New Malaysia Restaurant

Ever since my boycott of that other Malaysian restaurant in Chinatown, I've been trying to find another place to satisfy my cravings. I finally remembered that Malaysian restaurant I used to go to when I was younger.

This place is located in that tunnel that runs from Bowery St to Elizabeth St in Chinatown. It's a medium size restaurant so it's a bit tight in there. Going to my table was like walking through a maze. In the end though, I didn't mind. The place also looked fairly clean.

I didn't get a chance to study their menu before I went so it took me awhile to order my food.

Lemonade Ice Tea - $2.50

H claimed he ordered a malaysian iced tea but this came to our table instead. The drink was refreshing but really sweet.

Roti Canai (Indian Pan Cake) - $3.25

The curry sauce was pretty good. It was fairly thick. I hate watery curry sauce. My one complaint is that they don't give enough curry.

The pancake was different. It was a bit thicker than your usual pancake. Having said that, it tasted pretty good (in a different way).

Preserved Vegetable w. Beef Soup - $5.95

This was kinda bad. Edible but not worth ordering again. For some reason, I thought it was going to be sour since it had preserved vegetables. It wasn't sour at all. I think it had some sweetness to it actually. The flavor was just off.

Choy Kway Teow - $6.50

When I ordered this, the waitress asked me if I wanted it spicy or not. I said spicy. She must have forgot because this wasn't spicy at all. It was actually pretty bland. I mean, it wasn't the worst noodle dish I've ever had but it definitely lacked flavor.

Oh, the hot sauce I asked for was weird. It wasn't your typical chinese hot sauce. It was watery so I'm thinking it was the sauce that comes with Hainanese chicken. 

Tender Beef in Curry - $13.50

Now, you know that I don't usually order a beef dish as my main meat dish but I ordered one that day. I think the "tender" part of the dish name attracted me. Plus, I figured H would be happy with it.

The beef was actually tender. It was definitely lacking flavor though. Plus, I think the curry had coconut juice in it. I dislike coconut based curry =/

Overall, it was an alright place. I want to go back but I will order other dishes when I do.

New Malaysia Restaurant
46-48 Bowery Street
Chinataown Aracde #28
New York, NY 10013
212-964-0284

Dinner at Nyonya

Dinner with a few friends at this fairly popular Malaysian restaurant in Chinatown...

I always forget to take a picture of the front of the restaurant so I borrowed this from Yelp. This place is located across the street from their old place. Not sure why they moved but I'm thinking they wanted a bigger space or maybe they couldn't work out a lease with the old place. The outside is nicer (I like the big window) and the inside is okay. Nothing special.

Home Made Roti Canai (Indian Pancake) $3.50

It's Malaysian all time favorite, crispy style pancake & curry chicken dipping sauce.

I usually get this when I eat Malaysian food. It taste like your typical Roti Canai - crispy pancake with curry.

Baby Oyster Omelette $8.95

Malaysian favorite pan fried baby oyster with egg 

I liked this dish...mainly for the egg. I'm not a big Oyster fan so I just eat the parts that don't have it. The egg is tasty and not too oily. It kinda reminds me of the eggs I cook at home (when I do cook them).

Closeup

Chow Kueh Teow $6.75

Malaysian famous stir fried flat rice noodles with shrimp, chive, squid, bean sprouts, eggs, soy sauce and chili paste.

This noodle dish was so-so. I found it a little tasteless. The noodle wasn't as soft as it should have been and the flavor didn't soak into it. I like this dish the best in the Taste Good Malaysian in Elmhurst.

Hainanese Chicken (1/2) $8.50

Steamed chicken with bone (room temperature) with Chef's soy sauce.

Typical chicken plate that I normally get. Not bad but I wasn't feeling the sauce. I found it too watery.

Beef Rendang $13.95

Tender pieces of beef simmered w. exotic spices (cinnamon, cloves)

I know the picture doesn't make it look very appetizing but it wasn't bad. I only ate a few bites of it (we ordered a lot of food) but I liked it. Tasted like beef curry. I used the pancake from the roti canai and dipped it in this sauce ;)

Sarang Burong $12.95

Shaped fried taro stuffed with shrimp, chicken, corn, snow peas & black mushroom topped with cashew nuts.

I think I order this dish every time I go to this chain with my mom. She loves it ;) As for me, I just like the taro. I can do without the vegetables and meat. This taro thingy used to be twice its size years ago. We used to not be able to finish this but now we can finish it easily.  

Crispy Golden Friend Squids $10.95

Also one of my favs. The squid is well flavored (a tad salty IMO) and crisp. H likes to eat the veggies that come with it. I personally don't care for it.

Deep Fried Red Snapper in Belachan Sauce (~$30)

The fish itself was pretty good. It was fried well and didn't taste fishy. The sauce however was kind of disappointing. It was good but just a bit too salty. I felt that it was somewhat overwhelming. But overall, not a bad dish but not the greatest either.

Nasi Lemak $6.50

Coconut rice flavored w. cloves & screw-pine leaves. Served w. chili anchovy, pickle, curry chicken w. bone and hard boiled eggs.

I only took a couple of bites of this dish also...so I don't really remember what it tasted like. I do remember liking it though!

ABC

Shaved ice with red bean, corn, palm seeds, lotus jelly & topped with red rose syrup

I actually haven't ordered this dessert in awhile. I don't know if that's the reason it tasted different to me. I think the corn is new. I wasn't feeling that. I can't pinpoint which ingredient attributed to the odd taste but I was kinda disappointed. I don't think I would order this on my own but I wouldn't mind sharing it with a friend if he/she wanted to order it.

So overall, the food was above average. I don't know if it's because I overstuffed myself but the meal wasn't that memorable. Actually, yea, I think it's probably because I ate too much...

Would I recommend this place? Sure, if you want some good food. Just don't expect much from the service. There were some very shady points after the meal but I don't feel like elaborating. Let's just say I'm going to try to avoid this place for a very long time (if not forever). The Bklyn (86th St) chain will continue to be my place!

Nyonya

199 Grand Street, New York, NY 10013

(212) 334-3669 

http://www.penangusa.com/location_nyonya_main.html