Penang

The first time I tried squid was at Penang and I must say that took the fear away of trying out different food. I loved their golden fried squid, the Indian megoreng noodles, the roti chanai, and their spicy soups. I just visited them after a few years. But the quality is still great. Only issue is the parking. But it’s Chinatown. Parking always sucks.

Penang. Penang. PENANG. Okay I’ll just stop I don’t really know where I’m going with this. I had dinner at Penang before watching Captain America: Civil War (if you haven’t seen it go watch it, it’s awesome). I had the roti canai, chicken and beef skewers, and ABC. The roti canai was warm and soft and worked really well with the sauce. If you’ve never had roti canai before, this is not a bad place to start. The skewers were also really good; both were cooked well and had nice textures. I wasn’t a huge fan of the sauce but the juicy and tender meat more than made up for it. The ABC was the only disappointing item I tried; it consisted of a single massive, hard block of shaved ice with very little condensed milk or other flavoring to it. I started chipping away at the ice but eventually gave up because it wasn’t worth the trouble. This dish was basically two separate components, a hard block of ice and some toppings, while the essence of good ABCs for me is a good balance between the two.

This mediocre food in china town! Bad! NYC Chinatown better any day. Stale pork dumplings; non sizzling, sizling penang beef… supposed to be the chef special. Murtabak was the face saver.
Also had Indian meka noodles and sambal shrimp followed by chicken curry… sambal shrimp were good; chicken curry was also ok. Must tell you though… Murtabak…if you happen to drop by.
Surprisingly stale dumplings with a thick skin.

I was pleased with the quality of the dishes at Penang. We had originally planned on going to another Chinatown restaurant, but changed our destination when the wait was too long. Penang has a unique interior, and the dishes we ordered were very flavorful. I also enjoyed the roti appetizers, which I typically order at Malaysian restaurants. In general, I was pleased and would definitely return.

Only ever been to the penang in Atlanta. It’s good, usually, but the portions have shrunk and the service is inconsistent. This one was pretty damn delicious.
The hokkien noodles were to die for. Order them. Easy them. Bathe in the sauce and call me and thank me. Then order some and being them to me immediately because they are WONDERFUL.
The only weird thing… The clay pot curry was not in a clay pot. And it didn’t come with rice as if we were supposed to eat it like soup, but the veggies were huge and chunky, so it was confusing.
The roti cacai was good. But not amazing. The curry part was awesome. The roti part could have been much better. But that’s okay.
Also had the nasi lemak. It was pretty darn good. And came with some strange veggies. Maybe probably pickled. They confused me slightly. Because I’m unfamiliar with that. But. Still really yummy.

It was ok. Having lived in southeast Asia for a summer, I guess I had higher expectations…

Only reason why I still come here
Indian pancake (curry with naan) and ABC dessert.

— Rude cashier
— Couldn’t even take my carryout order right. Charged me for my coke but never put it in the bag
— When i presented my amex, the cashier just thew it back at me
— Absolutely mediocre food. I lived in Malaysia for five years and what this place serves is a washed down chinese/​american food with no flavor or authenticity.

The good: roti canai, coconut rice, house special fried rice
The bad: hainanese chicken (not tender! Hard to chew, but my mom liked it), soya bean milk (literally $ 4 for soy milk?
One of the nicer looking and cleaner restaurants in Chinatown. Just make sure you order the right things for an enjoyable dining experience.

Do not forgo the roti with chicken curry appetizer. It is absolutely scrumptious with rich flavor that opens the floodgates of endorphins — smiley emoticon. I dare you to try it and NOT say, ‘oh my God…’ If you’re able to, text me and I’ll send you $ 5 via mail. Do NOT try to share. One appetizer per person. If you try to share you’ll regret the rest of the evening and be jealous your companion might have gotten an extra bite or tore a bigger roti piece when you blinked. That b@stard full of guile, you’ll mutter. You’ll pick at this regret like a bad scab.
As a main dish, get the noodles with chicken in a curry broth. It’s basically an extension of the appetizer aforementioned in a larger quantity that you can now slurp.
I’d recommend a lychee drink on the side. Yea it kinda looks like eyeballs floating in a jar but they’re sweet and tart eyeballs. Lychee is an ‘exotic’ fruit that’s not cheap here because it must be imported, so appreciate the four or five whole ones they give you (as opposed to the diced strips from a can when you get boba tea anywhere else.)
Don’t forget dessert. They’re huge and enough for two people (unlike the roti appetizer). The fried ice cream unfortunately doesn’t come flaming. I need it to be flaming; I need a comet with a blue tail.
There is zero parking in this area so if you come via Über or public transit you might as well go all out. Treat the fat child within.

The food here is good, esp the indian pancake which is my go to for everytime i dine here.
Got the sizzling beef this time around since i saw it being delivered to another table once i sat down. I always feel like the flavor is good here, but the portion sizes are kind of way smaller compared to chinatown on a relative scale. Its like a slightly more upscale asian restaurant, but its likely they are just upcharging for the décor vs the quality and quantity of the food.
I mean, i would still come back for the indian pancake for sure. So make sure u try it!

Overpriced food. You could get a better deal and a better meal somewhere nearby. Don’t be fooled by the edgy sign and the cool restaurant setting. The food speaks for itself. If you’re looking for an overpriced with poor flavor chinese food, then eat here.
I was very disappointed with the King Pork Buff and the Seafood on Crispy noodles entrees. The King pork buff tasted like Mcdonald’s chicken nuggets with the sweet and sour sauce packet poured all over it. The Seafood crispy noodle was even more disappointing. It lacked flavor and was a bland corn-​starchy sauce smothered over the soggy noodles.
I would not recommend this place to anyone looking to eat in ChinaTown Boston. Try Gourmet Dumpling House or Taiwan Café for better food options.

Went for round dos this week because i couldn’t stop thinking about the beef casserole dish.
This time was sober, and ordered the string beans malaysian style with shrimp, malaysian style bbq ribs, and of course beef casserole.
String bean dish we average, just tasted like shrimp and string beans pretty good overall, Malaysian style bbq ribs reminded me of chashu pork that had a very crispy and crunchy outter skin. Interesting at first but these ribs really grew on me as I ate more of them.
Of course the beef casserole dish is just insane!!! 10 out of 5 stars. this dish is nuts please order this, and your mind will be altered.
Also the food here comes out in less than 5 minutes which is just nuts

We came here as a party for 4 for dinner. There was no wait but unfortunately it took a while for them to get our order.
I got the duck ginger soup with egg noodle. To be fair, it does say in the menu duck with none and skin but there wasn’t a lot of pieces.

It has a great atmosphere. The banisters in the middle of the restaurant are actual logs. Everything feels really authentic. The service was great. The waiters were on top of making sure all our needs were met.
The food is absolutely amazing. I had a durian shake and Indian Mee Goreng. The shake was creamy with a good sweetness. It’s really easy to mess up durian shakes but it was excellently made. Easily the best durian shake I’ve ever had. The Mee Goreng was really good. The noodles were so flavorful. The mix of onions and potatoes made for a surprising taste with every bite.
I had some of my friend’s squid special which was great and I had another friend’s vegetable curry which was also great. My entire experience was great. I would recommend Penang to anyone who enjoys food, you won’t go wrong.

For better or for worse, every Penang restaurant is just about the same — not just the menu, but also the décor — whether you’re in NYC, Chicago, New Jersey, or in this case, Boston. The plus side to this is you can count on getting decent Malaysian/​Singaporean food if you’re in any of those locations — the quality is about the same no matter where you are as well.
Now that my beloved Merlion has closed in my current home city, I rely on Penang (wherever I happen to encounter one) for my favorites — roti canai, Hainan chicken, kangkung with belacan sauce — until I have the chance to make it back to SE Asia.
It’s not Singapore (or Malaysia), but it’s close enough.

Mediocre. It used to be pretty good now but the food is just not flavorful any more and you can tell its def not cooked with love.
I would recommend their house roti though. Other than that, what I got was eh.
Haianese chicken– too chewy and not enough flavor.
Sizzling beef– was pretty good.
Egg omelet– feel like I could’ve done that myself
Pineapple fried rice– it was alright, could’ve been way fresher and tastier.
Desert– abc with ice cream — pretty good
Overall, by the end of the meal, we wished we’d gone elsewhere in Chinatown for wayyyy better food.
Service was decent.

We always order take out here for the HAINESE chicken! My entire family loves their chicken! The meat isn’t hard or dry, very moist with the skin slipping off as you reach for your first piece. It comes with a side of soy sauce; which is not your typical sauce you get at the market but it has this sweetness to it that makes the chicken even more delicious ! I ALWAYS ask for extra sauce ;). It also comes with side of their chili sauce too, a little tangy with a hint of lemongrass taste to it but it’s also good ! The chicken is also garnished with some cilantro and cucumbers. Order this; you can either do the rice plate or a whole chicken (doesn’t come with rice)! You won’t be disappointed !!!
I’ve also ordered the chicken pad Thai here, and I didn’t like how there was already hot chilies in it. Hot chilies should be an option when a customer asked. I was going to split the pad Thai with my toddlers but I couldn’t. So make sure you tell them !

I stayed in a hotel on Washington Street and visited Penang twice in five days! Absolutely loved it!
Both times, I had the Wonton Mee soup and the spring rolls with coconut rice. There is no bad choice on this menu though. Everyone I was with loved their food and our large group tried at least 20 menu items over the week. They also have fresh squeezed pineapple juice which is very tasty!
The prices are good and the staff was very nice. Some more accommodating than others … One server had no issue with serving our party of 6 and splitting our checks (needed separate receipts for expense reports) and another server refused and when we went to leave she said she would do it but only with a $ 15 minimum. Also, they don’t accept AmEx.
Overall, aside from that tiny issue, Penang is a great place to have lunch or dinner.

I came here for lunch last week, and this was an amazing experience! $ 10 dishes are hard to beat first of all. The food was a clear winner!
I ordered Nasi Lemak. Coconut rice flavored with cloves and pine leaves. It was served with sides of chili anchovies, a hard boiled egg, pickled cucumbers, curry chicken, and fresh sliced cucumbers. It was $ 9.50.
For the same price I can’t get any better for a lunch in the same area. I highly recommend this place! I love the wooden décor and vibe too.