The man in the photo is the post-90s chef, Chef Sarmuel Ang, and today, we are going to introduce this chef with dreams to you!

Qin Qin Dining, a new Fine Dining restaurant in Penang. The owner and head chef, Chef Sarmuel Ang, presents modern Nanyang cuisine, using Chinese cuisine to cook in Western style, bringing out a new flavor of fine dining.

Photo courtesy of Sarmuel

Chef Sarmuel, who has a strong interest in cooking, is also extremely talented. He was born in a traditional family, and the culinary enlightenment teacher is the two treasures of the family "mother-in-law and mother". He likes to cook, but because he is the eldest son in the family, his family thinks he is not suitable to be a chef. But people with dreams can really fly bravely and hard with strong interest. After graduating, he worked as a flight attendant and used his savings to enroll in cooking classes. Before opening this restaurant, he also accumulated experience everywhere, and even worked as the private chef of the Princess of Pahang.

With the accumulated experience of participating and working, Chef Sarmuel has very good ideas about his own restaurant and cooking methods.

Photo courtesy of Sarmuel

So if you tell me, what is the most recommended food in this restaurant. My answer is: no! This is because Qin Dining is based on the Omakase style, which means in Japanese: Leave it to the chef. When you come here, you don’t need to choose what you want to eat, you only need to mention your dining needs when booking, and the rest is completely up to you. Specially prepared by the chef for you.

Rather than a challenge, I believe Chef Sarmuel likes to create surprises. He likes to mix food differently, create more innovative tastes for different ingredients, and break through the tradition, which is what he pursues. For example, peanut butter and grilled quail, seemingly mismatched combination, may be a pair you didn't expect. I was lucky enough to taste this food that day, named: Xiaoniaoyiren, and found that sparks can be sparked between the two. Grilled meat with peanut aroma is not superfluous, but icing on the cake.

In the process of food preparation, Chef Sarmuel buys any fresh ingredients in the vegetable market and designs new dishes based on them. In addition, the inspiration for designing dishes will also come from the first thought every morning, just like: If you want to eat bacon and eggs today, he will design today's dishes with bacon and eggs.

Photo courtesy of Woon

Dining at Qin Dining, once you step into the restaurant, you can see high tables and sofas. Before dining, you can have a pre-dinner relaxation in this small area. You can relax on the sofa, enjoy cocktails at the high table, and look forward to the arrival of the main food.

Then, after the staple food is on the table, you can dine in the open kitchen. Here, you can communicate with him, share emotional stories, and appreciate his superb cooking skills. 4 staple dishes with red wine, I believe you are absolutely satisfied with this arrangement. He said that he wanted to design the restaurant as an open kitchen in order to have more and deeper exchanges with customers. This may be the experience when the space is short, which makes him feel that communicating with customers is a happy and important thing.

After enjoying the main course, customers are invited upstairs to enjoy the exquisite dessert prepared.

Photo courtesy of Woon

1）Bacon + Egg

Before serving, Chef Sarmuel introduced that the main ingredients of this dish are bacon and eggs. It was only after serving that I realized that this is a steamed egg full of bacon flavor! Chewing and swallowing smooth steamed eggs, with a touch of bacon fragrance, this appetizer is great!

2）小鳥依人 Peanut + Fermented Honey Garlic

This staple food is the same food as mentioned in the article. Thought roasted quail with peanut sauce would be an odd combination, didn't have high expectations for this main dish. Unexpectedly, after enjoying it, it really has endless aftertaste!

Photo courtesy of Jane

3) Shrimp + peanut puff

I thought that the staple food would be the most surprising dish for me, but I didn’t expect this shrimp dumpling with peanut soak, it’s amazing! Ordinary shrimp dumpling is served with peanut foam and a little seasoning, it becomes not ordinary at all! Fresh shrimp wrapped in chewy skin and served with a touch of sweet and sour seasoning, I realized that what looked like ordinary shrimp dumplings can become such a surprising food with careful matching.

Photo courtesy of Jane

4）Barramundi + Camomile + Preserve Lemon + Sake

Chef Sarmuel said that he likes to talk about the seasoning with the main food, because it can bring out the most original taste of the food. Like this piece of fish, topped with chamomile tea, cream, and a dash of sake. The light fragrance of the ingredients brings out the fresh taste of the fish, which can be said to be the perfect ending to this meal.

Since only Chef Sarmuel is currently in charge of Qin Dining, only 10 guests are accepted in one night.

In addition to the usual reception days, they also conduct special projects every month. For example: cooperation and exchanges between multinational chefs. Just in May, Chef Sarmuel Ang and Chef Louis Tam from Hong Kong had a 4-hand cooking battle in the kitchen.

For more details, you can pay attention to Qin Dining's social networking site:

Business Hours: 12:30 – 14:00 ; 19:30 – 23:00 (Monday to Saturday) | 19:30 – 23:00 (Sunday) (Closed on Tuesday) 

Address : No 22, Jalan Green Hall, George Town, 10200, Pulau Pinang

P/S: Currently also open for lunch, usually for quick and easy food.

Photo courtesy of Sarmuel