The 1885

This entry wraps up our Penang series. A highlight was dinner at one of the island's most elegant settings, with impeccable food and well-honed service.

Bread with three flavours of butter (salted, pesto and sundried tomato).

Amuse bouche of beef wantan.

Preparing the Caesar Salad, tossed with garlic, olive oil, anchovies, mustard, topped with parmesan and croutons, served with smoked salmon.

This salad has become a cliche, but when it's executed with careful attention and a top-notch array of ingredients, it's 100 percent satisfying.

A fresh-tasting seafood sampler of soft-shell crab with cilantro salsa, seared tuna with ponzu dressing & coquille St. Jacques (scallop) with gazpacho dressing.

Cream of cauliflower soup. Luxuriously thick; who says soups can't be decadent?

Baked baby lobster tail. Meaty and succulent.

Spinach & Crab Cannelloni with seafood chili con carne, asparagus & soft shell crab. An intriguing combo of tastes and textures. The cannelloni was packed with fleshy chunks of crab meat, which had a creaminess that was nicely balanced by the tangy seafood.

Smoked lamb tortellini tossed with virgin olive oil, garlic, roasted pumpkin, pine nuts, young edamame beans & shimeji mushrooms, finished with crumbled Roquefort cheese. Delicious, but this needs to be shared because it's waaay too rich.

Preparing the Peach Melba, flambeed with Cognac by the table.

A melt-in-the-mouth sweet treat, served with vanilla ice cream and berries coulis.

Pumpkin & Ginger Cobbler with Russian caramel sauce and ginger ice cream. It's a risk to order cobbler, since this dessert can turn out too stodgy or dry. Thankfully, this warm, comforting concoction steered clear of those pitfalls.