Restaurant in George Town, Malaysia

Gēn

Name: Gēn
Address: Gēn 根, 8, Gat Lebuh Gereja, 10300 George Town, Penang, Malaysia, George Town, MY
Telephone: +60 12-511 3323
Price range: $$$

1,165Pearl Points

Penang's fine dining case, made clearly.

Rate on Pearl Save

Website Call

About Gēn

Gēn is George Town's most credentialled tasting-menu restaurant: a Michelin Plate holder (2024–2025), Tatler Asia Best 20 pick, and La Liste 89-point entry. Chef Johnson Wong's 'My Malaysian Stories' format runs eight courses at lunch and twelve at dinner, with seasonal local produce and a focused organic and biodynamic wine list. Book if you want serious fine dining in Penang at the $$$ tier.

Is Gēn worth booking for dinner in George Town?

Yes — if you are willing to commit to a tasting menu format, Gēn is the clearest answer to where fine dining in Penang currently sits. Chef Johnson Wong's 'My Malaysian Stories' format runs eight courses at lunch and twelve at dinner, drawing on seasonal local produce with a focus on fish. It earned a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, ranks in Tatler Asia's Leading 20 Restaurants Asia-Pacific 2026, and scores 89 points on La Liste's 2026 global list. For the price tier at $$$, that credential stack is hard to argue with in this city.

What you are actually booking

Gēn opened in 2018 inside The Prestige Hotel on Gat Lebuh Gereja in George Town's heritage core. The name translates from Mandarin as 'roots', and that framing is operational, not decorative: the tasting menu changes with what is local and seasonal. Fish courses are the most cited strength — the kitchen treats them as a showcase rather than a supporting act. Plating is precise and occasionally playful; a chicken soup served in a glass bottle has been noted as a signature moment. The wine list runs to over 30 organic and biodynamic labels, chosen to work with the food rather than compete with it.

The drinks program

For a tasting-menu restaurant in George Town, the drinks offering at Gēn is worth flagging separately. The 30-plus organic and biodynamic wine list is curated with the menu in mind, which is a different proposition from the token wine lists that often accompany fine dining outside major Asian capitals. If you are doing the twelve-course dinner, a pairing is the practical choice rather than selecting bottles blind. If wine matters to you as much as food, Gēn competes credibly with peers in Kuala Lumpur like Dewakan on this front. If you want a serious cocktail bar experience before or after, check our full George Town bars guide , the restaurant itself is not a drop-in drinks venue.

Who should book

Book Gēn if you have already eaten your way through the street food and Peranakan tier of George Town and want to see what the city's fine dining register looks like. If this is a return visit and you did the eight-course lunch last time, move to the twelve-course dinner , the additional courses push further into the seasonal fish focus and give the kitchen more room. If you are travelling to Penang primarily for hawker food, Gēn is a worthwhile one-night upgrade but should not be the anchor of the trip. For the fine dining traveller comparing cities, Gēn is more interesting than most equivalents at this price point in the region; alla prima in Seoul and Soigné in Seoul are the benchmarks one tier above in the innovative tasting-menu format across Asia.

Booking and practical details

Booking difficulty is moderate , Gēn is not impossible to get into, but it is not a walk-in. The restaurant is inside The Prestige Hotel, so hotel guests may have an easier path. Contact via the Instagram (@genpenang) or the website at genpenang.com; the listed phone number is +601251133 23. Hours are not confirmed in current data, so verify before you go. For nearby alternatives if you cannot get a table, Au Jardin and Richard Rivalee are the closest comparators at the fine dining tier. For something less formal from the same kitchen, Communal Table by Gēn is the accessible entry point at $$.

Venue	Cuisine	Price	Booking Difficulty	Format
Gēn	Innovative / Modern Malaysian	$$$	Moderate	Tasting menu only
Au Jardin	European Contemporary	$$$	Moderate	Tasting menu
Auntie Gaik Lean's	Peranakan	$$	Low–Moderate	À la carte
Communal Table by Gēn	Malaysian	$$	Low	Sharing plates

Explore more in George Town and beyond

Frequently Asked Questions

What are alternatives to Gēn in George Town?

Au Jardin is the closest format comparison — a tasting menu restaurant operating at a similar price point in George Town's heritage district, and worth considering if Gēn has no availability. Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery is the right move if you want Peranakan cooking in a more casual setting without the $$$-tier commitment. Communal Table by Gēn, also by Chef Johnson Wong, offers a more accessible entry point into the same kitchen's philosophy. Ah Boy Koay Teow Th'ng sits at a completely different tier — street food rather than fine dining — but is a useful benchmark for how well George Town feeds you at every price level.

Can Gēn accommodate groups?

Gēn is a tasting menu restaurant inside The Prestige Hotel on Gat Lebuh Gereja, which means seating is structured and groups need advance coordination. For parties of four or more, check the venue's official channels before assuming availability — the format does not suit large walk-in groups. Smaller groups of two to four are the natural fit for the counter and dining room experience here.

Is Gēn worth the price?

At $$$, Gēn is priced at the top of Penang's dining tier, but it holds Tatler Asia-Pacific Best 20 recognition for 2025 and 2026, plus Michelin Plate status in 2024 and 2025, which positions it as the credentialed choice if you want to spend seriously in George Town. The twelve-course dinner format and the organic and biodynamic wine list of 30-plus options give you enough content to justify the spend. If you are looking for Penang's best-value meal, this is not it — but if you want to see what the city's modern Malaysian cooking looks like at its most considered, the price is proportionate.

Can I eat at the bar at Gēn?

Bar seating specifics are not confirmed in available data for Gēn. The restaurant operates a structured tasting menu format inside The Prestige Hotel, which typically means seating is assigned rather than drop-in. Contact Gēn directly at +6012 511 3323 or via genpenang.com to confirm seating options before assuming bar access is available.

What should a first-timer know about Gēn?

Commit to the format before you book: Gēn runs tasting menus only, with an eight-course lunch and a twelve-course dinner built around Chef Johnson Wong's 'My Malaysian Stories' concept using local seasonal produce. The restaurant has held Michelin Plate recognition since at least 2024 and was named in Tatler's Asia-Pacific Best 20 for both 2025 and 2026, so expectations are calibrated accordingly. It is not a casual drop-in — book in advance, and if you are combining it with George Town's street food scene, treat Gēn as your one serious sit-down meal rather than one stop among many on the same day.

Location

Gēn 根, 8, Gat Lebuh Gereja, 10300 George Town, Penang, Malaysia

George Town, Malaysia

Also Consider

Au Jardin — European Contemporary, $$$
Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery — Peranakan, $$
Ah Boy Koay Teow Th'ng — Street Food, $
Aria — Modern American, Modern American
Communal Table by Gēn — Malaysian, $$

At the $$$ tier in George Town, Gēn and Au Jardin are the two obvious benchmarks. Au Jardin takes a European contemporary approach; Gēn works entirely within a Modern Malaysian framework. Both use tasting-menu formats and both are moderately difficult to book. If you want to understand what George Town's own culinary register looks like at a fine dining level, Gēn is the more specific choice. If you prefer a European lens with Malaysian produce, Au Jardin is the alternative.

Drop one price tier and the decision changes shape. Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery at $$ is the place for Peranakan cooking with genuine depth and no tasting-menu commitment — better value for a casual meal, and easier to get into. Communal Table by Gēn, also at $$, is the same kitchen in a more accessible format: a useful option if you want a taste of Johnson Wong's approach without the twelve-course commitment or the price.

For the clearest decision: if this is a special-occasion dinner and you want George Town's best argument for modern Malaysian fine dining, book Gēn. If you are feeding a mixed group with varying appetites for tasting menus, Communal Table by Gēn or Auntie Gaik Lean's will serve you better. If you are already at the fine dining tier but unsure about Malaysian versus European, go to Gēn first — Au Jardin will still be there next time.