July in Pittsburgh; it’s usually hot and muggy- not this evening; the air was warm, and the temperature was perfect. We were in Squirrel Hill on Forbes Avenue; sitting outside was a must. There were only a few restaurants with outside seating- we chose a place called Sun Penang, because the thought of Asian food appealed to us. We seated ourselves at a table (on the sidewalk) and waited for our waitress to arrive. There were two occupied tables on either side of us; a family of four, and a couple with a black lab by the name of Chloe. Chloe was tied to a small tree a few feet away from us- she was the official people-greeter; nice to meet you Chloe. Woof.
Before our server arrived, I went to the wash my hands. Every single table was unoccupied- not a good sign in any restaurant for a Friday night at 7:30 PM.
Our waitress stopped by with menus, and to take our drink order. We were famished, and asked for an order of summer rolls (which weren’t on the menu). “We can make them, but it will take a while,” our server explained. No problem… we can wait. In the meantime, our drinks arrived. My dinner guest ordered a long island iced tea, and I had a Sprite (I had to get us home ok?). The iced tea was STRONG but good- lots of alcohol- no skimping here.
Four Spring Rolls Arrived with a spicy peanut sauce. The rolls were good; filled with carrots, lettuce, cilantro; no Asian noodles- bummer. While finishing our appetizer, we ordered entrees: Penang Char Kway Teow (stir-fried flat rice noodles with shrimp, bean sprouts and chili paste ($10.00) and Green Curry Chicken (chicken with eggplant, peppers, string beans, potatoes basil and lime leaves in a spicy coconut- curry broth ($12.00). The Penang Char Kway Teow arrived looking good. The noodles were robust, and covered with sauce. Since our server didn’t serve both of our entrees at the same time, we decided to dig in. The dish was flavorful, but needed some seasoning. I grabbed a small shrimp with my chop sticks and popped it into my mouth. The shrimp was moisture-free; dry… more like shrimp jerky… YUCK. We also discovered small pieces of unrecognizable protein in the dish. Baffled, we asked another waiter to identify these flat-like slabs of something- “that’s squid…you’re not allergic are you?” Thankfully no, because it wasn’t in the list of ingredients on the menu! Our Green Curry was next, served with brown (at my request) and regular, white rice. The Chicken Curry was very flavorful. One disappointment- I know it reads “served in curry broth” but a richer, sauce would have been better. Another curious observation- there was fresh as well as canned mushrooms in the dish.
At the end of our meal we had noticed that our new friend Chloe, the black lab, was eating a scoop of vanilla ice cream from Baskin Robbins… I wish we had done the same, in lieu of having dinner at Sun Penang.
Chef Chuck Kerber
chuck@cooksandeats.com
