Penang Malaysian Restaurant – Chinatown, NY
Penang
41 Elizabeth Street
New York, NY
(212) 431-8722
Penang Malaysian Restaurant - Chinatown, NY
One of the few Malaysian restaurants in Chinatown, Penang is located right off of Canal Street and right into the heart of Chinatown. Growing up, if I was hankering for Malaysian food, it was either at Penang or Nyonya, which is on Grand Street. There are a few more Malaysian restaurants that has popped up in Chinatown, but they are not as popular as the two that I mentioned about.
To be quite honest, I have always enjoyed the food at Nyonya. But this isn’t a post about Nyonya, it is on Penang. The atmosphere in Penang seems very quiet and desolate. I guess you’ll have to pick the right time, but I came here at 7pm with my party of eight and there were only two people there. No music was playing in the background and let me stress how quiet it was. Not only that, the lighting seems to be kind of dim which made me feel a little creeped out. Let me tell you, the atmosphere/feng-shiu at Nyonya is definitely not like that. I have only eaten the Hainanese chicken and the roti canai here since they were signature dishes which I will talk about that later.
Yes, if you can do take-out, do it!
Penang Menu
When you eat at a restaurant in Chinatown, most locals eat it family style. Hence the nice round tables with multiple seats. Let me know you the dishes my friends and I ordered:
Roti Canai (pronounced Channai)
This is a thin flatbread version of the Pakistani/Indian roti. The roti canai are thin sheets of dough (composed of flour, water, eggs, oil, and butter) grilled with oil. It’s amazing how simple and comforting some grilled dough can be. And you dip it in with the chicken and potato curry, your mouth will be in heaven! This roti is soft, yet very crispy and it quickly integrates and absorbs all the flavors from the curry to give your mouth the party it deserves. I had this more than ten years ago and thank goodness this has not change. I highly recommend you to try it if you have not!
Beef Satay w/Peanut sauce
A little bit oily, but it was great comfort food. This was the worse looking peanut sauce I have ever seen, but it wasn’t too bad to eat.
Sarang Burong - Shrimp, Chicken, Baby Corn, Snowpeas, Black Mushrooms and Cashews on top of Taro Bird's Nest
Hainanese Steamed Chicken w/chef's special soy sauce
This chicken is best eaten with their chicken flavored rice which you have to order separately. In other Malaysian restaurants, they usually serve it with rice. I have always had to order the rice separately here, and in my opinion it tastes flavor when the rice is served with the chicken so it can absorb the delicious flavors. The chicken itself is very moist but can be very bland if you do not dip it with their chili sauce. The chicken flavored rice, which I unfortunately did not take a picture of, is quite aromatic. It smells like chicken broth and the texture is quite buttery which I’m not a fan of.
Basil Flat Noodles w/bean sprouts, shrimp, chicken, onion, chili and basil
My friend and I can agree that we will not order this dish again unless the chef tones down all the oil. I felt like the chef poured a gallon of oil and drenched the noodles before serving it to us. The shrimp and chicken was too tough to chew and it was too salty. This was enough to distract us from enjoying these noodles. This can potentially be a great dish.
Beef Rendang w/coconut milk, chillies, cinnamon, and cloves cooked over low heat
This is Malaysian Beef-Mutton Curry. It is not as good as the Pakistani one because the curry is quite watery, but it is served the best over rice or roti. The beef is very tender as the beef literally falls off the bone. The only thing I can’t quite put my finger on is the weird taste of the beef. I’m not used to this taste, but I guess when you mix in cloves, cinnamon, chillies and beef it gives an unique and interesting taste.
Overall my eating experience at Penang was just ok. The food wasn’t spectacular and it didn’t him that some dishes were greasy and oily. I think Penang has the potential to be better, but they definitely have to do something with their decor, atmosphere, impatient service, and greasy food.
I will leave you now with their health inspection report from the city:
PENANG RESTAURANT
41-43 ELIZABETH STREET, MANHATTAN 10013
212-431-8722
Violation points: 31
Inspection Date: 12/12/2009
Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.
Sanitary Violations
1.) Other General Violation
2.) Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained.
3.) Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to vermin infestation exist.
4.) Wiping cloths dirty or not stored in sanitizing solution
5.) Food worker does not use proper utensil to eliminate bare hand contact with food that will not receive adequate additional heat treatment.
6.) Smoked fish and/ or ROP processed food held above 38 degrees Fahrenheit; other PHF held above 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Except during necessary preparation.
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3 Responses to “Penang Malaysian Restaurant – Chinatown, NY”
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How did you like the Sarang Burong? That one looked pretty good.
I have 2 Malaysian restaurant suggestions for you: One is in the tunnel that runs between Elizabeth and Bowery and the second one is across the street from the three Viet restaurant restaurants on Baxter Street. Try them out and see if they are better than Penang.
Penang seriously sucks as compared to the other Malaysian restaurants I’ve been to. The one under the tunnel in between Elizabeth and Bowery is the best one I always go to. I go pretty often that most of their waiters recognize me haha.
There’s another one that’s pretty good that I don’t know the name to, but it’s on Grand Street between Mott and the street after it.
But yea those places I mentioned have better Roti Canai than Penang, heck almost all the food where I go is better than Penang.
Wow. I have always wondered about this place since i work nearby. I love malasian food too! good to know about the health code violations and the service.
But the pics look delish!