Penang Delight Cafe - Vancouver

Today my friend had appetite for Malaysian food. Since the last time we already went to one of the “Penang”-brand restaurants with mixed impressions we wanted to try another one today. So we went to the “Penang Delight Cafe” at Marpole. Although it was not too full, we booked the table in advance since there was the possibility of a line-up. The restaurant is well designed and the service is friendly and attentive. We ordered Clay Pot Sambal Kang Kong (Stir fried water crest with shallots, garlic and dried shrimps), Rendang Chicken (Pan-fried chicken in curry with lemon grass, garlic and coconut), Home Style Salted Fish Fried Rice (fried Rice with salted fish, diced chicken, eggs and green), Crispy Taro Ring with Pork and as dessert Kuih Dadar. Additionally, we ordered Cendol since it looked so interesting (Coconut milk, red bean, creamed corn and pandan leaf jelly noodles).The Crispy Taro Ring with Pork didn’t taste bad, but it was a bit hard to swallow since the taro ring was quite sticky and the pork pieces pretty firm. I don’t know, whether the high price for it was justified.The Rendang Chicken was good. The meat was tender and the dish was spicy, but no too much.The Clay Pot Sambal Kang Kong tasted also good and was a proper dish to the Home Style Salted Fish Fried Rice which tasted rather bland. I have eaten a much better serving of this type of fried rice in another restaurant; here it contained much more chicken, but the salted fish which gives the dish its distinct taste was barely noticeable.The Cendol was obviously forgotten by the server. We had to re-order it. When it came, it was pretty disappointing. Instead of a beverage it was rather a dessert. That it was served in a bowl instead of in a glass was not bad – so we were able to share the dish better. The taste was disappointing. Most of the dish was shredded water ice. The coconut milk didn’t contribute much to the taste. The small amount of red beans were covered by the water ice. And the pandan jelly was also nothing that improved the taste.Also the Kuih Dadar was very disappointing. I have eaten this dessert several times in different restaurants. It is one of my favourite desserts. But this one was, as far as I remember, the worst one. Already the colour was not appealing: Instead of deep green this one had a rather light-green color. Also the shape was different: Usually it looks like a rolled pancake or crepe. But these ones looked rather like a dumpling. Additionally disappointing was the filling containing shredded coconut: Usually this filling is sweet and moist. The filling this time was dry and rather neutral in the taste. The little bit of syrup on top didn’t contribute much to the taste. Another issue was that instead of serving this dish warm, this was served cold which reduced the flavor even more.This restaurant is still higher in the price than average restaurants, but lower than another restaurant of the “Penang” brand. The main dishes were mostly ok; but the other items were disappointing. It was not such a great evening.

Authentic. Not the usual watered down stuff. Had curry laksa, char kuay teow and Roti. Had take out. It was packed but then it was Sat evening

Never been here before. Nice little restaurant tucked away in this west side Neighborhood. The decor is nice, seating is a little tight but comfortable. Lots to choose from the menu. We ordered a usual dish like satay skewers and some of their crispy pork/Chefs special chicken wings/fried rice and mixed veggies.All was very good and tasty. Great place if you like Malaysian Food.

Tasteless food. not really worth a visit unless you have no choice but to eat for survival purposes. don't expect much on service. much better places available.

This is close to our accountant, so after we signed our tax returns this evening, we tried Penang Delight Cafe. We have visited Penang and have wonderful memories of the food. This was a huge disappointment. We arrived at 6:20 pm and were seated immediately. We ordered two apples: Penang Wontons and Tofu Goreng which arrived with all the other dishes. The filling of the wonton was not too well seasoned and the deep fried tofu lacked flavour but the topping made it the best dish of our dinner. We also had their specialty, Coffee Spare ribs. Good flavour but for $26, you would expect a better quality of ribs like side or even back ribs and not the left over fatty riblets. We also had the deluxe curry dish with three different curry meats: chicken, lamb and beef rendang. The platter had three small portions of fatty meats that were a little tough. This dish was over $27. The Penang noodle dish had no taste and the squid was rubbery and cold. Total bill $76.88 no alcohol. $88 with tip. Since we got a small refund from CRA, did not feel too bad but for the same price we have had a much larger and tastier meal with cocktails at Banana Leaf.