Dining · Penang
Au Jardin
In a George Town bus depot turned art space, Su Kim Hock puts French technique to work on Penang produce, starting with a hay-aged local duck.
A garden in a bus depot
Au Jardin is in The Warehouse at Hin Bus Depot in George Town, Penang, a former bus depot turned art space. From outside it is a distressed building clad in corrugated metal; inside are raw concrete walls, floor-to-ceiling windows and greenery. The name means “in the garden”.
The restaurant belongs to chef-proprietor Su Kim Hock, who trained in French cooking and worked in Britain and Taiwan before settling in Penang. His kitchen combines French technique, a Peranakan sensibility and Malaysian produce.
French technique, Penang flavour
The tasting menu is European in form, with what Michelin calls subtle local twists. Su has described the island as having “one of the widest flavour spectrums in the world.”
The signature is a duck. Michelin describes hay-aged Penang birds raised to 90 days, for leaner meat and more flavour.
Malaysia Airlines’ Going Places magazine described the full treatment in 2025: the duck is stuffed with oranges, herbs and hay, lacquered in cognac, poached in a maltose and vinegar brine and brought to the table under a smoke box, with fermented guava, Sichuan pepper and a blanc jus. Homemade sourdough with tomato butter is the other dish Michelin singles out.
A local following
Au Jardin won a Michelin star in the first Malaysian guide, announced in December 2022, and took around 160 reservations after the announcement. Su credited the locals who had kept the restaurant going through the pandemic, saying that the menu was being changed weekly to keep them coming back.
Sources: Michelin Guide; Going Places; Malay Mail
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