As if the words Royal and Yacht Club were not enough to stir the senses then the view from the Charlie’s Place ensures a direct hit. Charlie’s Place (Charlie is the nickname of the Club’s chairman) is one of two restaurants at the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club. Built on a verandah-style deck high over the water it has a magnificent outlook that stretches over the moored yachts in the Club’s marina, to the vessels anchored in the bay beyond and then all the way to the distant islands of Langkawi’s archipelago.

Our evening began at dusk as the setting sun disappeared over the western horizon giving us a backdrop of the sort of sunset colours that would have Turner rushing for his easel. As the coolness of the evening crept over us it seemed to banish the hustle, bustle and heat of the day. The lights of boats dotted far and wide became brighter against the silhouette of the land as we gave ourselves up to the peaceful ambiance that prevailed.

The Club’s general manager, Rahman, has a degree in catering. Given that leadership it would be unsurprising if the fare produced by his chef, Meoramir, was anything less than top class and so it proved to be. The Club aims to serve a mixture of Malaysian and Western foods and to cater for light snacks as well as full meals. It has a well stocked cellar to go with its food. Rahman ordered us some Chilean red to go with our meal. Its bold flavours complemented the strong tastes that followed it down.

We started by sharing the Malaysian Set Platter – a mouth-watering selection of local dishes attractively presented on a large tin tray under a bamboo “hat”. We munched through mouthfuls of Vegetable Curry, Chicken Pandan – marinated chicken nuggets cooked in a wrapping of pandan leaf and served with a fiery sambal side-sauce, Fish Percik – barbequed fish slices in a lightly spiced, slightly sweet sauce, stuffed Chinese Bean Curd and Beef Rendang Tok – a mildly spiced beef “curry-like” stew. Not only were the many tastes delicious but the attractive presentation “in the round” made the course most appealing.

We followed this with Beef Tenderloin served with Jack Daniels sauce. The meat was scrumptiously tender and the clever combination of reduced beef stock, herbs and Jack Daniels made for a truly memorable sauce. The tenderloin is served on a bed of creamed potatoes and accompanied by few crisp vegetables. Unusually for imported beef the New Zealand tenderloin they use is merely chilled and not frozen for its journey to Langkawi thus preserving all of the meats flavour and texture.

We chatted to Rahman and Meoramir throughout our meal and it was apparent how enthusiastic the chef was about his calling. No adventure in food would be refused, he seemed to imply.

Well sated we headed for home.

Source: The Expat Magazine

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This article has been edited for ExpatGoMalaysia.com