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| - Visiting Penang for the first time this past weekend, and I have to say this is probably one of the most authentic Malaysian cuisines I've tried in the West Coast. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I've practically tried every Malaysian/Singaporean restaurants/cafes in the Bay Area. This restaurant outclass all of these wannabe's including the ultra-pretencious (and unreasonably expensive) Straits Cafe.
I normally go to Satay Malaysian Grille when I am in Vegas...i thought their satay was really good, until I tried Penang this trip. I went they twice in a row this trip, ordering their Hainanese Chicken rice (excellent!) and chicken satay (even better than Satay Malaysian Grille, esp. the satay sauce). Also ordered the Cantonese Style Seafood Chow Fun, which is quite good, but frankly, the one at Satay Malaysian Grille is a tad better.
Overall, both Satay Malaysian Grille and Penang Malaysian are very very good... far better than any of the so-called Malaysian/Singaporean places in the Bay Area (with the exception of Rasa, located near the San Jose International Airport). Penang Malaysian edges ahead in terms of authenticity and price point (about 10-20% cheaper than Satay Malaysian). Sadly, the business at Penang is nowhere close to its arch rival, which is also on Spring Mountain Road, probably due to the fact that it's a much further away from the strip, hidden in a local Asian strip mall. In my opinion, "da-best" Malaysian restaurant/cafe is still the Nyonya in NY's Chinatown! That's a absolutely 5-star rating!
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