails from the Kamphaeng Phet province, where she grew up learning to cook from her father since the age of seven.
“Our tasting menu changes every three months, and we are constantly creating new dishes on a daily basis. Inspiration comes from everywhere and if we try a Thai dish, we will think, ‘How can we improve on it and elevate this?’. That’s where the genesis starts,” Yathai says.
Grilled Thai River Prawn with Nam Jim Seafood has been the star of their tasting menu since day one. Thai river prawn, imported weekly from Hatyai, is lightly grilled with a dash of butter and salt to fully allow the freshness of the head and body—which also contains a rich, buttery fat that adds an extra layer of umami flavour often prized in Thai cuisine—to shine through. This is accompanied by Nam Jim (Thai for dipping sauce), which is commonly found at Thai restaurants but typically a premixed one out of a bottle. At Pennapra, lime, coriander, garlic, fresh chilli, and fish sauce are made into flavourful Nam Jim daily by Yathai.
A particular signature of Pennapra is their tom yum seafood bouillabaisse, which I finished every last drop of. It was created à la Penang Hokkien Mee, where prawn shells are cooked for two hours to make soup stock, with Thai tom yum paste, coconut milk and flower crab added to the mix.
Pennapra has not only upped the ante on Thai cuisine in the Pearl of the Orient, but it also truly wows by raising the bar with its innovative cocktails created by Lo, such as the Mango Sticky Rice Cocktail, a concoction made up of soju, Thai coconut milk, Thai sticky rice, and also fresh Golden Lily mango from Thailand.
Once the plates of culinary delights are cleared and the clock strikes 10 at night, the lights are turned down low, and the music is turned up on their state-of-the-art Dali sound system by Lo’s alter ego DJ, Bad Boy Ben, a veteran in the industry, as the space transforms into a Supperclub.
Pennapra seamlessly blends traditional Thai flavours with modern flair, offering an unforgettable culinary journey in Penang. With its award-winning dishes and vibrant atmosphere, it continues to set a new standard for Thai cuisine on the island and in Malaysia.
More photos of Pennapra
Photography by Law Soo Phye
