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Penang, Malaysian in South Dupont Circle - Closed


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This says renovations until Jan. 2009?

It's open. It has been redecorated largely in white, which I question as surroundings for Malaysian food. I always wear dark colors (if I can remember) to hide the curry stains! I like the food here. My family has been eating at this chain (approved by my Malaysian dad) on and off for years, ever since it opened in Boston. The food, particularly the roti canai, beef rendang, and fried taro bowl tastes right to me. Admittedly, the noodles are weak here, which is too bad, since it is such an essential part of Malaysian cookery, but I really like the place!

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It's open. It has been redecorated largely in white, which I question as surroundings for Malaysian food. I always wear dark colors (if I can remember) to hide the curry stains! I like the food here. My family has been eating at this chain (approved by my Malaysian dad) on and off for years, ever since it opened in Boston. The food, particularly the roti canai, beef rendang, and fried taro bowl tastes right to me. Admittedly, the noodles are weak here, which is too bad, since it is such an essential part of Malaysian cookery, but I really like the place!

Sundae, can you confirm that it's still part of the same chain? The reason I ask is that there is (as of now) no entry point on the main website, although there is still a direct URL to the old webpage here.

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Sundae, can you confirm that it's still part of the same chain? The reason I ask is that there is (as of now) no entry point on the main website, although there is still a direct URL to the old webpage here.

It used to be, as evidenced by the old links. I called into Penang USA and the DC restaurant is no longer affiliated with the chain, though it is still using the same name and at least a very similar menu. Interestingly, Opentable still lists the DC Penang's website as the Penang USA web site, so who knows when the split actually occurred. I hadn't been back to the restaurant since before the fire last year, but the food (pretty much the only set of dishes I've ordered there and at other Penang or Nyonya restaurants since I was a kid) last weekish tasted to me the same as it always has.

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New website: www.penang-dc.com takes you to the Indaez group homepage, which says it owns Tandoori Nights, Karma, and Penang DC. Click on the link for Penang and it takes you here: http://indaez.com/penang-restaurant, which has the hours and menu for Penang.

The food is good. The roti canai was a large sheet, very thin, and fresh tasting. This isn't your frozen perfectly round roti canai. I'm more used to it being folded over on top of itself a few times before cooking, but it was impressive looking.

The Sarang Burung, the fried taro bowl with seafood that Sundae is talking about above, is another beautiful presentation on the plate. Sarang burung means birds nest, and that is what it resembles. The seafood is stir-fried, properly cooked, and tasty. The vegetables on the other hand could use some help. At this level they should be using fresh mushrooms instead of canned ones. The others (shallots, carrots, and baby corn) were ok.

Barbara had the Shrimp Belanchan Ocra, which was shrimp and okra stir-fried with spices including the famous Malaysian fermented shrimp paste belanchan. This was excellent, with punchy flavors like the funky belanchan, some hot spiciness, and other flavors competing to get to the tongue. The okra was split in half, and was really a revelation to us. We're southern, so okra is usually either fried or slimy. This wasn't slimy, and had that crisp-tenderness of stir-fried vegetables.

Now for the downsides. The room has large speakers that make me think dance club more than dinner. It wasn't too loud when we were there (6 PM on Saturday) but I could see it getting cranked up and being unpleasant. Maybe that's part of their strategy, to convert to dinner-lounge later in the evenings.

Also, the prices are high. For two people, with 3 beers, one cocktail, and the above food, the tab was $85 with tip. Rice is not included with the meal, it is $1.25 for white rice or $1.95 for brown or coconut rice. At this price level, with entrees in the $15-20 range, they're competing with Zaytina and almost with Corduroy bar menu.

I'll be back, to try some of the classic dishes like beef rendang, prawn mee, and nasi lemak. But I won't recommend it for someone who isn't already interested in Malaysian food, because the nightclubby atmosphere and the high prices may be off-putting even with the good food.

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Wow. If they're going to be independent from the Penang chain, shouldn't they at least use a different logo design? It's just a bit confusing...

Oh dear. There's the Penany-NyoNya chain, which I know as the "original", which the DC branch used to be a part of, but isn't any longer. But, the DC chain is still using the logo, as far as I can recall. Plus, there's the NY-NJ-MD-NC chain, which the Bethesda restaurant is part of, ALSO using the a very similar PENANG (font) logo. Confusing much? Yikes.

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Not quite germane to the immediate thread, but there's also a Penang in Gaithersburg at the Rio, but it's a dualie with Tandoori Nights.

I will miss the downtown location since it was might close to work, but definitely agree that the Bethesda location is most "down home" for this displaced Malaysian. :-)

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Not quite germane to the immediate thread, but there's also a Penang in Gaithersburg at the Rio, but it's a dualie with Tandoori Nights.

I will miss the downtown location since it was might close to work, but definitely agree that the Bethesda location is most "down home" for this displaced Malaysian. :-)

What's your take on Malaysia Kopitiam which is right around the corner from where Penang used to be?

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(moderators, I wasn't sure if this should be a new topic, so i apologize if this is in the wrong place)

I just got carryout from the Bethesda Penang this weekend and we really enjoyed it. We loved the kari mee --the yellow curry/soup was absolutely delicious. the roti canai was also great--the paratha was a standard one, similar to what you'd get if you brought a frozen one (but those are very good!) and the vegetarian dipping sauce was very similar to the kari mee soup, and similarly delicious. they did a vegetarian mee goreng for us which was also very good (though not as good as the kari mee soup, which i just wanted to drink bowls and bowls of). 

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