Delightful Experience
A couple of weeks ago I attended a Food Blogger Meetup at Penang Delight Cafe, a restaurant I enjoy visiting for their authentic Malaysian food and friendly service. Penang Delight has been open for a while now, but I remember going there before it became Penang Delight. My former co-worker was friends with the previous owner who was Burmese and featured the same kind of cuisine on his menu. I can’t remember what the name of the restaurant was back then, but needless to say it is no longer there.
- Sambal Kang Kong (Water Spinach)
Rojak
Char Kueh Teow
Hainanese Chicken
Rendang Lamb
Mango Fish
Not everyone who attended the meetup had a blog, but one thing for sure is that we all share a love for food. Although I had met one or two of the attendees in the past, I still wouldn’t say that we were particularly well acquainted, so I felt a little apprehensive when I was appointed to do the ordering for my end of the table. The reason why I had the honour of ordering was because I was only one of two people who had dined at Penang Delight in the past, but I still felt liked I lacked the expertise in the matter of Malaysian food akin to an uninformed union leader, especially since I hardly knew this group of people and what their likes and dislikes may have been. After consulting with the group several times and receiving only positive feedback and reassurance that everyone was up for adventure I ordered a fair number of dishes that hopefully sampled the culinary breadth.
Lucky Salad
In addition to my initial selections, we were all sold on the recommendation of the ‘Lucky Salad’ which our server suggested to us. The salad was a feature item in light of Chinese New Year celebrations and we happened to be there the last day it would be available for the year. The salad itself was served with a few slices of raw fish and drizzled with a citrus ginger sauce which was sweet and zingy. I had heard about the salad a number of times, but I wasn’t quite sure how to go about eating it. Our server was gracious enough to give us a brief explanation of the symbolic dish and showed us the (im)proper etiquette when eating it. We all simultaneously pierced our chopsticks into the salad, lifting long thread-like ingredients high into the air, loudly chanting “Fat choy!”, supposedly securing our good fortunes for the new year. As we mixed the salad, bits and pieces of carrot, ginger, crispy rainbow coloured chow mein, and lettuce would fling beyond the boundaries of their plate and land on the table, but we were assured that this mess was all part of the process. I found this amusing, but my concern shifted from mixing the salad in the correct manner to making sure that all the ingredients in the salad were evenly distributed.
The dishes kept coming and everyone seemed to be enjoying the company just as well as the food. I am proud to say that my end of the table seemed to have out eaten the other end because we were still waiting for dishes to arrive when they had already called for the cheque. It’s too bad that things didn’t work out for the previous owner, but I’m glad that Penang Delight has brought new life to the space, and you can bet on me making another return visit.
Oooh the lucky salad looks so fresh!