Penang Delight-FUL!

I've been wanting to try Penang Cafe every time I visit Kimura on Rupert. It's always packed and the aromas wafting out whenever the door opens is amazing! My mom is a bit hesitant to try new places, but my stepdad is more than willing treat his tastebuds to new things. So with my mom visiting my sister in Hong Kong, I kidnapped my stepdad and we headed to there for a new taste experience! We started off with the basics...their Hainanese Chicken. The chicken is flavourful, with a bit of soy and some sesame oil as well. The chicken is deboned and makes it easier to inhale. I'm not a fan of chicken skin and the steaming method of cooking makes it so easy to peel the skin off. It's flavourful (yes, I snuck a few pieces in) but I just can't get over the texture of the skin.
And if you get Hainanese Chicken, it's almost de facto that you partner that up with rice...and Penang Delight offers both Coconut Rice and Chicken Rice Because we couldn't decide, we opted for one of each. The Coconut Rice on the left is fragrant with coconut milk, and although you might worry that the rice comes out "sweet", it doesn't. The aroma is sweet but the rice itself has be bit of salt in it to make it as savoury as you'd expect. The Chicken Rice is rich...instead of making rice with water, the liquid used for this is the chicken broth from the poaching of the chicken. Yes, it's a bit fatty, and thus, the colour of the chicken rice, just a bit darker that you'd expect. The flavours from stir-frying the rice with some garlic and ginger before adding the stock make the rice perfectly toasted and so rich. Another classic dish is the Hokkian Mee, sorry the KL Hokkian Mee (KL=Kuala Lampur).  It's reminiscent of a classic Shanghainese dish. Thick noodles smothered in a rich sauce made with oyster sauce and soy sauce, tossed with veggies, pork, chicken and a few shrimp. It's not rocket science, but it's one of those things that is truly "greater than the sum of its parts". Add a bit of sambal chili paste to it for a kick and it's perfect! And after all the rice and noodles, we decided to scale things back with a nice mellow soup, Bak Kut Teh. It's a slow cooked pork bone soup that is meaty in flavour but surprisingly light in texture. As you can see, there are a few bits of veggies, tofu and mushroom added to the mix, but the star ingredient is the pork bones. Ask for a bit of soy sauce on the side to dip these meat morsels in, you'll love it. The soup is hearty, rich and flavourful...a delightful way to end your meal.
I do need to revisit this place soon as I was remiss in not ordering their Roti Canai, which I love, and many have told me that it's a "must try". Perhaps I'll just do a takeout order next time I'm in the area!