East London's Penang City: Malaysian Cuisine

Malaysian Resturant: Penang City UK

Location: 61 Upton Ln, London E7 9PB 

Did you guys know that Malaysian cuisine is one of my favourites? No, you wouldn’t, because that reminds me—I still haven’t written the “get to know me” post! 🤭

A few weeks ago, my aunt and I were driving around, running some errands, when we spotted this cute but sleek restaurant. We decided it should be a must-try, especially since there aren’t many Malaysian places in Newham. We went on a Saturday evening around 8 p.m., and luckily, it wasn’t too busy. However, it’s worth noting that the restaurant has only been open for about three months, so I don’t think many people are aware of it yet. I loved that it was relatively quiet and, importantly, very clean. Have I ever told you that I’m obsessively clean? I’m guessing not. 😅

The menu is pretty basic, and I don’t recall coming across any particular special dish. I decided to play it safe and ordered the chicken rendang, which is a curry with a coconut-based sauce, along with steamed rice. My aunt went for the recommended dish, curry laksa, which is a noodle soup in a coconut curry broth topped with chicken, shrimp, tofu, bean sprouts, and vegetables. We also ordered a mixed platter of starters. This consisted of, chicken satay, vegetable spring rolls, curry puffs, and chicken wings. Of the starters, I would highly recommend the chicken satay and curry puffs. Both were very well-flavoured without being overpowering.

The chicken rendang was nice, although it had a strong flavour of cardamom and star anise. However, the spices mellowed when mixed with the plain steamed rice. I’m not sure it’s a taste for everyone. I was a little reluctant at first, but after a few bites, it grew on me. My aunt, on the other hand, wasn’t too impressed with her main meal. That’s probably because it was much milder in flavour compared to the other Malaysian restaurants we’ve been to. However, I still thought it was nice—just a little different from what we’re used to.

For the mains, people usually opt for roti canai, but since we order that at every Malaysian restaurant, I thought I’d try something different. After all, stepping outside my comfort zone is one of my new goals. Another blog post I’m yet to publish! 🤦‍♀️

The service was amazing. We had a great conversation with the restaurant owner, who is absolutely lovely and so well mannered. He mentioned that he had just opened the restaurant and that it was still a working progress. I love small restaurants, and I think it’s really important to support local businesses. While the overall experience was great, the restaurant could benefit from a few small tweaks here and there. That said, it has enormous potential to become a big success.

Total Price for 2: £35

To Note:

-Reservations: It’s best to make a reservation just in case.

-Parking: There’s a lack of parking in the area, so you’ll likely need to park on the inner residential roads.

-Dress Code: There isn’t a formal dress code, but I wouldn’t recommend showing up in gym clothes. 😂 It’s super casual—I wore black jeans.