Penang

Located a short walk from any location downtown, Penang is a traditional Malaysian restaurant, using fresh local vegetables. My wife and I are big fans of Malaysian food, which is less spicy than Thai while offering similar flavors. She selected roti cannai, while I had roti tellur, for appetizers. Both have a moderately spicy dipping sauce, to accompany the hot bread. The difference is that my bread was stuffed with sweet onions and potato. Simply delicious! Her main course was a vegetable dish centered on cooked spinach, while mine was a large bowl of soup featuring salted cabbage and pieces of pork, shrimp and tofu. Both orders were ample and tasty. I also ordered red wine from the bar, while my wife stayed with plain water. The dessert menu lacked our favorite Malay dessert, so we passed in favor of the hot cookies back at our Doubletree hotel.
Service was friendly and fast. We would return.

Can’t go wrong with roti canai, I highly suggest the king pork buff. Deep fried pork in bbq sauce, it might be too sweetbfor some, ask for less sauce in that case.

This place has the worst service and the food is highly overrated. Their fried ice cream for example is simply a big ball of dough with no actual ice cream. Getting water is not easy, they have mastered being rude and giving people dirty looks. Go to banana leaf or any of the other establishments in China town. Will be much more worth your while.

Finding (deciding) on a restaurant is just as hard, if not harder, than finding (getting) a date. Seriously! In Chinatown, your restaurant options are nearly limitless. Thai, Dim Sum, Vietnamese Malaysian and many more boasting authentic flavors. And on the spur-​of-​the-​moment, I finally made it to Penang.
Penang restaurant can transport you to Southeast Asia with few bites. Whether you’re craving Poh-​Piah (fresh spring roll), Baby Oyster Omelette (eggs + pan-​fried oysters) or just a good ol’ Roti Canai, just take my note: You don’t have to leave Philly, go to Penang. Then you are on your own when it comes to ordering those dishes.
I ordered the classic Roti Canai to start, and for my entrée I ordered the Mango Chicken:
— My famous Malaysian home-​made Roti Canai was flaky & crispy on the outside, buttery & unbelievably elastic on the inside. It was served with curry chicken & potato dipping sauce, Say whaa?
— Chicken mango:
1/​Ab·so·lute·ly blew my mind.
2/​Instagram-​worthy (served in mango shell!)
3/​The sweet mango & spicy curry is magic with chicken.
Don’t miss out on Penang!
Three and Three-​Quarter Unilocal

Service was great! The staff was more than helpful. I had: Nasi Lemak a dish with coconut rice, chicken in curry sauce, veggies in a sweeter sesame sauce, cucumbers, boiled egg, and last but not least anchovies. It was delish until I got to the anchovies– I went to far. Lol, normally I can handle fish forward flavors. This one broke me.
The «pancake» was awesome! I didn’t see one table with out an order. It was light and delicious!
Kid had the Singapore Rice Noodles. She loved them. I didn’t like the dish. Flavors were not going together for me. It was shrimp, bell peppers, & loaded with a lot of bean sprouts. I just tasted fish sauce. It was pungent and funky.
Dessert was Chendol: Shaved ice with coconut milk, red beans, green pea tapioca-​ish pieces at the bottom. It was good and refreshing.

I’ve been to Chinatown countless times and I’ve always walked by this restaurant. I’ve never thought of trying their food and I regret not stoping by sooner! The Indian pancake with curry (appetizer) is thin, crispy and the curry is flavorful. I ordered the pad Thai which is slightly spicy, but I really liked it! My friend has ordered one of the rice dishes that came with white rice, chicken, and anchovies– I personally didn’t like it that much. The servers are attentive and the restaurant is very appealing to the eye. I’ll come again to get the Indian pancake and try their dumplings.

The last time I came here was back when my sister graduated from college. I won’t quantify the years, but it was a long time ago. The food is just as delicious as I remember it, and they have renovated the place into a more airy atmosphere. Still delicious, still a good value, and still a fun place to visit when in Philly.

If I could only eat the appetizers here and call it a day, I’d give Penang a ⁵⁄₅. Unfortunately, it’s not really socially acceptable to only eat appetizers for dinner, and the main dishes I’ve had here have been only okay.
(+)
–Roti canai: roti was crispy and not too oily, and the curry dipping sauce it came with was perfect. It’s good to split one of these with two people, since the roti is big.
–Tofu satay: the best part of a deep fried tofu (crispy part, obviously) stuffed with cucumbers and veggies drenched in a delicious peanut sauce. What more could you want?
–Super fast service: it took only about 5 minutes to get our appetizers even though the restaurant was full
(-)
–Chow Kueh Teow: This was supposed to have shrimp and squid, but all we got was a plate full of greasy, short noodles. I think I found two tiny shrimps and barely any squid. They tasted like the generic Chinese take-​out noodles you can get at any Americanized-​Asian restaurant, so they weren’t bad, just not what I had expected from a place like Penang.
–Nasi Lemak: Every other reviewer seems to have loved this dish, but my friends and I only thought that it was okay. The coconut rice tasted like normal rice, and the anchovies were overpowering (this coming from someone who ate fish sauce every day growing up).
I think my expectations of Penang were just too high, especially after hearing rave reviews from my friends. I gave it a second chance, and still I think that it’s only okay. I’d stop by again for their roti canai and tofu satay.

Unfortunately, I was pretty unimpressed with this place. Granted, I ordered take out which I didn’t get to eat until I returned home an hour and a half later, so the food probably would have been better had I eaten it fresh but still…
The noodles I got, the mee goreng and beef chow fun, were nothing special. The mee goreng was alright, but the beef chow fun was too heavy on the soy sauce and all the noodles stuck together creating one big mushy mess. I feel like chow fun is a classic noodle dish you can’t really mess up but I guess I was wrong…
Apparently the roti canai is supposed to be one of the top appetizers in Philly (or something like that according to the sign outside) but I felt like it could have been better. Taste wise, the overall appetizer was decent, but by the time I got to eat it all the oil had separated from the curry part in the dipping sauce which made it slightly less appetizing. Also, the actual roti was kind of dry and overly chewy,
Perhaps I’ll have better luck dining in next time, or going somewhere else in Chinatown.

I’ve been coming to Penang for a few years, but never had the chance to post a review before.
I love the place the Roti Telur is on point ! Love the chicken satay and can not get enough of the curry chicken. Research the menu well in advance so that you know what you are ordering, I have had quite a few hits and misses!

We met up with some friends in Philly on Wednesday for dinner and decided on Penang. It looked packed and hopping compared to the other restaurants in China Town.
I ordered the Masak chicken. It was quiet tasty. It was chicken with green & red pepper, ginger with house special sauce. I’ve eaten lots of types of Asian cuisine, but this tasted very different than anything I have had before. I have no idea what was in that house special sauce, but it was certainly a combination of spices that my palette had not been exposed to before. Definitely a special sauce! It was delicious and the portion size was good. My boyfriend ordered the Penang Spicy Chicken. He enjoyed it. It also was quiet unique. It came with this side salad of carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes in this sweet and spicy sauce. The salad is intended to be eaten alongside or over the pieces of breaded and fried chicken. Not quiet my cup of tea, since I try to stay away from fried foods.
My only complaint would be that the entrees were not served with rice, so we had to order that separately.

Very, very good food. The place itself isn’t super nice, but the service is solid and the prices are fair.
I came here with a large group of 15 (made a reservation beforehand) and we were able to eat and drink until we were stuffed for about $ 30 each. You could easily come and not order drinks and get out the door for $ 20, fully satisfied.
If you’re looking for a fancy place to eat out, this isn’t it. But if you’re looking for authentic cuisine and a good time in Chinatown, I highly recommend Penang.

Came with a group of 4 recently during dinner time (on a Thursday), and we had a short wait of 5 – 10 minutes. We shared a Roti Canai, Beef Chow Fun, half a Hainanese Chicken, and their Nasi Lemak. The highlight of the night usually is the roti canai, but the nasi lemak (coconut rice dish) definitely stole the show that night. We also shared a small bottle of wine. Please note that Penang is BYO, but only for wine and beer!
Tl;dr — quick service, cheap and delicious food. We had a lot left over. Penang hits the spot!

Visited: 02/​25/​2016
Located in Philly’s Chinatown, it has been years since my last visit! Like… the last time was around 2006? So, a decade later, I’m visiting the city again and I still come back here: D I would say I’m a certainly a fan! :D A must appetizer order: Roti Canai and Satay Tofu! I love them both!
Everything that I’ve ever ordered on their menu has not been disappointing at all! I see that this place is listed as Cambodian as well, but honestly, I’m no specialist on Cambodian food but really? Everything I’ve ever ordered has been Malaysian. What is Cambodian on the menu? The food and overall service was quite speedy and we all enjoyed ourselves very much! Plus, the pricing and the amount of food you get is also reasonable. So, I recommend this place! :D

Aside from their business being extremely busy during the weekends and their lack of space to wait when there is a rush of people, they serve pretty good food. However, it is kind of difficult to know which ones are good and which ones arent. Their menu is a variety.
I’ve ordered many things from their menu that lacked a lot of flavor and taste. Their curry was basically a blob of brown sauce on top of shredded chicken, their duck with ginger and scallion rice was bland and tasteless, the ginger duck noodle was meh, and their hainanese chicken was ok.
But crispy golden friend squids and their fried noodles were pretty good!
When it comes to their appetizers, their home made roti canai is amazing with very delicious chicken curry! Same with the beef or chicken satays with the peanut sauce and the crispy pork intestines.

This restaurant is definitely a go to in Chinatown. They have very flavorful dishes. One of my favorite is the beef redang and Hainanese chicken! they are finger licking good!
It is nice that they take cards because most places in Chinatown are cash only.

If you only try one thing at Penang, make it the roti canai. A large Indian pancake with a curry dipping sauce, it’s by far the most delicious thing on the menu.
I’m not usually a fan of curry, but they do it really well at Penang. It’s a coconut curry, so it’s much more fragrant than the traditional kind. I usually order the chicken curry, which comes with a side of rice. They also have delicious options when it comes to plain rice: there’s the coconut or chicken rice, both of which have a subtle flavor.
Penang is a BYOB (with no corking fee!) and its large space makes it perfect for large groups. The service is friendly, and the food doesn’t take too long. I’ve been a loyal customer for years, and I’ll definitely be back for more!

Tucked away in Chinatown, Penang sits along a decently busy street. I was staying at a nearby hotel and decided, while in Rome! I walked in and immediately was tended to and sat. Before anything, I must admit that service was impeccable. If seemed that I had one main waitress, but several food runners swung by to check on me multiple times. It wasn’t enough to become a nuisance, but was definitely enough for me notice on a positive note.
The food itself was great! I started off with the roti, which is the Indian bread and it was needed my wish about coming iPhone. You tried and I loved!!!
Overall, I realize that parents make mistakes? We would be the crazy kind of we
Asked for that.

Delicious food, fast service & great for large groups.
I came here on a whim with a group of 7 people on a Sunday afternoon — around 1pm.
We were able to get a table immediately. Food came quickly, tea pot was always full & the staff here are always lurking around if you need anything. Everything was delicious — do I need to go into details?

Wow, best sambal shrimp I’ve ever had!
Came here with a large group for a work meeting/​luncheon at our association’s annual conference in Philly. The restaurant was very friendly and accommodating for making our reservation far in advance and setting up the table for us. I had not had Malaysian food before so I was supper excited.
I ordered the sambal shrimp based on one of my colleagues’ recommendation. I’m so glad I did! It was one of the best shrimp dishes I’ve ever had. So unique and delish! My mouth is watering whenever I think about it. Each member of our group tried different things and they all seemed happy with what they got. In fact, one of our members returned for dinner on the same day. I wish I did that!
I can’t wait to come back to Penang to try more dishes when I visit Philly! But for now sambal shrimp FTW!!!

Very good. Inexpensive and flavorful. Must try if in Chinatown.
Must have:
Appetizers — Homemade Roti Canai (Indian Pancake) — Crêpe like with chicken curry dipping sauce. Amazing!
Entrée — Thai basil noodle