Tugged in an alleyway in the World heritage enclave of Penang, known as the Pearl of the Orient, is a new happening place that is the talk of the town.
It is so easy to miss if you are driving along Beach Street. The narrow alleyway is beside the British India House and the Alliance Bank.
The narrow lane is passable and wide enough for a lorry but it may seem unimpressive if you were to take a casual peek into the lane.
Take ten steps inside, the view widens to a courtyard that reveals two rows of what seemed to be long godown that has long lost its use for storage by freight forwarders at the nearby jetties.
Today, you will be surprised to find several lovely restaurants and cafes. This courtyard is a former warehouse that houses a dozen or more godowns that have been refurbished and transformed into niche eateries and cafes.
One of them is Wooden Wagon which serves Fusion Western food.
The owner Chef Soo Lee started his career in Rasa Sayang Resort before moving out of the country and working in many kitchens overseas. Now with 15 years experience, he decided to bring his culinary expertise to Beach Street, one of the famous locations within the Unesco World Heritage site in Penang.
After going through several themes for the aesthetic look of Wooden Wagon, Soo Lee settled on the rustic warehouse-theme. The interior shows a unique blend of modern and rustic decorations which is prominent with the old red bricks that formed the walls of the restaurant.
When stepping foot into the restaurant, we were greeted with a lovely ambience coupled with 70s & 80s slow rock music that sets the mood. The menu had a variety of dishes to try, and the chef’s choice were their pizzas and pastas.
For starters, we decided to order truffle oil fries, mushroom cappuccino soup, and garlic flat bread. The fries were crisp and complemented well by the rich flavor from the truffle oil and grated parmesan cheese. The mushroom cappuccino soup was wonderful as the mushrooms were blended well and tasted light and smooth. The garlic flatbread was savoury with a light and airy texture.
After the starters, we decided to try the pizzas which are the best-sellers at Wooden Wagon. We decided to go with the Five Cheese pizza and try out a new flavour added to the menu, the Chili Tuna Prawn pizza.
The pizzas were on thin crusts and filled with flavour that with every bite taken, tasted scrumptious. We also ordered the Hae Bee Carbonara which is spicy dried shrimp mixed with carbonara.
While the combination might seem odd, it is actually delicious as the Hae Bee spiciness did not overpower the creaminess of the carbonara and is worth the try for those looking for something unique from the menu.
To end our delicious meal, we decided to try their desserts and selected the pannacotta and yuzu aloe vera jelly. The Pannacotta was smooth and silky while not being too overly sweet.
The Yuzu Aloe Vera jelly was delicious as the yuzu complemented the aloe vera giving it a very refreshing taste and a great way to end the meal.
We highly recommend checking out Wooden Wagon at Beach Street as it is a great place to enjoy great food and lovely ambience making it a great hangout spot.
NOTE:
You may enter the courtyard from the sides of the four roads surrounding it.
