On recommendation that The Penang offers very good, authentic Malaysian Chinese food, we decided to revisit the restaurant for a lunch review.

The Penang has been located next to the The Original Pancake Kitchen in Gilbert Place for the past 20 years, and although ownership has recently changed, the décor looks to be the same as ever.

Gilbert Place – a laneway connecting King William, Hindley and Currie Streets – is brick-paved and home to a number of buildings with age and character. Quelltaler House, which houses The Penang, was built in the 1920s as the offices and cellars of Buring and Sobels Vignerons and sports a fancy Art Nouveau-style architrave.

Some may remember it as the location of the Arkaba Steak Cellar, a trendy restaurant during the late ’60s and ’70s that attracted local identities such as Don Dunstan. The site is allegedly haunted by the ghost of a former chef of the Steak Cellar.

Inside The Penang, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in a timewarp. Even the menu and prices look to be unchanged in 20 years, making it very good value for money.

Sherbet’s “Howzat” played in the background when we visited, and we started with a bowl of wonton soup ($4). Five handmade wontons made with pork mince and chives were served in a clear chicken broth. The wontons had good flavour and the chicken broth tasted natural.

Char Koay Tiaw (char kway teow) is a traditional Malaysian hawker dish made from thick, flat rice noodles stir-fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, chilli, shrimp, whole prawns, bean sprouts, chives, egg, slices of Chinese sausage and fishcake. The Penang’s Char Koay Tiaw ($10.90) was delicious.

The Curry Laksa (chicken $9.50; seafood $10.50) was fairly standard, but it had great flavour, good-quality noodles and included a generous amount of fresh seafood, including a couple of large whole prawns.

The table service was excellent.

Favourite dish: Char Koay Tiaw.

Other dishes: As you would expect, the menu is extensive, including a dozen or so signature dishes such as Singapore Fried Vermicelli ($8.90), Egg Noodle Soup with Crispy Roast Duck ($12.90), Assam Laksa (sour fish soup – $12.90) and Bak-kut Teh (“Meat Bone Herbal” – pork bone soup with cinnamon and star anise – $18.90).

Something sweet/to drink: Dessert includes fried icecream, banana fritters and nut sundaes ($4.90), as well as the traditional Roti Canai with Dhal Gravy (Indian-Malaysian flat bread with lentil curry gravy – $4.90) and Roti Canai with Icecream ($5.90).

The Penang is fully licensed. A glass of soda water is $2 and a stubby of Coopers Light Beer is $5. You can get a bottle of good local Riesling for under $30 or a litre of house wine for $14.90. Traditional Malaysian coffee is also available.

The Penang Malaysian Chinese Restaurant
22 Gilbert Place, Adelaide 8231 2552

Open for lunch, 11am-2.30pm, weekdays only.
Dinner, 5pm-9.30pm daily.

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