Penang Delight Cafe (Marpole)

Penang Delight currently has 2 locations in Vancouver… both nestled in seemingly odd residential areas.  I suppose the rent must be cheaper and, if the restaurant is good enough, people will find their way here.

We’ve always been a fan of the Penang Delight on Rupert so when we found ourselves running errands in Marpole, we stopped by here for an early lunch.  This location seems brighter and larger than their Rupert St location.  In the middle of the restaurant, they have some long tables with bench seating.  In the picture below, you can see the neat ornamental table divider that they use to separate diners.

Although the weather in Vancouver had started to go south, I decided to try their Mango Smoothie ($4.95) which came topped with chocolate chips and coconut shavings.  This would be great during the summer months.

You can’t go to a Malaysian restaurant without ordering Roti Canai – these thin and crispy pancakes are super soft and fluffy on the inside and comes with a curry dipping sauce for good measure.

When we ordered the Penang Shrimp Roll ($5.95) we were kind of expecting them to be in the shape of a roll.  So when they brought out these meatball-shaped things we first thought they got our order wrong.  But they couldn’t have gotten these pork and shrimp balls any better…  mixed with water chestnuts and onions they were definitely “streets ahead” as Pierce would say (yes, I somehow managed to fit a Community reference in this post).

The Rendang Chicken is prepared bone-in and pan fried with lemongrass, curry, garlic, and coconut milk.

My only complaint about the Malaysia Specialty Vegetables ($11.95) was that the tiny dried shrimp were too hard (think they needed to soak them a bit longer).  Otherwise, the combination of okra, crunchy green beans, tender eggplant, and red onions were well prepared.

Marpole is an interesting area of Vancouver, being one of the earliest settled areas in the city.  You might not know that before the Arthur Laing Bridge was opened in it’s current location, there used to be 2 different Marpole Bridges at that site.  The last one being removed in 1957 when the Oak Street Bridge was opened just to the east.

1316 W 73rd Avenue
Vancouver, BC