Penang

Nation's Restaurant News, Nov 11, 2002 by Lori Lohmeyer

Penang has expanded its restaurant empire along the East Coast by relying on a simple, low-priced menu featuring authentic Malaysian dishes.

When Penang's founders immigrated to New York from Malaysia, they saw an untapped niche for their country's specific kind of cuisine. While the island of Penang has drawn tourists to its picturesque waterfalls and beaches, it is also recognized for its high-quality street vendors serving up some of the tastiest cuisine in Malaysia. According to Ban Leow, general manager of Penang's unit in New York's Soho neighborhood. Malaysian natives typically care a great deal about the quality of their cuisine.

"The people from Penang are very critical of what they eat," Leow says. "People will travel for miles for a good plate of noodles."

The original, family-operated Penang opened its doors in 1992 in Queens, N.Y Unhappy with the first restaurant's Cantonese focus, the owners split ways. In 1994 the first trademarked Penang, founded by June Khoo and Suan Lee, opened in New York.

Building off his innate appreciation for fine cuisine, co-founder and menu maker Lee developed a casual-dining menu with an unwavering focus on authentic Malaysian dishes. Customers flocked to the restaurant for a taste of its fried squid, clay pot noodles and buah mango, a dish that features chicken or shrimp sauteed with shredded mango and green and red peppers in a spicy mango sauce. Penang has expanded to include eight namesake restaurants, including three in New York City as well as units on Long Island, N.Y., and in Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

"We felt there was a need to expose Malaysian cuisine to New Yorkers," Leow says. "We need to present a very authentic Malaysian cuisine, which primarily focuses on the authentic dishes from Penang."

In a nod to the island of Penang's street-vendor-style dining, the chain made sure to keep its menu prices low. Focusing its growth on cities that have Chinatown areas, like Washington and Boston, the restaurant has to keep prices competitive in order to avoid losing customers to the inexpensive eateries of those districts. The average check at Penang is $30 for dinner, including wine, and $15 for lunch. Entrees range from $11.95 to $19.95.

"We kept it at a reasonable price point because perception of Asian restaurants has to be cheap," Leow says.

Penang features traditional Malaysian dishes, such as chicken or beef satay grilled on skewers and served with peanut sauce or roti canai, crispy Indian-style bread that is served with curry dipping sauce. To keep prices low, the restaurant incorporates lobster into only one dish, its lobster chili udang. The lobster is served in the shell and sauteed in a spicy sauce. Relying on noodle-based dishes like seafood tom yam noodles, a rice vermicelli mixed with shrimp, scallops, squid and vegetables in a spicy lemon grass broth, helps keep price points low, Leow says.

While the chain keeps price points down, it does not sacrifice atmosphere. Each Penang restaurant features a specific design that combines the elements of its location with the Malaysian heritage. The Penang in Soho features a waterfall along the back wall and a replica of a traditional Malaysian long house. It also incorporates Soho's traditional sidewalk patterns in the bar. The new, 140-seat Washington location features a lavish bar area and a large dining room with lush banquette seating and small Asian touches.

As the popularity of Penang's authentic Malaysian cuisine continues to gain a loyal following, the company will continue to expand slowly, according to company executives. The newest location in downtown Washington, D.C., draws approximately 200 covers on Friday evenings. Because of that store's success, Lee says the company is planning to open a new, 5,500 square-foot location in nearby Reston, Va.

APPETIZERS


Roti Canai                                  4.25
Crispy Indian-style pancake with curry
chicken dipping sauce

Penang Satay (4 sticks)                     6.50
Marinated chicken or beef grilled on
skewers and served with peanut sauce

Taro Udang                                  6.95
Butterflied shrimp in a golden taro wrap,
served with spicy chili dipping sauce

ENTREES

Kari Ayam                                  11.95
Chicken and potatoes seasoned with red
curry in coconut-milk gravy

Buah Mango                                 14.95
Chicken or shrimp sauteed with shredded
mango, green and red peppers, in
spicy mango sauce, served in mango
shells on a bed of crispy rice noodles

Masak Lemak                                15.95
Shrimp, beef, or white-meat chicken,
sauteed with green and red peppers,
onions and carrots in spicy aromatic
chili gravy

Udang Santan                               19.95
Jumbo shrimp, string beans, fresh chili
peppers, scallions, onions and coconut
milk

DESSERTS

Peanut Pancake                              7.50
Famous Penang crispy pancake, stuffed
with ground peanuts--crispy outside,
moist inside! Served with ice cream

Chendol                                     5.50
Shaved ice with green-pea-flour strips,
coconut milk, syrup and red beans