Quick, fresh, gigantic portions and the best roti! The sauce is addicting and if you happen to have leftover it's great on rice. Order ahead online for pickup. Usually parking out front on road but if it's peak dinner time you'll have to hunt for spot. read more

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We've visited a few times, most recently after a trip to Penang, Malaysia, hoping it's improved and trying different dishes, but have been disappointed each time... They have a few decent dishes, but we've had more misses than hits. This time, we ordered curry yong tau foo which was surprisingly good, char kway teow, and prawn mee. The portion sizes were generous, but the char kway teow noodles were wrong and the prawn mee lacked flavor. Service was fine; interior is spacious and was empty when we visited. Overall, it might be worth coming again for specific dishes, but it might take too many tries to identify the good ones. read more

This food was so good. It was chill and quiet in there when me and my mom went. It was clean in the dining area and in the bathroom. Our server was nice and everything came out super quick! read more

We were in the area for a bridal dress fitting so stopped in for lunch. Pad Thai was large as was the fried rice. Both were a bit dry. The curry chicken had a good level of spice and lots of veggies. I realize spice levels are subjective but beware if heavy spice is not your thing. I asked for minimal spice and my curry was pretty spicy- according to all at our table. On an unrelated note, the rest rooms were spotless! Really nice and clean. Service was good. read more

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We were craving some Asian food and decided try this place for lunch. It's Malaysian food and we have had some amazing Malaysian food in the past. The restaurant ambience is ok - very casual. Nothing fancy about it. The servers were very sweet and polite. However, the food is not good at all. We were a group of 8 of us, and no one enjoyed the food. Here are the veggie options we ordered: - Roti Canai (vegetarian) - this was good. Wish the gravy was a bit thicker, so it would be easier to eat with the roti. But the curry had a lot of flavor. - Veggie Spring Rolls - this was ok. Definitely not the best I've had. - Basil Thai Fried Rice - I had high hopes for this one,as it's one of my favorites at Thai restaurants. This was so bland, that it lacked the basic flavors. We also asked them to make it vegetarian and without eggs, but the rice smelled of eggs. We had to return it as the rice was just not tasty at all. - Singapore Noodles - again, so bland! I had to mix it with the Roti Canai curry to add some flavor. We pretty much left this dish halfway. - Mango and Fried Rice as dessert - so bad. The mango was sour and the rice was not cooked well at all. Overall, not a place I would recommend. Majority of the people in the group were non-vegetarians and did not enjoy their dishes either. There are many other restaurants in the area. The Peppino's Dosa is amazing. read more

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I've eaten in the waltham location a couple of times, and same for their chinatown location. I went for the roti canai and Chow Kueh Teow noodles dish. Roti canai - Think of this as Chicken curry, with puffy nan-like bread for dipping all that saucy goodness. There is ONE piece of chicken in each order, consistently. There are a few pieces of small potatos as well. The idea is you rip some of the bread off and dunk it in the sauce and eat it. It's pretty good. It is small, as it is an appetizer. Chow Kueh Teow - These are slightly spicy noodles with shrimp. Portion size is good as the whole container was filled. This is one of my safest bets when I want a noodle dish here. Good flavors and always leaves me satisfied. I've done pick up at the restaurant and can say they offer dine in service. There is some street parking outside. The Waltham location is unfortunately slightly outside of the heart of moody st, where all of the other restaurants are. I hope this place does well as I do enjoy the different mix of food that they bring to the neighborhood. read more

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We really enjoyed our dinner at Penang. They have a wide variety dishes and also a good number of vegetarian options. I really enjoyed the Satay Tofu and the Buddhist Yam Pot. They also are able to accommodate larger groups with their layout, which was helpful as we had visitors. read more

Beef satay is the worst I've ever tried. (I usually love satay). It's so overcooked and unable to chew. I asked the server and she simply said it's just the beef. Chicken will be better. What kind of service this is???? Pork rib herb soup (bak kut teh) has multiple full fat pieces floating. Disgusting and very salty. Disappointed and do not go. read more

Penang - Pork rib herb soup (bak kut teh) has multiple full fat pieces floating. Disgusting. - Malaysian Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts

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I've been to Penang in Chinatown many times and enjoyed pretty much everything there. But I was totally disappointed in their Waltham location. We ordered the House Special Fried Nasi Lemak, which was a boring, tasteless pile of rice. There were tasteless shrimp, tasteless peas, and tasteless everything else in it. Think 'white rice with a little oil'. We also ordered the beef chow fun (although the other reviews were dismal). This wasn't bad - it actually had a little flavor. I would have rated this meal with one star, but the chow fun bumped it up. The service was A+; it's too bad the food was so sadly boring. read more

BRO I LOVE MOODY ST. PENANG WITH MY WHOLE HEART. I grew up eating Malaysian food with my mom and when my brother and I went to the Chinatown location, they were hella rude to us, so I was skeptical about this one too. However, the service has never not been super attentive and really nice. The manager/owner(?) also always checks in with us every time ive been. The roti is crispy and light. The Hainese chicken is super juicy and flavorful. The chicken satay has a generous portion and the peanut sauce has the perfect ratio. The ABC is a little different from NYC but the ice is so nicely shaved with lots of toppings underneath. read more

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Went for a weekday lunch and was super disappointed. I feel like this is a bad Chinese restaurant trying to offer Malaysian food. - Beef Satay: looked like it was made from top round. The lack of fat made it dry and tasteless. - Roti Cani: Curry was super watery, tasteless and the Roti wasn't even crispy. - Beef Rendang: This one annoyed me the most, not only was sauce watery, the beef was dry and bland, - Hokkien Mien: Again watery sauce and they used thin Lo Mein noodles instead of thick noodles. - Penang bean curd: This was the only dish that was decent and was told the tofu was made in house. Would've been nice to see more tofu though. I will say the service was good, they were attentive and water was always filled. Though It is weird that they give red solo disposable cups for water. read more

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having an expectation as a Singaporean as I'm craving for comfort food. Came across this and immediately thought nuts. Ordered Kang Kong belacan & Indian mee goreng. Both not recommended as it's not spicy (probably cater to local tastes) also ordered a bowl of chicken rice to go along with the kang Kong and it taste nothing like it would be. Rice had too much water and no fragrant. Super disappointing. read more

Penang - Kang Kong belacan & Indian mee goreng Both not recommended as it's not spicy (probably cater to local tastes) - Malaysian Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts

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The homemade roti, hainese chicken, watercress and dry pearl noodles dishes are my staple items at Penang (here and the Boston one) and are the ones I'm always craving. The curry that comes with the roti is a little too watery for me. I like it slightly thicker so you can pick up more sauce with the pancake. The water cress is always on point. The hainese chicken was a little overcooked today, but the flavors made up for that. We came on a Monday night and there was plenty of street parking in front. The restaurant was not packed so we didn't feel rushed eating. read more

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This restaurant used to be good, they say. It should not exist anymore. The roti kanai was awful. The roti was too crisp and crumbly. The chicken sauce had one minuscule piece of chicken and watery sauce. The ginger chicken was like a plate full of plastic. No flavor. Sorry Penang. You've got to improve or go. read more

I want to give this restaurant 5 STAR as I have never seen a restaurant charge you less than the menu's price. The first time I thought it was a mistake but when I returned the second time, they did the same. So many restaurants nowadays have increased their prices frequently due to inflation but Penang is exceptional! The foods are delicious and big portions and the ambiance is very nice, so clean! I highly recommend this restaurant to any one who wants to try Malaysian food. read more

Read about it & decided to take the plunge on a Saturday night. About 15 tables in the restaurant. Interesting that forks on most & two tables in front with Chopsticks. I will say that the service was VERY attentive. A+ there. But the food, sorry to say was a little disappointing for me. Odd start when melady ordered tea & was served Lipton. Thai restaurant serving Lipton? Come on! Started with fried dumplings as an app. Very average. We decided on the sizzling beef dish & to me while plenty of sauce, the steak itself was dry & I found the sauce in both this dish & the beef chow fun (other dish) to be rather bland. Edible but didn't challenge the palate. Someone else here wrote that their food lacked a lot of taste. I get it. I WILL try Penang in Boston's Chinatown (heard/read better things) but I will not come back here, sorry to say. read more

Really great Malaysian food. They will make the food any way you want. They use quality ingredients. Everything is fresh and tasty. Service is fast and friendly. Prices are very reasonable. We love this place. read more

The food was excellent and service was great. The owner and staffs were very friendly! The curry beef brisket was my favorite! Restaurant ambiance was good, very family friendly. Highly recommended for a family meal on the weekends! read more

I absolutely love Malaysian food and ordered a few of my favorites to ee how it would turn out. We got the Nasi Goreng Chicken and the Beef Rendang based on the reviews on this site. We also got the Roti Canai. I have learned how to authentically make several of these dishes and have personally made all but the beef rendang myself. I will state that my standard was Bentara restaurant in New Haven (now closed) and I have used the recipes from the chef at that restaurant (Hasni "Jeff" Ghazali. Sadly (but great for him, he now is in Belize). Back to Penang's dishes. Dish 1, the Nasi Goreng, was pretty flavorless and it tasted as if it had been stir fried with a rancid or old oil - the flavor was really bad. The thinly sliced chicken wasn't great (dry) and there wasn't much of it in the rice. The beef in the beef rendang was so dry that we put it back into the container. The sauce on the Roti Canai - I saw that some folks complained it was watery - well, I guess it kind of was but I could get past that if the flavor was there, but it was not. I'm pretty certain at this point I'll only be able to make this myself. I spent a lot of money on this meal ($98) - it was packaged nicely, but we ate maybe 1/4 of it and won't keep the leftovers. In any case, this was a pretty expensive mistake and I am not sure I'll be able to give this one another go. Had to find something else to eat for dinner after tonight's disappointment. I wish it were better. read more

Had lunch here on the way to a concert at Gillette Stadium and really enjoyed it! Crag Rangoon was great, Beef Rendang was tasty and the meat super tender if a little thin with the sauce. Roti Canai was what I came for and was a little disappointed, the pancakes were a little chewy and the sauce very thin ... ordered two and one was spicy and the other mild! Pearl noodles were delicious and the house rice was ok if s little bland. Service was great, fast turnaround and the place was clean. Not much of an atmosphere but ok. read more

Two months ago, I went to get dinner at this Malaysian restaurant. I got the nasi lemak rice plate, king pork buff and peanut pancake. The nasi lemak rice plate came with curry chicken, boiled egg, sliced cucumbers, chilled vegetables and anchovies and coconut rice. Delicious! The king pork buff is the Malaysian version of Peking pork chops. The pork chops were deep fried and served in a sweet barbecue sauce. The flavor was there but the pork chops weren't crispy. I also thought it had way too much sauce. Probably, it was takeout so I assume it would be better when dining in. The peanut pancake was a dessert that had peanuts, corn and peanut sauce spread over a grilled roti and cut into bite size pieces. It was a nice dessert. Unfortunately, the restaurant is on Moody street so there is only street parking. read more

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The restaurant looked newish but turned out to be disappointing for a couple of major reasons.... Ambiance is a little noisy and relatively sterile decor. Water is served in plastic cups so not the most eco-conscious approach for a sit down lunch. Not many people at all for a week day lunch crowd. But for some unfathomable reason we were "rushed" to order appetizers which turned up in 3 minutes flat. Turned out that the chicken satay was hohum and the spring rolls were average. While we were working on the appetizers we were approached 3-4 times by the (apparent) manager to place our main order. Again, there was a degree of urgency that did not jive with the fact that only 3-4 tables out of 10-12 tables were occupied. The main entrees were delivered in under 5 minutes and the taste of the asparagus chicken malaysian style and beef chow fun noodles was nothing to write home about. Each dish tasted the same except for the texture of the chicken vs. the Beef and the noodles vs. the asparagus. We barely had time to tackle the main entrees before the bill was slapped down on our table. Very strange approach to creating a lunch time dining experience. I will not be going back. Very disappointing. Bathroom was very clean so I give it a star for that. read more

Penang - Malaysian Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts

Food was fantastic. Really surprised at how authentic and tasty everything was considering it's location in Waltham. The best thing was the stir fried vegetables - one of the best versions of this dish I've ever had. When I drive from Boston toward West Mass or vice versa, I always try to squeeze in a stop here. Never a wait and the restaurant is spotlessly clean and service is always fantastic. read more

Great restaurant. The waitstaff were very friendly, attentive, and helpful. Roti Canai: this is a great $5 appetizer and I'd recommend it. We split each one between 2 people, but I think I could've eaten a whole one by myself. It comes with a delicious sauce that had meat in it! Bak Kut Teh: the soup was very flavorful and full of a rich melange of spices and smells, but in a subtle kind of way. Not overwhelming at all. Pork belly was good. Rendang: delicious. $19.50 was pricey, but I haven't had this dish before. Maybe that's the standard price? The beef was really tender, and the sauce was good enough to take home and make another meal out of. Indian Mee Goreng: the tofu in this dish is delicious. It's fried... I mean REALLY fried. So crispy! Hokkien Char Mee: this tasted very similar to the Mee goreng. The Mee goreng was definitely the better one. This one was similar, but less fried. There was some liquid at the bottom; personally I like drier noodles Overall, the dishes were on the expensive side. I feel like the dishes labeled as spicy could have been spicier, as I hardly tasted any spiciness. read more

Penang - Beef Rendang - Malaysian Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts

TLDR: great Malay food! Loved eating here. Having family in Malaysia and visited several times this place does a great job! The roti chanai reminds me of mamuk stands. There's plenty of wok he (heat of the wok) on the fried dishes. I love that they have traditional deserts like ABC! Will happily come here again. read more

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The Roti Canai is unbeatable! And I love all the other dishes. The staff is very nice and attentive. Toilets are fully accessible for wheel chairs and so clean! read more

I was looking quite forward to this place to try out when I randomly searched for it a few weeks back and see that it's much more car friendly compared to the Chinatown location. Overall it's great, the servers were very friendly and they were really quick with the food. The plastic utensils and plates were a bit let down but given its COVID precautions I could understand, I definitely do like their full beautifully printed menu however, I'm glad they didn't do away with it. The food were all quite good probably not the best I've had but its one of the better ones for sure. I was a little let down with the Spicy Thai Chicken as I thought the meat was a bit rubbery and not as juicy and fresh as I had at other similar establishments. However the sauce was quite on point that we decided to bring home leftovers :) The fried rice and Beef Rendang were both really well done and they are definitely worth of return visits. When I visited it was pretty easy to find street parking on a Sunday afternoon as the place was relatively empty which is good as they don't really have that many tables to be honest. Its a great place to for Malaysian foods I am happy I made it out here. read more

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Have never tried Penang before but was craving Hainanese chicken and rice. I saw that there were good reviews so I ordered delivery.. and got a bunch of bones. I truly could not pick out more than a couple of shreds of meat and wish the restaurant was more considerate when they sent out this order. Like did they really think this was acceptable? Oh, and I'm pregnant so this is an extra bummer. I ended up having to make myself eggs for dinner read more

Penang - 2. Hainanese Chicken with Rice - Malaysian Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts

I drove about 50 minutes to Waltham, MA from Rhode Island to meet a new friend who has just moved to the area from a different country. I chose to meet at Penang Malaysian restaurant because of the 5 star reviews. Coincidentally, this restaurant happens to be the favorite of my friend and her family, who visit frequently. My new friend doesn't eat much meat and usually orders the vegetarian dishes. I decided to try the Chicken Curry w/ rice, hoping it would taste as good as a much older acquaintance's dish; this woman lived in Malaysia for many years and is an excellent cook. That said, I was happy that Penang's version tasted very similar. Malaysian Chicken Curry is very distinctive and different from curry dishes from different countries (Thailand, Japan, India, etc). It also happens to be my favorite. In my humble opinion, Peneng's Chicken Curry w/ rice is worth the long 50 minutes drive and I plan on returning at least once a month just for that, weather permitting. Great for casual dining in with a small group of friends and/or family. Restaurant is small, so I recommend calling about seating availability first during peak hours. Free 2 hour limited street parking. Friendly service. read more

Very clean restaurant with prompt service. The roti is great. The satay and Nasi goreng are good too. The place was empty during lunchtime, which is odd since its sister branch in Boston is bustling. I wonder if its lack of advertising or just because lunchtime on a weekday isnt as busy read more

The service is amazing. The food has so much flavor. The portions are good, and decent pricing for authentic Malaysian food. I love their curry stew boned in chicken! read more

Penang - Curry Chicken with Rice - Malaysian Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts

Whenever I'm craving Malaysian food, Penang is my favorite comfort choice. Their Roti & Curry appetizer is so delicious and you HAVE TO order their Hainanese Chicken. Their chicken is always so tender served with an amazing housemade spicy sauce. Only downside is their rice can be a little mushy sometimes. Also love that they offer traditional Malay desserts like ABC - so nostalgic and yummy :) read more

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Just meh. Ordered curry mee, Nasi lemak, and beef rendang. All 3 should be the staples for Malaysian cuisine. They were all a little plain and a little sweeter than our likings. Food were also not hot. Maybe it's a cold day. So we were looking for some hearty warm food. And they were not it. Overall, you could still recognize that it's a Malaysia restaurant hence the 3 stars. Service was also not as great as the food. We were rush to order something as soon as we sat down. read more

I was so happy to see one of my long time favorite places from Chinatown open up a location in Waltham! We had takeout from here for a double date night with some friends, and it did not disappoint :) Reminds me of the few years I lived in Singapore as a young child and the Malay food we would have. Really tasty must-get dishes are the Roti Canai (thin crispy style pancake with curry chicken dip on the side) and the Beef Rendang (beef spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and lemongrass). We also had the spare ribs (quite good also and great flavor), and the Hainanese chicken (great traditional Chinese style dish and made very well here, not as spicy and bold as the other dishes - but this is by design - and I loved the rich soy flavor of this chicken). Enjoyed the pineapple fried rice quite a bit (unfortunately for the takeout it did not come in the pineapple shell, which is a cool component of the dish based on the photos). Definitely planning to come back here for a dine-in experience and try some more dishes! read more

I've been to the Penang in Chinatown numerous times and it has always been the go to when I want hainanese chicken rice. The quality there has been going down since before pandemic. In order to prevent looking for a place to park in Chinatown I came to this one in Waltham. Yesterday for Mother's Day we came with a group of 8 people. We ordered our staple dishes and tried a couple of new one. Roti with curry: the roti was delicious and I look the texture of it. The curry on the other hand has been watered down to look like curry but has no flavor. Oyster omelette: the flavor is there but there was a huge clump of lettuce. They didn't even bother to separate the lettuce so it's easier to eat. I also thought I ordered oyster omelette not just an omelette. There were maybe 5 pieces of mini oysters in there. Beef/chicken satay: too dry and there is no satay flavor. All you taste is sweetness. It's like eating a lollipop on a skewer. The sauce didn't help too. Dried beef curry: I thought it was supposed to be dry but it came all watery. The beef was dry though it choked me. Hainanese chicken: normal but the rice was missing the flavor it was supposed to have. Pineapple fried rice: it was good. Basil fried rice: the flavor was there but what happened to the basil. There was not even one leaf of basil in the rice. Penang house special clams: this was the worse dish of the night. This thing was so sweet like sugar. I've never had sweet clams and this is probably the reason why. It was just plain disgusting and they call it their house special? There were a couple of other dishes and they were all normal but not really worth mentioning. No pictures this time. So sorry to say I will never go to Penang again. It was good back in the days but now they skimp on ingredients and the flavor isn't there anymore. read more

Service was great! The food... unfortunately wasn't that good. The green curry chicken clay pot (19$) had amazing flavor in the curry itself, but the chicken was very dry. The vegetables were primarily asparagus, which was a bit surprising to me. The fried nasi lemak (13.5$) was odd; mostly the non-rice components were peas, carrots, and spam? With a few small shrimp and slivers of egg. No sambal or anything else? Overall, very little flavor. The roti canai (5.75$) was fine, but slightly tough. The curry flavor made me feel like this might be the sort of place where very particular dishes would be much better than others, but I don't think I'll be back to test that hypothesis out. read more

Love this spot for yummy family style dinner (also works well for two people too though!!). I was really surprised upon entering because it looks nothing like the Chinatown location- much smaller, but super clean and COVID friendly. They check your temperature upon entering too with a non-content temperature camera, soooo cool! I definitely recommend getting the ROTI CANAI- it's a must get appetizer each time. Warm and comforting chicken curry with Indian style pancake to dip it with. I love the texture of it. It easily rips apart and holds onto the curry flavor so well. This is easily one of the most popular dishes here- don't miss it! There's a huge selection of noodles and rice dishes here, as well as other meat dishes and veggies. Today, I got a CHICKEN AND BEEF SKEWER COMBO and it pairs with the satay sauce. SO BOMB SO FLAVORFUL. This would be a hit for anyone. I loved the CHOW KUEH TEOW. It's a great noodle dish that literally has bits of everything- like shrimp, squid, chicken, etc, so each bite is a fun surprise! I love the noodle texture here too. And they have you a generous amount for the price! LASTLY I got the MALAYSIAN STYLE SPARE RIBS. It comes with a side of sweet chili sauce which was delicious but I couldn't help but dip it in the satay sauce from the skewers as well!! TRY IT!! After each spare rib it got better and better. If you're local, definitely check out this spot on Moody Street! The servers are super nice too. I'm sure this place will be a hit! read more

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Excellent chicken dish. Love the Chow Kueh Teow noodle and the roti. We ordered them every time and they never disappoint. Street parking only though. Service is prompt and polite. We've eaten there and also done take-out. Highly recommend! read more

This and their Chinatown branch are pretty much the only options for Malaysian or Singaporean food. Food is good, almost 2/3 of the way to the flavors of those cuisines, almost like a watered down version of how it should be. Extremely quick service. read more

Sushi! Lots of kids in the restaurant. Authentic experience, including the option to reserve a knee-level table for larger groups.