Restaurant review
Penang-Penang
PICTURE the scene. You’re a Malaysian restaurant, a long way from Malaysia. You find a little place to ply your wares – off the Larnaca-Dhekelia road, in this case, down the road from the Palm Beach Hotel – though it’s rather inconspicuous. You try and get people interested, though even Chinese food – let alone Malaysian – was impossibly exotic to most Cypriots till fairly recently. And then you wait. And wait.
The word-of-mouth is slowly coming together for Penang-Penang Restaurant. A friend of a friend raved about it, and the good news slowly trickled down. But some people are just unadventurous, doing the ‘when I go out, I like to know what I’m eating’ routine. Then there’s the other pseudo-argument: ‘If the chef was any good, he’d have stayed in Malaysia’. Whatever. But a place like Penang-Penang should be bustling, and the night we went it was almost empty. This is scandalous.
‘Who are your customers?’ we asked Joanne, the chatty young waitress (Malaysia by way of London). ‘Oh, it varies,’ she replied. People from the nearby Bases; expats from Oroklini and the surrounding area; a few tourists, though the whole area has been hit by a slump in tourism this year. I suspect they do a good takeaway trade, if only because the location itself is uninspiring – rather flat lighting, and the kind of bald, one-room layout more often associated with kebab joints and company canteens.
Getting a takeaway may be the best way for the slothful and reluctant to get acquainted with the place – but going there means taking advantage of the Set Menus, which are great value. Prawn crackers, a starter, rice, three mains and dessert for two people, all at £10 per person. You also get Ajar, or cold pickles Malaysian-style – refreshing and not over-vinegary, topped with handfuls of sesame seeds.
Malaysia is of course Chinese and Indian as much as Malay – which is why Penang-Penang’s menu takes in curry dishes and the likes of Lemon Chicken as well as the more unusual tastes of sambal and Beef Rendang. There’s even the ubiquitous Crispy Aromatic Duck. We decided to forego the more familiar stuff and stick with Malay dishes, albeit washed down with sake – Japanese rice wine – for that pan-Asian feel. (Those looking for more normal wine get a short but eclectic list, ranging from Rioja to South African Chardonnay.)
Malay cuisine deals in three main taste-strands: coconut, belacan or shrimp paste (used in sambal dishes), and the sweet-and-nutty combo of satay with peanut sauce. Obviously, that’s just the basics. Chili also makes frequent appearances, as do Thai-style lemongrass and the piquant sourness of tamarind. Mostly, though, it deals in dry flavours – the stiffness of coconut and peanut – offset by the pungency of fermented fish and the cooling sweetness of coconut milk. It’s nothing like Chinese food, though of course similar to Thai.
We had a Beef Rendang, one of the signature dishes, which – Joanne excitedly announced – the Malaysian Ambassador herself had pronounced toothsome a couple of weeks before. The sauce was excellent, though the beef itself a little chewy. To complement the dryness we went for Sambal Sotong – stir-fried squid with onions and tomatoes in a medium-spicy sambal sauce – which did the job brilliantly, and a Singapore Laksa, a kind of noodle soup with chicken, bean-sprouts and coconut milk (perfect for slurping!). The only real letdown was Nasi Goreng, another well-known dish, which turned out to be nothing more than tired egg-fried rice; but maybe that’s the idea.
Penang-Penang is about the food – yes, the chef is Malaysian – and our table-for-two barely scratched the surface. This is really a place to come to with a bunch of rowdy friends, join a few tables together and order a feast of two dozen different dishes.
I especially had my eye on the Inche Kabin – Nonya fried chicken, which Joanne couldn’t really explain but assured us was delicious, done with lemongrass and curry powder – and the Thai Duck, which is “boneless duck served with lime leaves, lemongrass and cucumbers, topped with chili sauce”. And the Asam Prawns (with tamarind). And the Sweet Chili Lamb. And the stir-friend aubergines with shrimp. And the pork in dark soy sauce. And those Coconut Pancakes with Ice Cream for dessert. I’ll be back, I suspect.
By Theo Panayides
SPECIALITY Beef Rendang
KIDS Welcome
SEATING About 40
WHERE Dhekelia Road, after Palm Beach Hotel, Larnaca
CONTACT 24 647171
BOOKING Not necessary
PRICE Dinner with wine, £30 for two
