08/14/08

Great food... OK everything else

by MsKayza

I work in the Financial District and have had a really hard time finding good quality Chinese/Thai/Korean, etc restaurants that cooks the food well and isn't too saturated with salt and probably MSG. This restaurant has a relatively ok location, the inside is roomy & wasn't too crowded during rush-lunch hour, the waiters/waitresses are averagely attentive, and the lightning was a little dimmer than necessary. However, the food was DELICIOUS... done a little differently than how I'm used to but creative, fresh, and just plain GOOD!! I had the regular spare ribs (not the coffee or strawberry flavored) and they were excellent. I also had a weird taro chicken dish that was also really tasty and delicious. I would definitely recommend this place for a casual lunch or for take-out. But not for a romantic date.

• Pros: GOOD FOOD and a roomy atmosphere.
• Cons: none too drastic

07/16/08

Utterly disappointing!

by senatorsmith

This restaurant offers a mish-mash of South-East Asian dishes, none done particularly well. We had Beef Satay, Tom Yum, Spare Ribs, Senten Lamb and some vegetables. Each was worse than the last. Strange mix of spices. Gristly, sub-standard meat cuts. All excessively salty. All deep fried and pooling in oil. Even the drinks we ordered were suspect. The lemonade was luminescent like highlighter ink and sugary enough too frost a cake. The Malaysian Iced Tea -- unknown in Malaysia -- turned out to be the cold tea that we routinely throw away at home because it hadn't been drunk warm.

The dishes we had were not the ones we ordered. The menu is mess with many dishes sharing identical names and the staff made the wrong assumptions about what we ordered. However, we didn't have the heart to send back the incorrect orders. People at other tables also seemed to have received incorrect orders. One woman was in tears that she had not received her favorite dish.

Service was solicitous but clearly ineffective. Decor was utter kitsch with Christmas lights and beach motif. Prices were scandalous, almost twice what this quality meal normally costs.

Leaving the restaurant I had the strangest feeling of having lost something: my time, my money, my appetite for Malaysian food, even my enthusiasm for trying new places.

• Pros: Free parking
• Cons: Poor food quality / taste

03/07/06

Great Soup

by cicilee

Great food, but most of all great Durian Chicken Soup. It's not on the regular menu and if you don't like durian, you shouldn't order it. Some people detest the smell it produces, but when it's in this soup and cooked for hours with the chicken, the result is divine.

The rest of the menu is great too of course. Pretty standard Asian food. Pad Thai, noodles, curry, rice. Very tasty and some out of the ordinary items you wouldn't find at a place that tries to cater to the majority, whole preserved eggs, seasoned fried tiny fish, etc.

Probably the cleanest restaurant in Chinatown and has better than the average service in Chinatown. You get 2 hours of free parking if you validate your ticket at the underground parking lot across the street.

And there's a website! Imagine that.

http://www.penanggarden.com/index.html

• Pros: good service, great soup, free parking

05/15/05

Decent food at a reasonable price.

by neltor

Very fast service and a big menu. Price was reasonable, and the food pretty good. The english menu wasn't full of explanations, but it's worth taking the risk.

• Pros: Fast service, Big menu
• Cons: Small vegetarian menu

Editorial Review

by Contributor

Southeast Asian cuisine including seafood, meat, noodle and rice dishes from Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand; lunch specials, wine list available.

03/15/05

BEST MALAYSIAN FOOD TASTED IN AMERICA

by asianguy81

Best I have ever tasted!!! I am from Malaysia and the taste as well as the flavor was very authentic. Service was great, we were seated immediately and the place gave a relaxed as well as authentic ambience. I highly recommend this place to anyone who wishes to taste Southeast Asia cuisines. Must try their Beef and Chicken Rendang, Roti Canai and their Nasi Lemak. They are to die for!!!!

• Pros: Food, Service, Ambience
• Cons: Parking