Communal Table by Gen @ Penang

Fine dining choices in Penang are quite limited, and I have been to Au Jardin several times already, and I had enough of Penang street food. But one day I was looking for dinner, I chanced upon this place at the corner of Lebuh Persgrave (a popular street food place) and made a note to come when a table is available. My turn came one slow evening.

Communal Table by Gen is a Modern Malaysian Restaurant focusing on cooking with local produce​ in a communal setting.

This little eatery on the corner of the busy McNair Road and Presgrave Street intersection is located right smack in the middle of George Town’s formerly notorious “Chit Tiau Lor” (Seven-Street Precinct), a rough, working-class neighbourhood controlled by Chinese triad gangs.

This casual, relaxing place sports an open kitchen, a long counter table and floor-to-ceiling windows. At dinner, it serves a small à la carte menu of modern dishes made with local ingredients, melding Peranakan and Malaysian cuisines. You don’t need to dress up so much. 

There’s a lively vibe as soon as you walk in and to see so many chefs and supporting staff working in such close proximity, all seeming very calm and friendly. Only man in white, Chef Johnson’s ideas on the communal table of serving comfort food that is made to share with family and friends, which highlights the Malaysian cultures and dining practices. 

Penang Oyster

Ayer Itam ginger, calamansi kosho

This is Penang in a shell. These oysters are farmed off the waters of Penang, and go through a process called UV depuration processing where impurities/debris are removed before they can be shucked and served raw. Strangely, the oyster dressing tasted like chicken rice perhaps because of the use of ginger and calamansi.

Golden Pomfret

laksa leaf, “sea cucumber”, calamansi

Golden pomfret is a not a common fish used in a tartare. And pickled cucumber was julienned and made to look like seaweed so-called “sea cucumber”, you know, “cucumber that looked like seaweed.”

Calamansi juice is used to make those jelly cubes to provide the tartness for the tartare. Overall it was a good eat, use of dry aged golden pomfret was a gamble, and the presentation was innovative. But the overall taste profile was singular and lacked that “wow” factor.

Mussel Skewer

mussel cream, chicken jus, seaweed, sesame, pickled young ginger

An order of mussel skewers usually comes in two, but a lone dinner can order one stick. Very grateful as I can then order more courses. Warm smoked mussels on a stick topped with shichimi, shaved pickled ginger a la sushi gari.

The sauce was the heart and soul of the dish. Made from chicken au jus that was kept from making other plates, the sauce was emulsified with something with lots of umami, which they described as mussel cream. Don’t ask too much before something unsavoury starts popping up.

Belacan Stuffed Chicken Wing

spicy bean paste, beras Adan, calamansi kosho

Due to its proximity to Thai, many dishes in Penang have been influenced by its friendly neighbours. Stuffed chicken wing is a Thai appetiser. Belachan, aka “harjeong” (fermented prawn paste) chicken wing stuffed with local beras Adan rice, which is a type of local glutinous rice., sautéed with bacon. And to finished off, the chicken wing is topped with a drop of pickled calamansi and green chilli kosho (a Japanese style chutney).

One word to summarise this appetiser – salty. It has saltiness (bacon) piled on saltiness (harjeong) and piled on saltiness (pickled calamansi). If only they go easy on that one flavour, it would be quite a good eat.

Flower Crab Rice

petai XO, crab roe, lemak rice

I didn’t expect the flower crab rice to look like this. I was expecting something more like a risotto. Sarawakan rice topped with flower crab meat on top and a strong crab stock reduction poured over it. The result was a very rich and oily soggy rice. 

Couldn’t bring myself to say I like this one, it was really too rich, too salty, too oily.

Buah Ciku Toast

sour plum, BOH tea, black pearl

It may not look quite as spectacular as other Michelin places, but it tasted amazing! Buah Ciku is a tropical fruit also commonly known as sapodilla (not that I know). It has the texture of a ripe Peckham pear and a nutty, smoky taste like cocoa. We used it get quite often as a kid, but these days we cannot get it in the most markets in Singapore. The ciku is incorporated into the brownie.

The gelatine sheets were made with very thick BOH tea, a supermarket brand of Cameroon Highlands English tea. Sour plum salted and dried in Chinese style known as hua mei 话梅, was made into meringue always brought back a lot of memories. The mousse was made with kaya, a sweet coconut jam popular in this part of the world. And the boba is boba, A mouthful, it tasted like a deconstructed bubble milk tea, but with contrast from the plum and ciku. Strange, yet delicious.

Unexpected cuisine with unusual dishes made from regional ingredients. Some plates were amazing, some were misses, but all beautifully presented and explained by staff.

My small negative were all the staff standing and watching the guests in a line in front of the communal table which felt very intimidating when your trying to eat. Perhaps they were looking for a reaction to some bold experimentation that they have done. They would have noticed how I could not finished the rice. Perhaps they could stick to 80% winners and 20% experimentation.

Communal Table by gēn 根
68, Lebuh Presgrave, 10300 Georgetown, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Tel : +60 (012) 578 3323 (Reservations)

Visited Apr 2025

Michelin Kuala Lumpur Penang Guide Bib Gourmand 2023-25