Eating Malay in Penang

My sister suggested that we go for Malay food one evening when I was in Penang...and brought us to this delightful little bungalow in Kelawai Road. Beautifully refurbished, and with a fine dining air...the restaurant seats, probably 60.



Interestingly also, the restaurant is owned by a chinese family, though all the cooking and staff are malay, and I presume, the cuisine is halal.

But we started with a classic Indonesian salad...the gado-gado



Fresh raw vegetables, cubes of potato, and lightly blanched taugeh piled high, with taukwa and boiled egg...topped with a generous serving of peanut sauce. The sauce was creamy, delicious, with a tinge of lime. The greens were fresh, and crunchy. Great way to start a meal.

And the meal begins...

Sotong Kapitan



Squid, lightly cooked in a marvellous curry sauce...typical of Penang...called Kari Kapitan, this dish is more usually cooked with chicken, but this squid version is equally good.

We also had some grilled prawns



Large, fresh, succulent. Need I say more?

And the piece de resistance for me...the chicken curry



This dish really made the day for me. The curry sauce was rich, piquant, spicy. The chunks of chicken were supremely tender, and tasty. This must be one of the best curry chicken I have eaten at an establishment serving malay cuisine. MArvellous.

For desserts, we had chendol, sago gula melaka and what the Malays call ABC - air batu campur...or ice kachang.



The others were forgetable, but the ABC was outstanding. Interestingly, in addition to the usual ingredients, it featured strips of dried, candied nutmegs...a Penang speciality, and that elevated the dessert from a good but unspectacular ice kachang, to one which shines. Beautiful.

Overall, the restaurant was a winner for me. Excellent cuisine, great service in a space with a nice ambience.





Restoran Ros
67 Kelawei Road
Penang

open daily from noon to 3pm for lunch, and from 6.15pm to 10pm for dinner.
04-227 9277.



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