Good choices: Roti canai (Indian-style pancake); steamed spring rolls; rice noodles with shrimp, squid, egg and black soy chili sauce; mee rebus (noodles, seafood, in sweet potato broth); Buddhist yam pot; beef rendang; string beans with shrimp; coconut shrimp; peanut pancake.
Reservations accepted Monday-Thursday; Friday, Saturday, Sunday for parties of 6 or more. Nonsmoking section.
Credit cards: MasterCard, Visa.
Access: Fully accessible.
PENANG MALAYSIAN CUISINE
685-691 Washington St., Boston
(617) 451-6372
Remember the days when Anthony's Pier 4 was the place in town and everyone went there, tourists and locals alike; remember pushing toward the little bridge over the fish pond as the host chose two or three or four people at a time and the lucky ones were led off to their tables. One always felt honored.
Well, Penang Malaysian Cuisine may prove to be this era's Anthony's. This new restaurant, open less than two months, is already the talk of the town. But there's more to it: Penang's food, ambience and customers reflect something new in the dining patterns of Boston, something that's been building for years. Look around Penang and you'll see as diverse a set of diners as can be imagined - every age, every color, every nationality, all obviously happy to have been chosen.
This northern branch of the popular Penang restaurants in New York City has crashed through the glass wall of ethnic dining. There is no Americanizing here. And there are no apologies for the delicacies served that reveal the remarkable cuisine of this tiny island off Malaysia. After all, many of the patrons are Asian and, hungering for tastes of home, they know what they're ordering. Americans, who've become more adventurous eaters, have so embraced the East and its curries, chilies and coconut milk that Malaysian food has become this year's craze.
Although the prices for bountiful bowls and plates of food are amazingly reasonable, Penang doesn't stint on atmosphere. With its (vaguely nautical) wood and netting, its many levels, its attractive artwork and its booming background music (especially late at night), Penang is a scene unlike any other in Chinatown.
The food of Malaysia is a melange of influences and flavors, reflecting its role as a crossroads of Asia. A chef in the open kitchen twirls into the air a very thin and large circle of dough and minutes later out comes a twist of roti canai, a Malaysian version of an Indian pancake. The bread is paper-thin and soft, just right for several at the table to pull off pieces and dunk them in a gently spicy chicken and potato curry. Another version of roti, called roti telur, is filled with potato, onions and egg, and tastes almost like a Spanish omelette. The Malaysian spring rolls remind me of fresh Vietnamese-style but the wrapping is thinner and the filling is crunchy shredded jicama.
Brilliantly colored vegetables pickled with turmeric powder and chilies are sharp little bites to whet the appetite, as is an Indian rojak, a salad of shredded cucumber, jicama and bean sprouts, squid, jellyfish and a sweet-sour sauce.
For those seeking something that has slid into the US mainstream, the satay, tender bits of chicken or beef, is delicious with a lively peanut sauce.
Many dishes show the strong Chinese influence on Penang cuisine. A fried noodle dish, chow kueh tow, sports shrimp, squid, lots of crunchy bean sprouts, eggs and chives, in a dark, rich sauce. Steamed fish comes to the table in a bubbling chafing dish, covered with a tangy, chunky sauce flavored with yellow beans. Very tender squid is tossed in a dry curry sauce so that it's just barely coated. Still-crisp green beans are flavored with shrimp and plenty of chilies - one wants never to have them plain again. A Buddhist yam pot, taro baked into a ring and filled with sauteed vegetables, is beautiful to see and refreshingly light.
But then other dishes are nothing like any other cuisine. For beef rendang, the beef is marinated, then cooked for a long time with spices and lemongrass until the seasonings melt into the meat. The result is a haunting aroma and taste, one you'll not soon forget. Giant shrimp are rolled in a coconut batter and fried to be tender inside, crunchy out - irresistible party food. Nasi lemak, a sort of sampler plate with a mound of coconut-flavored rice, one of curried chicken, a pile of anchovies hit with chilies and some pickled vegetables, is a treat to contemplate and to eat.
And then there is the beverage ABC, an extravaganza of red beans, plum seeds, tapioca pearls, grass jelly (like Jell-O) and creamed corn covered with shaved ice and drizzled with coconut milk and red and green syrup. These drinks sell like hotcakes, even though the combination tasted a little odd to me. Manager Jimmy Toh predicts ABC will be the summer hit.
The desserts, too, are challenging to my palate, ranging from too sweet to unsweet. But the peanut pancake, crushed peanuts drizzled with dark sugar inside a roti pancake, was delicious.
Penang is an adventure but a rewarding one. And now that menus have been imported from New York that describe the dishes in English, non-Malaysian diners can order without wondering what they'll get. But there's a sticking point, and a rather large one. The service ranges from all right to confused. Sometimes things go along swimmingly for most of the meal with dishes arriving almost too soon after ordering. Then everything comes to a halt, waiters and waitresses can be seen swirling around, but no one will come over to bring a second drink or the check, and it seems impossible to locate the original server.
One evening, a very attentive waiter was supplanted by one who returned with the credit card receipt that showed a bill undercharging us by $100. More confusion when the mistake was pointed out, although they seemed grateful.
Although there seem to be plenty of wait staff, more organization would help make the meals at Penang both delicious and more relaxing.
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