Penang Delight Cafe

Amazing but expensive.
Cons:
Opening the menu was pretty scary. All items are $ 15+. The fish are $ 20+. Portions are not bad. There were three of us, me (male) + 2 ladies. We finished everything feeling satisfied. If I’m here with 2 other guys I probably still be hungry…
Pros:
Really good food, servers seems to know the dishes well

We loved our food! We definitely ordered way too much so I’d recommend sharing!

I would like to start off by giving this restaurant a solid 3.5 stars. The food is good. It Will do the job and satisfy the craving.
First thing. make a reservation for dinner on the weekend. It’s a smaller restaurant and they are jammed with line ups out the door. Or get take out. The reason for line the line ups I think is of course it’s small, but it’s the only Malaysian food place in this part of East Vancouver.
Started with the roti. Very well done. Had the shrimp pork balls. to me these tasted off… like when pork sits in the plastic bag too long and has that sour smell. well I think these ones sat.
Had the A10 deep-​fried tofu covered in fried pork, bean sprouts and hoisin sauce. Was good. not mind blowing. and way too much sauce. Did I eat it. Yeap
The curry lamb had the right amount of spice to it. Could it be Spicer? Sure but this dish I think could cater to anyone. If you want it spicier just ask them to make it spicy.
The Hainese chicken was good. the flavor wasn’t quite there. But it did the job.
I have to say the restaurant atmosphere was great, food presentation is on point and im not reaching for a huge glaas of water afterwards so thats a good sign. The service was decent given the fact that they were slammed — you had to look around alot to get the servers attention.
Overall.fed 4 adults and a 2 year old. Was 80 bucks plus a 15 percent tip. Should I have given them 10% prolly. but they busted ass tonight so they deserved it.
I will be back to try more.

Food was ok, but the staff was rude. I was moved in the middle of my meal because they wanted to give my table to someone else. I was also not asked in the nicest way. I will never go there again.

I will start by saying I am somewhat obsessed with Hainanese chicken and my family is from Malaysia so I’m pretty picky with this dish. I was excited to try this place since they were «known» for this.
I left pretty disappointed.
It was an odd texture and came out surprisingly bland, although I did appreciate that it was de-​boned. And yes, the dish is not known to be the most flavourful without the traditional sauces, but this was still pretty sad. It also had a rougher than I would have expected texture (like plain old regular steamed chicken). Traditionally the chicken is blanched so that it comes out with a smooth texture (which is why you pay a premium for this dish) and is served either at room temperature or slightly chilled. This came out sort of hot, only not hot all around, but room temperature on the outside and hot on the inside. It was odd.
I have no complaints about their other dishes. Their roti was pretty tasty and well prepared. Not oily but still nicely crisp.
The prices are alright but the place is small and can get kind of squishy at certain tables (like the one we were at). But I will say the service was pretty good. They were attentive and friendly.
Probably won’t be back here but it was an okay experience for a Thursday night dinner.

The food was alright, roti was good but the dipping sauce seemed watered down. My favorite was probably the mixed veggie dish. We felt so rushed, went in a group and they were hovering over us and wouldn’t let us note down everything we wanted before ordering. They were rushing us out cause they had another reservation coming in. But why not tell us ahead of time? That way we could prepare or go to another restaurant. Never coming back here again.

We are constantly trying to find neighbourhood restaurants to try our fave food instead of driving all the way to Richmond. Unfortunately, even with the good recommendations from fellow Unilocalers, this was just a ‘Meh, I should have driven to Richmond’
The Good —
Friendly Staff
Quaint décor
Fast service
We ordered:
Roti Canai — OK but nothing special
Chicken Laksa — the soup was tasted ok but not as flavorful as other Laksa I have tried. They serve a yellow oil noodle which is also different from the vermicelli noodle normally served.
Hainanese Chicken and Chicken Rice — the portion of chicken was very small, the chicken rice was ok.
Overall, this is just an average meal at higher price that we usually paid for the same items in Richmond, we probably won’t return again.

The Penang on the west side of town used to be my favorite… until I moved down the street from this one. It’s not my #1 for Malaysian, but it ranks up there in the top 3.
I ordered the rendang lamb, nasi lemak (a rice dish) and some skewers.
The rendang lamb was a first for me as I’ve had the beef version before, loved it and thought I’d try something new but not too new. The texture was great with just enough spice if eaten with a loose, plain rice.
Normally, I’d have a bowl of plain coconut rice but I gave the nasi lemak a try with it. It’s what it’s supposed to be, rice and a beef topping. It’s delicious. However, probably not a good idea to eat it in the same bite as the rendang as it was top packed with flavor.
The beef and chicken skewers were definitely smaller than bite sized, but they were good nonetheless. There were 4 pieces per skewer and each piece was approximately the size of the tip to 1^st crease of my index finger. Oh well.
It was quite empty when I went so it was quiet and peaceful, so I can’t speak for busier dinner services. The only issue I had was the fact that when we came in, they told me «We close at 9:30pm» when it was only 9pm when I went and asked if I would be finished and out by then. A little rude, but I didn’t have all the time to sit there and I eat fast so it wasn’t too much a huge issue.
Service during the time I was there was attentive and consistent, and as long as it continues to be as consistent, they’ll have me coming back again.

I had the Hainanese Chicken with rice and it was good. I would have preferred a tad bit more salt and just a smidgen less oil, but that’s being super picky. The roti was amazingly fluffy and chewy. The sauce that came with the roti was outstanding.
The restaurant felt a bit cramped as it’s a small space and they do use as much room as they can. The front dining area is a lot more comfortable than the tables along the hallway.
Service was great and I couldn’t have asked for more.
Parking is located on the streets with only a couple of spots in the back.

I’ve been wanting to try Penang Café every time I visit Kimura on Rupert. It’s always packed and the aromas wafting out whenever the door opens is amazing! My mom is a bit hesitant to try new places, but my stepdad is more than willing treat his tastebuds to new things. So with my mom visiting my sister in Hong Kong, I kidnapped my stepdad and we headed to there for a new taste experience!
We started off with the basics… their Hainanese Chicken.
The chicken is flavourful, with a bit of soy and some sesame oil as well. The chicken is deboned and makes it easier to inhale. I’m not a fan of chicken skin and the steaming method of cooking makes it so easy to peel the skin off. It’s flavourful (yes, I snuck a few pieces in) but I just can’t get over the texture of the skin.
And if you get Hainanese Chicken, it’s almost de facto that you partner that up with rice… and Penang Delight offers both Coconut Rice and Chicken Rice Because we couldn’t decide, we opted for one of each.
The Coconut Rice is fragrant with coconut milk, and although you might worry that the rice comes out «sweet», it doesn’t. The aroma is sweet but the rice itself has be bit of salt in it to make it as savoury as you’d expect.
The Chicken Rice is rich… instead of making rice with water, the liquid used for this is the chicken broth from the poaching of the chicken. Yes, it’s a bit fatty, and thus, the colour of the chicken rice, just a bit darker that you’d expect. The flavours from stir-​frying the rice with some garlic and ginger before adding the stock make the rice perfectly toasted and so rich.
Another classic dish is the Hokkian Mee, sorry the KL Hokkian Mee (KL=Kuala Lampur). It’s reminiscent of a classic Shanghainese dish. Thick noodles smothered in a rich sauce made with oyster sauce and soy sauce, tossed with veggies, pork, chicken and a few shrimp. It’s not rocket science, but it’s one of those things that is truly «greater than the sum of its parts». Add a bit of sambal chili paste to it for a kick and it’s perfect!
And after all the rice and noodles, we decided to scale things back with a nice mellow soup, Bak Kut Teh. It’s a slow cooked pork bone soup that is meaty in flavour but surprisingly light in texture. There are a few bits of veggies, tofu and mushroom added to the mix, but the star ingredient is the pork bones. Ask for a bit of soy sauce on the side to dip these meat morsels in, you’ll love it. The soup is hearty, rich and flavourful… a delightful way to end your meal.
I do need to revisit this place soon as I was remiss in not ordering their Roti Canai, which I love, and many have told me that it’s a «must try». Perhaps I’ll just do a takeout order next time I’m in the area!

Solid 3.5 stars.
Food’s above average; when I returned from Singapore last year which introduced to me the very 1^st time Singaporean Chilli crab, that was incredible, so went on a binge here and Penang came close to it, just missed out a bit on the spicy-​ness and sweetness. We ordered some other non-​memorable dishes, so relative to Kaya Malay or Tropika, I think they win bronze ;)
Plus the fact that it’s quite the cramped resto (max 5 tables or so?) not a place for large groups but being in East Van, so be it, then this is a great place for Malay if you don’t want to drive to DT and pay thru the nose for parking and saving time.
Friendly service.

The food here is authentic Malaysian Cuisine (a few of my Malaysian relatives actually brought me here for dinner) and I was quite pleased with everything they ordered! As mentioned in the other review, parking may be a bit of an issue because the restaurant is very popular. We came on a Saturday night, early for our 6pm reservation, and there were only two street parking spots left!
Anyways, the roti canai here is excellent and I really enjoyed their curry dipping sauce. We ordered quite a bit of food for the five of us, but I’ll just mention my top picks. The satays were grilled to perfection (served with an amazing peanut sauce), the deep fried chicken wings were seasoned perfectly, the mango prawns were breaded thinly and my favourite, the curry chicken was absolutely sublime!
Their curry isn’t actually too spicy but you can request them to make it spicier, which suits our tastes more! They cook their chicken so it’s extremely tender and flavourful, which makes it one of my favourite curries out there. If you haven’t tried Malaysian curry yet, you should definitely come here to taste a few because their lamb and beef curries are also excellent.

Just had dinner at this Malaysian restaurant. We started with the Roti Canai, which was crispy and soft and then had their Laksa and noodle dish. I really enjoyed the food, service, price and their portions. Come hungry to try some more authentic Malaysian spices and food. The space is tight so reserve or expect to wait a bit since this place gets quite packed with their regular customers.
I was told some of their best sellers are the Roti Canai, Mango Fish, Clay Pot Sambal Kang Kong and the Deluxe Curry Platter. But they are also known for their Hainanese Chicken, Penang Mee Goreng and Laksa!

«The food is greasy blah blah blah *whining adult* *whining* *whining*
LETS BE REAL SHALL WE.
Malaysian food is quite greasy as it is. They have that term for richness, «lemak», which also means «fatty». But honestly, that’s why it is good. So if you’re expecting some non-​fat skinny, low-​carb, vegan thing; I suggest you eat somewhere else. You should know that eating Malaysian food means, get ready for GOOD FOOD AKA FOOD THAT’S BAD FOR YOUR WAISTLINE.
I went here after a 3 hour hike from Lynn all the way to Grouse when I visited Vancouver last week. Girlfriend that took my order was so impressed that I was able to down the following. Mind you, I was alone. This girl was alone.
I ordered the Deluxe Curry Platter (Beef Rendang, Lamb Rendang****, Chicken Curry), Pork and Chicken Satay, Hainanese Rice and Coconut Rice.
****Make sure to order this because it was the BEST.
Let’s just say that I was so hungry that I immediately tried to shove food in my mouth causing my tongue to get burned. It was well worth the burn though. The food was amazing. The curries? Holy crap. TIP TIP TIP, do order them with extra cilantro. I know the cilantro is only supposed to be a garnish, but it is such a great way to cut through the richness of the curries. The chicken/​pork satay? It was super delicious as well, however, I would order it with extra sauce next time when I eat here again whenever I visit Vancity again.
Girlfriend that took my order and was serving me was so impressed that I halfed my meal. «Oh my gosh, this is unbelievable!». YES YES IT WAS. Well, what can I say, the food was good.
Z

I would love to give this place another imaginary half star if they had a liquor license at this location! I hope they’re working on it because their location in Marpole has advertised that they do.
We came here on a random weeknight dinner with our friends and good thing we made a reservation. None of us had been there before and didn’t realize how small this place was. Luckily resos were made and we were able to sit in our own little ‘room’ near the back that perfectly fit a table for 8. I would recommend making dinner reservations based on when I went because it was a pretty full house all evening and we went on a Wednesday night.
There were 7 of us so we were able to order a little bit of everything. We had roti canai, gado gado, mixed vegetable delight, rendang beef, nasi goreng, mee goreng, and char kueh teow. Sounds like a lot of people but it perfectly fed everyone!
Everything that we had ordered was pretty delicious. I especially liked the roti canai (can you go wrong??) and the mee goreng. The roti was perfectly crispy and the curry sauce was tasty to dip in.
Service was very good as well! Food came out quickly and they were attentive to us even though we had our own space near the back.
I’m not sure if they have a private parking lot out back but they have lots of free street parking directly in front, on the sides, and across the way. I’d definitely recommend this place and visit again as prices are good too. For all of us, the bill was around $ 120 including tax and tip.

Best Malaysian place I have tried in Vancouver so far. Hands down.
Born and raised in Singapore, I moved to Vancouver just over ten years ago. Everyone asks me what I miss most about home, and my answer is always the same. The food. I mean, yes, I guess, family too, but… omg the food. Now, Singapore and Malaysia will always be rivals in every sense of the word, but take us out of our home countries, thousands of miles away from our hawker centres, and trust me, all differences are immediately set aside. Our politicians should take note. I spent many years as a teen arguing with Malaysian counterparts over the subtle differences in cuisine, and who has the better food (or football team), but I would not spend a single minute arguing about that here. Good Malaysian food in Vancouver? HELLS YES.
Anyways! I digress. I heard about this place recently through rave reviews from some new friends, and decided to check it out. We ordered the Penang assam laksa, Malaysian specialty vegetables, nasi lemak with beef rendang, and kuih dadar. I knew this place was for real when we ordered the Penang assam laksa and the waiter asked if we’ve had it before.
The Penang laska was delicious! The broth tasted like it had been made with a million delicious oily fish, and it tasted just like Southeast Asia, which, by the way, is the best kind of Asia. I was super stoked! The vegetables were also so tasty! A mix of green beans, eggplant, and okra, stir fried with shallots and birds eye chillies, and topped with salty dried shrimp. The nasi lemak was served with fried ikan bilis (!!!) and a home made sambal that made me immediately home sick. The beef rendang was tender and tasty as well.
They have good-​sized portions here, so we got some of the food to go, and also ordered kuih dadar for dessert. The crêpe was soft and tasty, although the shredded coconut was a little on the dry side. But that was saved with the generous serving of gula melaka the kuih came with.
Service was quick, and the waiter was also real friendly and lovely. Great place! Can’t wait to go back and try everything else!!!

Before you think I’m some aficionado of Malaysian/​Singaporean cuisine, let me say that… I am. But that’s besides the point, because you don’t have to be one to know to stay away from this place like it’s chlamydia.
We ordered what we expected to be staple Malaysian food — the Hainanese Chicken and Kang Kong with sambal. The chicken was curiously hot (when it should have been room temperature, was served in a watery black sauce (it should be dry), and tasted bland. The rice looked and tasted like it had been pre-chewed.The kang kong was soggy, its sauce too watery, and the sambal was lackluster at best. To top it all off… both servings were measly for costing $ 12 and up each.
To be fair, I did see them serving laksa to another table and it LOOKED good.
Maybe I should give the place a second chance… you know… try other dishes before judging the entire menu. Or at least visit the Marpole location. That’d be fair right? Nah. Kaya Bistro is better. Heck, even Banana Leaf is better.

I tried Penang Delight for lunch at Marpole last month and we liked the food there. So I took my in-​laws for dinner on Rupert location.
The decorations are similar to the other location and the menu is identical. The service was ok, however, the foods were SO disappointing!
Pan fried crispy Indian style pancakes (2 pcs) — Roti Canai served with curry dipping sauce but the sauce was not flavourful.
Deep Fried Squid — Crispy and tasty.
Marinated chicken and beef skewers (4 each) — Both Satay were a bit dry and rough.
Pineapple fried rice with shrimps — Nasi Nanas was a bit greasy.
Mango fish — It looked good. Fish skin was crispy but fish meat so dry.
Curry Beef brisket — Full flavour of curry and spicy, so delicious. The best dish we had so far.
Hainanese Chicken — Worst Hainanese chicken I ever had! We rarely had Hainanese chicken served as hot dish and the chicken was tasteless.
Mixed Vegetables — Stir fried broccoli, onion and choy sum. My mother in law was comment about the choy sum had too much fiber and took her too long time to chew it.
Hot Vegetables — Stir fried Okra, egg plants, and green beans. I love Okra but just hardly to find it and have enough to share for 5 of us.
Overall, foods were away below our expectation! Even though the dishes were not salty and MSG!
Btw, they only accept CASH and debit! No point to bring us back again!

I really do like Malay food, I just like it made with a lot less oil.
Penang Delight was recommended by many of my co-​wokers so I decided to check it out for dinner. The restaurant is bright and cheery and the service is alright. All-​in-​all this place is very OK, not great not bad.
We tried the hainanese chicken, roti canai, the meat skewers, sweet and sour fish, mee goreng and the chicken laksa. Everything was very flavorful and cooked nicely — the chicken was moist and tender and the fish wasn’t chewy. Only concern was that there was a lot of oil and fat. I do recommend everything listed above — very authentic and delicious.
We asked the server what was popular and gave the «everything» response. I just hate that, and wasn’t very helpful especially with first-​timers who aren’t familiar with the menu. All-​in-​all it was an OK experience, nothing I would be coming back to anytime soon.
Remember to bring cash.

Tropika and Banana Leaf, you have some serious competition.
Parking is available on the streets, but you may have to look around a bit.
The inside is pretty neat, with the «tropical rainforest» theme going. Seating is a bit dense though. Staff are extremely friendly and helpful.
The food definitely has a noticeable Chinese influence (which on paper takes away from the authenticity), but if you look past that, the food here is pretty damn good.
Roti Canai — nice and moist (read: oily). Yum. But it’s all about the dipping sauce, and the sauce is wonderful.
Fried squid — like glorified calamari rings, but better.‘
Hainan chicken rice — rice has lots of flavour but isn’t too greasy. Great flavour. This was one of my favourite dish of the night.
Mango prawn — oh wow. The sweet smell of fresh mango, with the deep fried awesomeness of prawns. this was my other favourite dish. Just thinking about this makes me drool.
Nasi goreng (aka fried rice — lots of green onions. Nice and fluffy.
Sambal green — onions add a nice sweet bit to the mix. Chili adds a nice gentle kick.
Deluxe curry platter — 3 types of meat (chicken, beef, lamb) served in a cute wooden bowl. This is the one dish that I unfortunately cannot recommend. Not only was it the most expensive ($ 18) and also the smallest dish of the mix. the beef and lamb were both quite dry. The curries had great flavour though. Just saying I would recommend trying another item instead of this one.
Ice kacang — curiously served with corn bits, which added an unusual flavour to the mix. This I would assume is an acquired taste.
Pisang goreng (deep fried banana) — nice and sweet (not sickeningly sweet though). Tastes exactly as it sounds. Served with cute little cocktail umbrella.
One thing — this place is NOT licensed. No beer to go with your laksa. Somewhat makes sense though, as this is common in Malaysia as well, being a half-​Muslim country and all.
Pricing here is a bit expensive, as it came to $ 25 a head. With that said, I will definitely be back. Recommended.