Penang – Elmhurst

Back from Vegas, I ran a couple of miles through the park, perhaps to alleviate the guilt of all that food we ate.   To reward ourselves for running and doing a decent job after so many days off of running, we went to Penang for lunch afterwards for Malaysian food. 

I usually get roti canai at Penang, a thin pancake that you dip into curry.  It’s pretty messy because you tear at it with your hands and then dip it… so my friend pointed out this other similar dish that is much neater… and actually has more stuff to it.  There was eggs, hot peppers, and scallions in this pancake cut up into pieces.  We used our chopsticks to pick up pieces and dip it into the slightly spicy curry… so good!  This might become my new appetizer dish!  🙂

As soon as I sit down, I always order this appetizer – beef satay – because it takes forEVER to make.  Dipped liberally in the peanut sauce, and properly prepared, the beef is tender, bursting with flavor, and delicious.  This place gets it right every time I go… yum!  Don’t forget to eat the cucumbers with peanut sauce too… mmm.

For whatever strange reason, fried rice was ordered.  Spicy.  I didn’t try any but it was declared ‘alright’ by the consumer…

Personally, I got confused and didn’t know what to order, so I wound up getting Hainanese chicken with rice.  The rice is super buttery and flavorful, cooked with chicken fat, and the chicken is usually spot on.  Though I generally prefer dark meat, I always order white meat when getting this dish because it comes without bones and is much meatier, still retaining its plump, juiciness.  Unfortunately, they were out of the white meat this time, so I wound up dealing with a ton of bones.

It comes with a tangy chili sauce on the side, which is great if you’re into spicy things.  Don’t bother with this dish if they say they’re out of white meat.  Seriously, this was torture, plain and simple, trying to neatly eat the meat off the super bony chicken.  Ugh.  I have to say though, when you get the white meat, it’s a completely different experience and totally delicious.

I’ve been here many times over the past 10 years, and though there was a brief period of time when it started sucking, it seems to be back on track now.  I recommend the char kuey teow dish if you’re into seafood with dry fried broad white rice noodles, slightly spicy, lots of seafood; hokkien mee or some mee dish that has shredded chicken, dark soy sauce, and thin egg noodles… so good.  There are other dishes that are delicious, but I forgot the names unfortunately… go and experiment!

Yvo says: Definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.  Malaysian tends to be slightly more expensive than Vietnamese, but still cheaper than Thai or Japanese.  There’s obviously a lot of Chinese influence on the cuisine, considering there’s a large Chinese population in Malaysia, but with its own spin and own flavor profile.  I’m eager to expand my knowledge of Malaysian food as I try more and more dishes…
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