Penang - Malaysian Cuisine @ 117 N 10th St

Penang is a Malaysian restaurant in the heart of China town. Situated between Arch St and Cherry St. on the 10th street is my favorite restaurant in Philadelphia.

Some memories of my early days in Philadelphia are tied to this Restaurant. A close friend of mine, who was in Philadelphia for a long time, introduced me to this restaurant. He helped me with the menu on my first visit to this great restaurant.

I have recently been to this restaurant and they had renovated the interior. They removed the spiral lights on the top that were to my liking. They have new modern furniture now, renovated their restrooms with wooden floors and all.

The menu is vast and varied both in content and price. I always try Roti Canai and Roti Telur on the appetizer list. Roti Canai is like a crepe like pancake but crispy and not sweet. The dipping sauce that comes with it is like a curry sauce and mildly spicy. It contains either a potato or chicken depending on what you ask. The default is chicken. The Roti Telur is like Roti Canai, but is folded and has an egg and onion stuffed. The same sauce is also served with Roti Telur.

The entrees I tried are Mee Siam, Mee Goreng, Nasi Lemak, Pad Thai, and Boneless Curried Chicken with Rice. Nasi Lemak is my favorite followed by Curried Chicken.

Nasi Lemak is a rice dish with several sides like boiled eggs, spicy cooked vegetables, spicy chicken curry, and cold cooked sardines. The curried chicken comes with a white rice and mildly spicy chicken curry. The waiter always asks if you want it boneless. The boneless is about 50cents more than one with boned chicken.

Mee Siam and Indian Mee Goreng are noodle items. Mee Siam is an angel hair pasta like noodles where as Indian Mee Goreng is a spicy thicker noodles. The last time I went, I had Mee Goreng but the cook had over cooked it. It was mildly bitter due to over cooking and was very greasy despite my request for less oil. Pad Thai is a flat noodle which is mildly sweet and spicy. Pad Thai though could be had at any Thai restaurant.
I have also tried their Lychee and Rambutan juice drink. They are unique to this restaurant and taste good. If you like these juices and don’t know where to find them, you can find them in cans in Chinese grocery stores with the same taste.

All in all I will go again and again to this restaurant without burning my wallet. I spent about 15 for two with tax which is not high for such a great food. I make it a point to take my friends and visitors to this restaurant on our day out in Philadelphia. Having lunch and dinner at this restaurant has become a part of my Philadelphia outing experience. My friends who had been to this restaurant recommended me to try their satays which is one my to-try list next time.