Penang Garden - Reviews

My experience at this small restaurant was marked by very slow service. Despite having 6 large round tables, each with more than ten people, the wait times were excessive. We waited for pork chops for more than half an hour. To add to the frustration, the bill included a 16% tip, which felt unjustified given the poor service. 👎

As someone from Malaysia, I was eager to try this restaurant. I ordered the roti canai, char kway teow, and curry laksa. Unfortunately, the roti was hard and brittle, and the curry laksa lacked flavor and depth. The char kway teow was decent, but it didn't have enough wok hei. The atmosphere was also not enjoyable, as the place was noisy with two male waiters frantically running around. Overall, I did not enjoy the food or the atmosphere.

My experience at this restaurant was primarily focused on the food, which was good. The seafood was notably fresh. The service was also a positive aspect, described as good and fast. Additionally, the boss was friendly and nice. However, finding parking in Chinatown proved to be difficult. The food dishes were served in small plates, and the price was average.

My experience at this restaurant was a mix of delicious food and horrible service. While the food was good and arrived quickly, the service was far from family-friendly. We were told, with anger and impatience, that the children had to sit against the wall. Later, before our food even arrived, our server took chopsticks from my son's hands and gave him a fork, despite him practicing with them. My family did not feel welcome, and despite the good food, I regretfully would never go back.

As a Singaporean American, I've grown tired of American imitations of Hainan chicken, which often just involve throwing some chicken and broth together and calling it authentic. This place offered an 'okay' Hainan chicken, but the flavor and fragrance were quite distilled. It was also expensive, so I skipped the rice, which was a weird way to split the order. Looking at other reviews, I agree with most of the complaints. I wouldn't really recommend it; it's questionable whether you'll get a good experience or not. Hainan chicken also takes a super long time to prepare, so they probably had it sitting for quite a while before I received it. Expect some coldness, as Hainan chicken is usually dipped in ice before cutting for tenderness, but it shouldn't be refrigerator cold.

My experience at Penang Garden was a mixed bag. I was initially drawn by photos of their pineapple fried rice served in a pineapple rind, but was told it's not always available, which felt ridiculous. I ended up ordering the seafood pan fried Hong Kong style noodles for $20 and satay beef for $16. The noodles arrived quickly, but the vegetables were undercooked, particularly the broccoli, and the seafood needed more seasoning. The crispy noodles were mostly soggy, lacking the desired wok hei. The satay beef skewers were just okay. Despite the lackluster food, the service was excellent, with waiters seeming to know most of the clientele, who were mostly Toisan and Cantonese speakers. The restaurant was surprisingly 70% full. The great service compensated for the disappointing food, and I'm glad I didn't order the pineapple fried rice only to have it served without the rind.

My experience at this restaurant was fantastic! It's a true locals favorite and I can see why. I highly recommend trying their barbecue pork chops and roast pigeon – they were absolutely delicious. Overall, a perfect 10!

My experience at this restaurant was overwhelmingly positive, primarily due to the delicious food. Everything we ordered was fantastic, especially the satay, which I found to be the absolute best I've ever had, with the beef being particularly outstanding. The house special fried rice and the coconut jumbo prawns were also amazing. We ordered five dishes for three people and were pleasantly surprised by how reasonable our check totaled out to be. My only minor complaint is that the restaurant is so busy that it's difficult to get a waiter's attention, but this is a small price to pay for such excellent food!

My experience at the restaurant was fantastic! We ordered the Roti Canai, a satay combo with huge, juicy pieces of meat, coconut jumbo prawns (jumbo is an understatement), chow keuh teow, and the house special fried rice. Everything was full of great flavor and incredibly delicious. For five items, our total came to $90, which I found to be quite reasonable for three people.

As a Malaysian, my experience at this restaurant was underwhelming. The food did not feel authentic, and it seemed like everything served on the Nasi lemak platter was taken out of the fridge before serving. The service and atmosphere were also rated poorly.