Christoph’s Restaurant Offers A Taste Of Austria In Penang
Sample authentic Wiener Schnitzel paired with rare Austrian wines in the heart of George Town.
Penang is home to a mélange of cuisines—Malay, Tamil Indian, Hokkien Chinese, and Peranakan—as well as Thai from its northern neighbour, alongside Japanese and Korean fare. Its fare is also heavily influenced by the British due to its colonial era, but Austrian cuisine had long been absent from the island’s culinary landscape until Christoph’s opened in 2022 on the corner of Lorong Chulia.
As its namesake owner, Christoph Girsch, is a wine importer, the restaurant serves an excellent selection of Austrian wines and a carefully curated menu of authentic Austrian fare, earning it a spot on the Michelin Guide’s Selected list. It has also gained a nod of approval from the Austrian Honorary Consul in Penang, Mr Berthold Jungwirth, who, as it happens, recommended Christoph’s to us.
Born in Altlichtenwarth, half an hour outside of Vienna, Girsch spent decades in the hospitality industry around the world before landing in Penang in 2018 to work as the hotel manager of the Eastern & Oriental Hotel. He shares, “On Christmas of 2021, I woke up very early in the morning in Austria, and I just decided I didn’t want to work for anybody else anymore. I wanted to serve people directly, and that’s what we are doing now. It was a dream that became reality.”
Here, the island’s discerning diners can have a taste of the Knödel (traditional round dumplings) and Styrian Wurstsalat (home-cured ham, gherkins, Emmental cheese, onions, and pumpkin seed oil, the latter a highly prized Austrian delicacy). Its defining dish is the Wiener Schnitzel, described on the menu as “not a piece of pork or veal; it is a part of Austria,” and is served with Viennese potato salad, cucumber salad, and lingonberries.
The rare selection of wines, handpicked and imported by Girsch, is also a huge draw for oenophiles. He shares, “We have followers all the way from Hong Kong, drawn equally by the food and wine. I grew up on our family vineyard, so wine has always been in my veins. Wherever I’ve worked, I’ve made sure that there are Austrian wines on the sommelier’s list. We import our Austrian wines ourselves through the strong connections I’ve formed over the years, and our company is also a distributor to various hotels and restaurants in Malaysia.”
The affable Girsch is happy to recommend wines to guests who ask, such as the 2023 Laurenz V. Singing Grüner Veltliner, “For me, this will be the new Sauvignon Blanc. It is very crisp and fresh with lemon, lime, and peach aromas with a little pepper at the end, a truly versatile wine.” He also named one of his favourites, the 2024 Mayer am Pfarrplatz Wiener Gemischter Satz, “There are four grapes inside, which have to be harvested and pressed together, not an easy thing to achieve, and its sweetness pairs perfectly with our Wiener Schnitzel.” Other noteworthy tipples to accompany your dinner to cheers of “Zum Wohl,” include the 2021 Weinwurms Blauer Portugieser Ried Schilling Fruchtbündel, and the 2020 Pitnauer Rubin Carnuntum Zweigelt.
Christoph’s Up Close
Girsch ends by stating, “I’m proud to say that at Christoph’s, the experience reflects the genuine taste of my homeland. Although it was initially difficult, we’ve managed to win the hearts of Malaysian diners without altering the menu to suit local tastes. I wouldn’t change it for the world, even if it meant attracting more business.”
Photography by Law Soo Phye
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