Opera Oriental Cuisine, Penang by Gneb

I’ve always wanted to try out Opera in Upper Penang Road. It’s definitely one of those restaurants to dine with a few good friends after work, as it has the kind of laid back and relaxing ambience.

I finally got to arrange for a birthday lunch for 2 friends and we decided to go to Opera. It was lunch time and the place was almost full.

Dining at Opera feels a bit like dining in a museum. The place is beautifully adorned with lots of knick-knacks and antique replicas. Listening to the Mandarin oldies (the likes of Chou Xuen and Pai Guang) playing in the background makes one forget all the workplace's stress.

Even the cutleries look “antiquely”

We opted for their set lunch, which I’d heard is great and value for money (RM18 per set)

We were definitely impressed when the iced lemon tea was served. It’s so full of taste, unlike the bland concoction that you get with other set lunches in most of other places.

There’s also coffee / tea, if you don’t fancy iced lemon team. This is definitely gourmet coffee as it’s so aromatic and thick. A reward to all coffee lovers!

The Starter - Vietnamese Summer Roll. It’s ok, mind you; Vietnamese paper rolls are normally tasteless except for the freshness of the vegetables. The sauce is lovely.

Main Course – Asian Style Grilled Chicken. We chose chicken over Dory fish as most of us were still wary of the story of Dory fish from Vietnam. The chicken is very tender and delicious that matches perfectly with the tasty gravy. Oh, did I mention the presentation?

Dessert – Kuih with Ice Cream. I’d never imagined that this could be such good combination. Yummy!!

Our Extra Orders
Crispy Squid (RM16) – This finished within a moment! They must have an orchid garden in the backyard as most of the dishes are garnished with orchids.

Aromatic Duck (RM22) – This is Peking Duck and is absolutely comparable with what you get in top notch Chinese restaurants in town. We couldn't have enough of it and had to ask for more pancakes. How do you eat? You roll the shredded duck meat with the pancake and dip in the sauce.

Opera Oriental Cuisine has proven to be an excellent and chic restaurant for lunch. All of us were well fed with delicious food and went back to office fully satisfied.

My scores:

Taste: 5 (One word – lovely)

Environment: 5 (Very tasteful and beautiful)

Service: 3 (There’s room for improvement in this area as one of the waiters was a bit blunt. I still feel that he should have been more polite)

Price: 4 (I’d say the set lunch is fine, maybe it’s a little pricey if you’d go for a la carte. Well, you pay for what you get and this is definitely a good ambience)

Parking: 3 (If the weather’s fine, I’d recommend to park at Red Garden and walk there, especially in the evening)

Address: 3-E Penang Road, 1000 Penang (along Upper Penang Road entertainment strip).

Tel: 604-2632893