Sunday Lunch at Penang Delight Cafe on Rupert Street
Posted on 04/16/2011
Address: 3885 Rupert Street, Vancouver, BC
When it comes to Malaysian restaurants in Vancouver, there is becoming a lot of choice.
The best Malaysian restaurant is undoubtedly Banana Leaf (speaking only of Broadway location). The tastes are potent and the textures are right on. Number 2 is former Jonker Street now Fresh Bowl cafes in Yaletown and Gastown. Tommy Ng's budding SE Asian concept keeps strong flavors brimming with intensity and integrity.
With that said, there are plenty of other Malay eateries if you cannot make sambal, roti canai or mee goreng at home. Other than Tropika, there is Cafe D' Lite on Broadway, Chili Garden on Main, Kedah House on SE Marine, Seri Malaysia on Hastings and Mamak Cafe in Gastown. And now, Penang Delight on Rupert!
Penang Delight Cafe is at the far end of East Van on Rupert & 23rd. It is somewhat comforting to know that no matter where you live in Vancouver, there is a Malaysian restaurant within a short driving distance.
Inside the restaurant, co-owners Jack & Susan (brother/sister) run the show. They hail from Kuala Lumpur and are certainly a welcome dynamic duo to the Vancouver eating-scene.
According to Julie, she was sent to Vancouver by her family to learn French cuisine as a chef. But she obviously has her heart in Malaysian food for now she and brother Jack are partners in this enterprise. Front and kitchen staff are all from K.L. also.
There is a narrow hallway with four or five tables clothed with interesting Malaysian prints. When Jack spotted me taking photos with my Nikon D300 he put us at a bigger table next to the front counter. Nice move - better light to take photos. Thanks Jack!
Penang Char Kueh Teow $8.95
Char kway teow is one of those dishes I always judge a Malaysian restaurant by. Fail at the char kway teow is fail overall pretty much. Fortunately for Penang Delight, their char kway teow passes the test, but just barely. Then again, I have been to Malaysia several times and have eaten this dish on native soil. I know it is hard to reproduce national dishes on another continent. Usually what I notice missing is the underlying 'smoky' flavor produced from searing the noodles on high heat in a well-seasoned wok sitting atop a bed of glowing red-hot charcoal.
I enjoyed the somewhat generous portions of Chinese sausage scattered throughout this dish, making it a truly Penang version of Char Kwae Teow.
Roti Canai $5.95
It must be known that Bo Laksa King makes the best Roti Canai in town. Jack and Julie will have to do some sampling and bring back the 'fluffy' to their roti. For now it is too 'doughy' in the middle, not separate fluffy layers like Bo's. However, the curry sauce seems to be better than Bo's. Thicker sauce with more chunks of potato. Take Bo's Roti Canai and Jack & Julie's curry sauce and you get Vancouver's best 'restaurant-combo' roti canai!
Mango Fish $15.95
As I ate this fish I kept thinking to myself "why couldn't I make this at home?" And sadly, there is really no good answer why not. A deep fried Tilapia fish covered with mango strips and drenched with sweet chile sauce is hardly worth the price paid. I should have ordered the Penang House Special Fish, or the Crispy Whole Grain Prawn. According to my Chinese uncle, ordering is part of the art of trying a new restaurant. Signature dishes should be ordered first, and then after they have been evaluated, only then move onto other, more 'adventurous' or creative dishes. I always wonder how restauranteurs order the items in the menu. For example, here at Penang Delight, I would display Penang House Special Fish at the top of the 'Seafood' section while leaving Mango Fish toward the bottom.
But that goes to show I am still somewhat novice when it comes to the fine art of eating, dining, whatever you call it. 1 demerit point against the customer for not ordering signature dish. 0 demerit points to the restauranteur because it is his restaurant.
Penang Kang Kong Squid $13.95
This is a nice try at classic Penang food. I remember having sotong kang kong while in Penang in '09. I really like the contrasting textures of the kang kong against the soting, crushed peanuts, hot sauce and belacan. Dare I say this dish could use some more belacan?
Again, it is hard to reproduce authentic Asian dishes in Canada, but nowadays there are all the ingredients available. Perhaps my palette has become too Asian for what Asians perceive Canadians can take. Whatever it is, I have a craving to go back to Penang for a week or so and refresh my tongue with the best of the best.
Kueh Dadar & Malay Kueh $4.95
Julie was nice enough to sit down and have a rather long chat with us during our meal. Toward the end, she recommended we try the kueh, and she ordered for us a two-in-one dish of both the Kueh Dadar (seen in foreground: a pandan flavored wrap with stuffing of gulah Malacca coated coconut shreds) and the Malay Kueh (background plate: very creamy and rich, nice flavors). This was certainly up to the standard I expect from Malaysian restaurant charging good money for food.
Surprisingly (because my sweet tooth is somewhat diminished), this was my favorite part of the meal...
I will be back to try the rest of Penang Delight's menu. Perhaps my next post will be titled "Signature Dishes at Penang Delight."
Long live Penang Delight Cafe!