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Categories: Thai, Malaysian, Singaporean [Edit]
635 Nassau Park Blvd
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I lovvvvvvvvvve penang
My husband and I go all the time....and is our favorite place for double-dates because we know our friends will love the place
pad thai is greattt! They are one of the few places that make great thai iced tea so definitely try it...
Their portions are ample enough... two entrees to be shared between two people (or even 3) may work!
Service is great... nice people.. the owner is a balding man in his 50s who walks around on the weekends but careful, once he strikes up a conversation, he REALLY strikes it up... (which took away from one nice evening we were having with friends, but it's okay, he was very nice)
Also, if you are looking for them to get Kosher or Halal meat, let them know two days in advance and tell them the time you are coming and they are able to do it! (They only charge $1 extra per dish, which isn't a lot given the cost of halal/kosher meat)
Other good dishes: Green Curry, Mango Shrimp
Mmm Penang! In Princeton this is my go-to place for Thai good. I've had the basil noodles, pad thai, and tried several of my friends' dishes while dining there - I've loved every dish I've tried. And there are SO MANY choices - Chinese, Thai, and Malaysian. And I've always left with enough leftovers for a second meal (bonus)!!
I've never had to wait long and the service has always been prompt.
This was a favorite of my boss's for group outings for celebrations. He'd bring a few bottles of champagne/wine and we'd have a great meal at a great price.
I was craving mussels in curried broth, as I had at Chicago's Penang; it turns out that these places are not related to one another in the least.
We walked in just after 12; and waited. 2 servers were chatting to one another. There were 3 tables filled. Waited some more. Looked at the servers, who decided to walk back to the kitchen. Eventually someone asked us if we wanted a table for 2. Having read the other reviews, I knew that the service was going to be crappy, but didn't realize how bad it would actually be.
We were led away from the 3 tables of Asian diners and put in the corner as far away from them as possible. We later decided that we were put into the gringo section (I'm part Asian, husband isn't). 1 minute after sitting while trying to peruse the 200 item menu, someone came by and asked what we wanted to order. May we please have a few minutes?
2 minutes later, he came back. We decided to get tea, roti canai, and the spring rolls as starters while we tried to figure out what to order.
Tea arrived. Ordered the half duck to split, and the server laughed at us. Right.
10 minutes later or so, the spring rolls arrived (no water served). These were amazing. A light, fluffy crispy coating with a mushy but tasty filling; similar to the birds nests from dim sum.
Then we waited. Tea was empty. No one came by to ask how things were. We put the garnish into the dipping bowl because we were starving. After another 10 minutes of picking at the garnish, the plate was removed. Waited another 5 minutes.
The duck arrived. No rice. We asked where the roti was (it was supposed to be an appetizer). The duck was super greasy, but had a decent flavour. Then the roti arrived from a perplexed looking busser (we believe it was meant for another table and they simply forgot about the order, and us for that matter).
The roti was good, although the potatoes were gross (texture of reboiled potatoes which are both stringy and mushy, and rather unpleasant). The curry and roti bread were excellent.
We started trying to wrap the duck in roti bread. We wanted some rice, hot sauce, napkins, and water. No one stopped by. Eventually (10 more minutes later) Jim flagged someone down and ordered rice, hot sauce, water, and a refill on the tea which had been empty for quite awhile.
The hot sauce was excellent, but at this point we were rather unhappy and covered in grease. We finished our food and eventually someone came by to clear the table.
It didn't surprise us when the bill showed up within 15 seconds of the table being cleared. For the first time in our hour long+ experience at Penang, the server was actually attentive. The bill, with card, was snatched in another 15 seconds.
The food wasn't awful, but I can't imagine returning to such horrible service. I would like to check "no" to waiter service, as it was close to non-existant. I wish I could say they were understaffed, but that wasn't even close to being true. There were 3 girls in the front and at least 8 servers (plus bussers) for the 8-9 tables with patrons by the time we left.
$31 before tip.
On a pleasant note, we did like the colourful metallic pipecleaner-like tentacles stuck to some of the lamps. It made them look like jellyfish or squid.
Today, I gave Penang its hardest test to date - I took my parents there to have lunch. They have a very discerning palate as they still live in Malaysia.
Fortunately, Penang passed muster and they agreed with me that the char koay teow was outstanding.
Well done, Penang!
I discovered Penang almost by chance when I was doing internet research for places to stay and eat… Read more »
Roti Canai is awesome. You have a 50/50 percent chance of anything else being good here. I came here multiple times to find that sometimes the food was either cold or too salty. Othertimes, it would be great. If you're feeling lucky, you might just get a good meal.
First and foremost, you would be wasting a trip if you came to Penang and passed up the chance to get the Roti Canai. Just do it, trust me. It's amazing.
That said, the rest of our meal was fantastic as well... You know that Thai food can sometimes get a bit boring, but the cooks here seem to do a really great job of putting a unique angle on almost every dish, right down to the Pad Thai. The portions were plenty for us, and I tend to be a pretty hungry guy. Decor was interesting (in a good way), and I noticed in the back of the restaurant that they have huuuge round tables that can sit about 15 people if I counted right.
In all, I'd recommend for lunch rather than dinner; this way, you can easily split your food into two meals and get your money's worth no problem.
All I know with this place is, I really love food and I really love dining out, and for some reason, I'm never compelled to go back to this place even though its really close to my house.
The mango shrimp is really good, and I love their heavy orange chopsticks, but this place is always jam-packed, heavy on the families-with-loud-children crowd, and the staff seems very busy and frazzled. While again, the food is really good, its very much a get-you-in-and-get-you-out kind of situation when dining there on a weekend night. Again, its never a draw, and have picked to go to other places over and over again before choosing to go back here.
I come back. Time and time again. I want to hate this place. Really I do.
The service is inconsistent. Either you are waiting like a welfare check to come on the 29th when you KNOW it's coming on the 1st OR it's in your face, wham bang thank you ma'am and you get a lollipop in the end.
I have been coming to Penang's for probably five or so years. The dishes are de-li-cious. The decor is nice.. I have a tried-and-true dish that never fails (pad kwee teow) and the roti telur is a yummy alternative than the canai with a little bit of umph. Their shrimp and asparagus and beef with scallion is flavorful and delicious. Another sure bet is the honey squid... even though I have had the same server there for like four years, she always asks me if I am SURE I want the honey squid. Um, you have probably asked me that twenty times?!!? Perhaps it is because it is not Tony's Calamari...it's very crispy and in a delightful sauce. Thai iced tea is a nice indulgence--sweet but flavorful. I have yet to try the dessert there. This is something I shall rectify on a future visit though or so I have been saying for the past five years.
It is a BYOB and that seals the deal. Done and done. Tasty Thai (with some traditional dishes thrown in), reasonably priced, and a good place to take indecisive friends and family that don't want the nonsense (TGI Fridays, Applebees, etc), don't have the ducats for finer establishments, and can be sedated with noodles and bright orange chopsticks.
awful service.rude and insulting .
will not go there, period!
About 3 years ago before i truly discovered great thai food i went to Penang in Edison, NJ. From what I remembered, it was not bad at all. The food had some flavor, and it filled you up without breaking the bank. Last year, just because there is no where to go in Princeton, i tried Penang again. What a mistake. I am not sure how the other Penang locations are, but this one is horrible. My soup had no flavor, my dish was soggy, noodles were small, and i left completely unsatisfied. Now that i know what great Thai food tastes like, i am ashamed that i ever went here. What a waste of time and money.
While in the process of moving (read: dragging ourselves back and forth) from NYS to Philadelphia, we stopped at this place four times in one week. Enough said!
Had a hard time finding this place, but it's nestled in between the AT&T store and borders.
1) the food was good and reasonably priced
2) the service is par; they're busy and seem a bit understaffed
3) a few items at our table was dirty
4) it's BYOB
5) I would go again
Try the Roti Canai!!!! The flavors in the curry will keep you smiling and the roti is uber crispy. It is the best thing on Penang's (yes, at its many locations) menu!
As others have noticed, the food here is not quite on par with its counterparts in NYC. It's certainly tasty and spicy, but lacks the same "wow" factor as the other locations. It might have to do with the service, which is not so good. Out of our party of two, they constantly switched our orders and took quite the long amount of time in bringing the dishes. I asked to keep my sauce, and the waiter took it away from me. I had to ask for it back.
I think this place has great food, but if services matters to you, you have been forewarned!
Also they don't take American Express...just ViSA.
Decent food, but perhaps a smaller portion than I expected. The place takes plastic only if it's over $25 (but maybe that's bc I had AmEx). Overall, the food was excellent.
Penang is located in Nassau Park near Borders and CompUSA. There is plenty of seating, dim lighting, and a somewhat open kitchen. The menu has a lot of Malaysian and Thai options to choose from and each item can be cooked to your liking in terms of spice (ie. mild, hot).
I've eaten here a number of times and have had good food and good service about 75% of the time. The other 25% of the time the food has just been average or the service has been less than friendly. One evening, my order came out wrong, and the waiter was not eager to correct the problem. Finally, the manager came over and handled it, but it was a shame it had to go that far.
No bar in this joint.
I am in town visiting my family and my sister and I wanted some Thai.
We dined at this place once before and it was pretty good.
My sister gets take-out sometimes, and has been satisfied.
The highlights of tonight's dinner include the following:
BYOB (no corkage fee)
"Roti Canai" was exceptionally yummy.
Okay, now here was the main highlight. We were sitting very close to a man and his son. They ordered a bunch of items including squid and a mango chicken dish. They get their food, a beef dish, the man takes some, tries it.. calls the waiter over and said, "This is beef. We ordered Mango Chicken..." The waiter didn't immediately take the plate.. he was not understanding the man. The man finally asked for a menu and had to show the waiter what he ordered before the waiter would take the plate. (I looked over and said to my sister, "I bet that is ours," since we ordered a beef dish)
Finally the waiter removes the dish from the table and goes back to the kitchen. Within a minute the waiter brings the beef dish out to my sister and me, with the same used spoon in it. It was our dish, delivered to the wrong table. They didn't even apologize, or have any shame in giving us the dish after the man next to us ate some of it!
Isn't that strange customer service!?
The Beef (Beef Rendang )was O.K., tasty but nothing that special. I didn't care for the quality of the meat- it was more like london broil style, shredded beef. Although coconut milk is used, this is not in a sauce.. it was just beef with spices.
Thai Lemongrass Chicken:
This dish was okay. A liittle dry (again no sauce) and it had a slight hint of fish to it. I have definitely had better lemongrass chicken.
I will stick with the Roti Canai, and maybe a curry dish, but I will probably opt for finding a new Thai restaurant to go to while I am in NJ.
Penang's an absolute gem if you're looking for some good Char Kway Teow. After my return from a six month jaunt out in SE Asia, I haven't found a place that has replicated this classic Malaysian/Singaporean dish as well as this place. I completely agree with Yee Gan's analysis of the food and the tastes really remind me of my hawker days in Singapore. I originally came here to see if they had any Lor Mee but unfortunately their 'version' wasn't what I was expecting (my friend got it)
Prices are reasonable and portions were pretty good... you shouldn't leave here hungry.. The Roti Canai was pretty good and reminds me a lot of Chinese "jwa bing" (sp?) The sauce was a bit too watery for my tastes but still had some of the flavor nonetheless. Would recommend it as a good starter to some Malaysian food.
Pros: Ample space, Char Kway Teow that still makes my mouth water
Cons: Watery curry dip/sauce for the Roti Canai
Verdict: The Char Kway Teow is awesome. Nuf said.
Maybe I'm a little biased as I *love* the Penang in Philly and the two I've been to in NYC. They are all related except this location and the other two NJ locations have a page of Thai food on their menu.
I went here today shortly after locating an online menu for this place and seeing that it has the exact same logo as the ones I've been to in the past. It was a good experience but not great - I sooo wanted it to be 5 stars. BUT, people are right, the service is a bit 'odd'. I can't say anyone was mean or rude and a couple of the staff were even friendly (yes, you have like everyone serving you - no one server per table here). But a couple minutes after we sat down, a waiter came by and asked us if we wanted drinks. After he brought us our water, he asked if we were ready to order cause the kitchen staff was getting ready for their dinner break. Say what? This was at about 7:50pm...
We ordered the one dish we knew we wanted to share and then continued to surf the menu. We then ordered two more appetizers and minutes later our Clay Pot Noodles were delivered to our table. There were appetizer plates on our table so we just used them and dug in as we were both quite hungry. The dish was good but quite heavy on the noodles and light on the vegetables, etc. The sauce was tasty to my surprise and it tasted the same as the other locations - what made me think it wouldn't be was that it was delivered in a metal and not clay pot as the name suggests. I then got the crispy tofu which was more crispy than I remember it being at the other locations but it was still quite tasty. My friend got the steamed dumplings and she said they were good but a bit heavy on the cabbage. Finally, when we were finished, they didn't serve us a cut up orange like they do in Philly.
So why the 4 stars you ask? Well, if I hadn't been to a Penang before, I would have definitely enjoyed my meal more, but because I had, it didn't live up to my expectations. Plus, the whole deal with the staff taking their dinner break in the middle of MY dinner kinda threw me off...but I'll go back. It's one of my favorites and now that it's within 5 minutes from my parents' house - I'm willing to tolerate some of the things that normally would piss me off. I'll keep you all posted!
"Fresh!" That's the best way to describe the tantalizing food at Penang. Oh, and "Spicy!"
A large, varied menu and humongous portions make this Malaysian and Thai restaurant just outside of Princeton, New Jersey a great place to eat. The freshest and (sometimes) spiciest chicken and veggie dishes this side of the Malaysia.
It's BYOB, if that kind of thing matters to you.
This place is awesome I always get the Pad Thai here and I love how they make it. Usually pad thai can be kinda on the sweeter side but not here, it has a kick and just the right blend of flavors. It can get busy here during peak hours so keep that in mind and also they bring out your food when it's ready, so some people may get there food a lot earlier than others, if you are with a few people. All around I always come back here and it's one of the best places to go for Thai /Malaysian food in the area.
Penang is a restaurant located near Borders and CompUSA in the Nassau Park Boulevard Shopping Center in Princeton, NJ (off of Route 1).
Penang offers authentic Malaysian and Thai cuisine. The ingredients they use are extremely fresh and their soups and noodle dishes are delicious, large, and very reasonably priced.
They do not serve alcohol, but their beverage offerings are interesting. If you enjoy milk or cream in hot tea, then you might like their Malaysian Iced Tea which is tea with milk and sugar on ice. This can be a little much after awhile, so when I order this, I often get a coke chaser.
I've been here a few times with mixed results. The food is unique, and when fresh, done very well. I've eaten more than my share of gristle here though, and not for a small price. The Roti Canai is a must have, and most any curry here will be delicious, but some of the meat dishes have left something to be desired, like tenderizing. All said, I'll be going back again, because the food, when done well, is phenomenal. The service can be iffy too, but don't go for the decor. The corrugated zinc coated steel is longshoreman-chic.
I have been to many Pengangs (NYC, New Brunswick, Boston, etc), the food here is consistently very good. Everything is seasoned very well, fresh and spicy.
There's plenty of seating and the service is pretty fast. Sometimes it can be hectic, and wait staff get a little confused.
best Thai food in Princeton area.
I have eaten at this restaurant about 10 times. Most of the food at Penang is good but the quality can vary and their service is sometimes down right insulting. Their Pad Thai is good and consistent. The steamed dumplings were surprisingly good because of the unique sauce. However I order the dumpling literally two days in a row, first time, perfect, lightly steamed, thin pastas, just perfect. Second day it was like it was a different restaurant (or cook), the dumplings were falling apart, and hard thick pasta, disappointing. I would give this place 3 starts... but....
The service is really insulting. To start, more than once, items my party were eating were taken away from the table without the staff asking! Out of the 10 times I have eaten there 3 times san order was forgotten or came out 20 minutes later than everyone else's food. 2 times I ordered with a group of 10. I ordered a soda and pad thai. Pretty much everyone ordered Pad Thai. Everyone else received their order, and I was left to sit there for 20 minutes. When the waitress finally came over, I asked where my meal was. She gave me an evil look, flipped out her pad, and said "what did you order". I replied "pad thai, like everyone else and this soda you gave me". She then replied, "you didnt order anything, I didn't speak to you, I counted 1,2,3,4,5,6 pad thai, not 7". Clearly she would not accept responsibility for the error which is insulting for a food business and embarrassing for me and my group. Everyone at the table heard my order. 3 weeks later, same size group, friend sitting next to me orders Basil Thai (which is ok). Sure enough, no order came out. Waitress then pulled the same game and refused to admit there was a problem and said it was the customers fault. Management finally intervened and cleared up the issue but only after the waitress soured the mood of the luncheon.
I sit here writing this and wonder do I (you) want to spend any money on ok food to gamble such as this with the risk of a bad experience and insults? Perhaps this place is good for a 2 person lunch, something they may be able to handle. But I would just as well find another place that can run a food business.
Update. 08/14/2009 Went back again.... Same deal...
See my previous review. Still the same. Waiters still write down the wrong order, and when you tell them its not what you ordered they correct you, over and over again. It is annoying. However the lettuce wraps are delicious i is good.and the Pad Thai
i had the Char Kway Teow, but my doctor prescribed a cream and it went away ;-p
i really like the food. the service is a little nutty as we always have like 23 servers per meal and the language barrier varies from very helpful with spot on descriptions to that look the dog gives you when you're not sharing your steak.
also, it's funny that ALL the westerners and pan-asian diners are using those terrible orange chopsticks from that community grab bowl while when the staff sits to eat, they ALL use forks! go figure.
If you're not sure what to get, I recommend starting with the "roti canai" (pronounced chanai) appetizer, a freshly prepared flat bread which you tear up and dip into a chicken-and-potato curry. I always get the "penang char kway teow," a seafood dry-fried rice noodle (contains shrimp and calamari among other things). Other favorites: the Thai basil noodle (a little spicy), the mango chicken, and the very sweet and flavorful Thai-style ice coffee or ice tea.
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