316991 Sat Aug 12 05:40:22 -0700 2006 8 6 Southwest 0 1803647 My faith in my chowdar is restored. On my way to Hue today, I passed Penang Malaysian Cuisine, just a few doors down. The menu looked great. I've heard complaints that Satay Malaysian Cuisine veers too much toward Chinese food, but Penang's menu looked much more mainstream Malaysian. Two friends and I went and we were knocked out by some of the food we had. Penang makes a proper roti canai -- the curry chicken could be a little sprightlier. We ordered the Penang Asam Laksa soup, slightly spicy and very sour, with slightly funky-smelling fish flakes and tons of lemon grass. It was a little one-note -- the sour overwhelmed the other tastes. The classic char kway teow, sometimes called the Malaysian pad thai, was a little too sweet for my taste, but we would have wolfed it down if it weren't for the three dishes that were outstanding. It isn't often that a roti canai doesn't attract attention at the table, but once we tasted the roti telur, our focus drifted toward it. It's a pancake filled with egg, red onion, and a few green chilies, served with the same curry sauce as the canai. The pancake was outstanding. I could swear that it had a meaty taste, like mushrooms or even a little beef, but we were assured that there wasn't, and my inspection of the inside confirmed that my tastebuds lied. This is a great dish, which I've never had. We ordered two fish fantastic fish dishes. Both cost $19.95, more than the other dishes, but a good value for high quality sea bass. One was the pangan ikan, a barbecued fish wrapped in banana leaf, with sour notes and topped with green chilies. It was served bone-in but the waitress cut the fish so that it was easily detached. I loved the curry fish with okra even more. This was served in a complex curry thickened with coconut milk. The service was extremely friendly and accommodating. And Penang is open until 3:00 a.m. (Alert: karaoke might be involved late-night). Penang also carries the usual colorful drinks, shaved ice desserts, plus some unusual ones involving peanuts, mangoes in all forms of desconstruction, etc. On our way to Penang, we saw Champion Foods, and stopped in our tracks when we saw the inviting buns and dumplings that some folks were eating. The diners flashed us enthusiastic thumbs-up signs and we walked in and looked at their prepared foods and chatted with some of the folks there. The owners are Taiwanese, as is most of the food. They sell beef jerkies, all kinds of dried foods, snacks, and have a steam table that changes contents daily. The beef noodle soup is their most popular dish. I'm definitely going to check this place out. Everyone who worked there was enthusiastic. Most of the crowded parking lot at 5115 Spring Mountain, though, was attributable to the supermarket there. Unfortunately, it was closed by the time we finished dinner. Has anyone shopped at SF? It's clear that they also sell a lot of food to go, too. Has anyone eaten there? If I go back to this mall, which I hope to do, I'll check it out. Sat Aug 12 05:40:22 -0700 2006 10031 Dave Feldman 1 1803724 Just in case it isn't clear, all three places are located at 5115 Spring Mountain, a little west of Chinatown proper. Sat Aug 12 07:22:26 -0700 2006 1803647 10031 Dave Feldman 1 1805475 the roti telur sounds fantastic. it sounds close in spirit to the bombay 'frankie'. this is a thick roti, fried on a grill, has an egg broken on it to cook, and then stuffed with the most meltingly tender mutton, finally topped with green chillies, onions and a proprietary masala. that was my friday treat coming back from school. it is fabulous. the creator got the idea from all the lamb shwarma sandwiches he ate in beirut, but as you can see from the recipe the two have little in common. here's an article, fyi. http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/08/08/1781261.htm Sun Aug 13 21:11:12 -0700 2006 1803647 11086 howler 2 1806185 I love Frankies, and there is a place in Manhattan that now sells mediocre ones (including lamb Frankies). The place is adjacent to a bar on Amsterdam Ave. and you can take the food into the bar if you wish. The roti telur is a little more delicate, though. It isn't as thick as an Indian roti. Unfortunately, that link didn't lead me to an article about food. Mon Aug 14 08:15:49 -0700 2006 1805475 10031 Dave Feldman 1 2637170 Penang in Las Vegas is the best Malaysian restaurant I've eaten in a long time. Everytime we visit Las Vegas, we are so torn between the hawker-style food or the entree dishes. Hawker-style food always wins as we love our laksa, Hokkien mee soup. Last December we were there and they even had hot barley drink! This brings back memories of my home country, Singapore. If you are Malaysian or Singporean born and live outside of your home countries, this restaurant is a must! Wed Jun 06 19:41:09 -0700 2007 1803647 102607 makan2 1 2638895 I've never eaten the prepped food at SF, but it's a great place to shop. The fish, shellfish, and meat are so fresh and even cheaper than my local Smith's. Also a great selection of all asian foodstuffs. I think it's cleaner and nicer than the 99 Market. Thu Jun 07 10:58:37 -0700 2007 1803647 38118 Vegas Vic 1 3509840 I have a slightly less enthusiastic review, but I did think lunch there today was a great buy and in all fairness I didn't try the more classic Malaysian dishes. I couldn't get past the shrimp with mango (on the lunch special) so went for that. The shrimp were just not quite as fresh as I would have liked, but I enjoyed the dish. The mango was sweet and I liked it slightly cooked (really more like warmed up) as it is in the dish (the peppers that are also in the dish were cooked perfectly, so someone in the kitchen has good timing). The lunch special comes with soup (egg drop; typical egg drop but well made) and rice. Lunch is a good deal: 7 bucks including tea. Penang does have an extensive menu and it would be fun to explore with a group. Now, several things of interest: A sign on the place said "Grand Opening" Has the sign been there over a year or is the place under new ownership? Also, there were some folks at the next table taking pictures of every dish. Almost made me wonder if they were chowhounds preparing a report. If you were there at lunch today, chime in! They had a conversation with the table on the other side of me...the lady asked the photographers how the roti canai was, and the answer was "so-so." Then there was discussion on how she grew up in Singapore and is still looking for the perfect Malaysian restaurant. FWIW. Now, I almost ordered the mango icecream with mango pudding for desert, but it seemed like overkill, even for an obsessive mango-lover like myself. Instead, I visited the bakery at the far end of the shopping center (by the uphill parking lot). Its called Provence. I guess you could call it an Asian-French fusion bakery. They definitely had some French pastries (and beautiful looking ones at that)....but there were a lot of Asian (Vietnamese, maybe?) inspired items as well. I ended up trying a coconut cream bun: a soft, fresh bun (sort of the consistency of Hawaiian King Bread, if you know what I mean) filled with coconut whipped cream. I have to admit it was pretty tasty. I think I'll definitely check that place out again some time soon...... Wed Mar 19 22:37:23 -0700 2008 1803647 10290 janetofreno 2 3509951 My review of Penang was from almost two years ago. The friends I went with reported that it has gone *way* downhill, so I haven't been there on my last several trips to LV. Now it looks like they have new ownership (it has been empty every time I've passed by there recently). Note that even Makan's posted review was as of December, 2006. Thu Mar 20 01:21:40 -0700 2008 3509840 10031 Dave Feldman 3 3510572 Thanks, I wondered about that. Like I said, the food was well-priced but nothing really special....and the others eating the more traditional dishes seemed less than enthusiastic. I might stick with Hue next door.....and of course the bakery. Thu Mar 20 07:56:30 -0700 2008 3509951 10290 janetofreno