Penang Place Opens at Suntec City – Authentic Penang Buffet from $24.90!

When we talk about Penang food, the first few dishes that come to my mind are definitely Penang Char Kway Teow, Assam Laksa and Prawn Noodles. Fans who used to make the long trek way to Penang Place old outlet will be thrilled with their new outlet’s convenient location – SUNTEC CITY! They have taken over a huge space in Suntec City to continue serving authentic Penang buffet and a la carte dishes.

Owner of Penang Place, Paul Ooi, was born an hour away from Penang and Penang food was “food of his childhood”. Both his grandmothers are Northern Peranakan and he came from a Peranakan family, so he has always been interested in food.

Prepared by 7 Penang Chefs, the Penang buffet has more than 30 perennial hawker favourites which include Char Koay Teow, Penang Hokkien Mee, Penang Laksa, Penang Rojak, Chendol, Ice Kachang, Nasi Lemak etc. Having been around for more than a decade and run by the Ooi family, they look into every little detail and make sure everythng is done properly.

“People ask me what’s the formula for good food? Great chef equals great food. But it’s hard to find a great chef. You can have many chefs but very few are master chefs. If you want the formula to char kway teow, go to the internet and you can find all the recipe. But not many can fry a delicious plate of char kway teow. I am grateful to have a masterchef with me. His name is Alvin.”

I got a chance to visit the kitchen and watch how Chef Alvin prepares the char kway teow. He does it so effortlessly, but the wok hei is impressive considering they were only opened about a week and are still fine-tuning the kitchen operations.

Irregardless of the new location, Chef Alvin has masterfully controlled that fire and frying the flat noodles with eggs, shrimps, bean sprouts (really crunchy) and sauce. If you can, order an a la carte plate of Char Kway Teow fresh from the kitchen.

Almost everything is made in house. With the aim of creating an inclusive environment for everyone, there are no pork no lard in the menu and the meats and vegetables are halal sources. Its Lor Bak uses chicken and yam, marinated with five spice powder and served with homemade sweet cornstarch sauce.

The Penang Hokkien Prawn Noodles soup was thick and dense, with a more prominent prawn taste. Assam Laksa was a milder than expected, but aromatic. There’s also Nasi Lemak served with an assortment of dishes include vegetables, curry chicken, beef rendang, stingray etc. I can’t decide if I like the sambal or belachan more.

Penang Place has an assortment of nonya kuehs which they made on their own. Try the Pulut Tatai, the steamed glutinous rice goes exceptionally well with kaya.

We ended the meal at the DIY Corner where we made our own ice kachang and chendol. Paul said they are still looking for a better chendol supplier, but honestly, I think the chendol strips are excellent. Similar to the ones I had in Thailand (they called it Lod Chong), these emerald green strips are soft, doughy and has that addictive pandan fragrance. Drizzle sweet coconut milk and thick gula melaka over the ice and I can easily finish a bowl (maybe two).

Adult Buffet
Mon – Fri Lunch: $24.90++
Mon – Thur Dinner: $27.90++
Fri (Dinner), Sat, Sun, Eve of and on Public Holidays (Lunch & Dinner): $30.90++

Child Buffet (3 to 10 yrs)
Mon – Fri Lunch: $15.90++
Mon – Thur Dinner: $16.90++
Fri (Dinner), Sat, Sun, Eve of and on Public Holidays (Lunch & Dinner): $17.90++

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