Little Malaysia Restaurant (El Monte, CA)

This post should have been done long ago, but the photos were tricky to get off my dad's blackberry. For some reason, my mac hates Dad's phone; they cannot communicate. So I have to bluetooth the photos from his phone to mine, THEN to my computer. It was way too much work.

Anyways, I work in Koreatown LA, and I always see the signs for El Monte on my way there and back. I've been searching for Malaysian restaurants in Southern California for a long time, and I'd been wanting to try this place. Little Malaysia Restaurant is located just north of the 10 freeway, a few blocks past the El Monte Shopping Center. My parents sometimes like to come to LA with me, so they were with me when I decided to try out this restaurant.

We had a little trouble finding it because it was tucked away in the back corner of a dark, small, sketchy-looking strip mall with stores, a dim sum restaurant, and a few little sleepy to-go joints. Little Malaysia Restaurant, on the other hand, has colorful, tropical-themed decor, Asian artwork, and wooden folding chairs--you can tell they're trying to re-create a typical, small town Malaysian cafe.

There was only one pair of customers when we arrived, so we had our pick of the tables. I already know that nothing in Southern California will be comparable to what I had in Penang, but I still crave anything I can get that's close. I think I surprised the waitress because I knew pretty quickly what I wanted to eat.

We ordered roti canai, char kway teow, and seafood noodle soup. I also asked for a teh ice, which it basically cold teh tarik (sweetened, pulled tea). The roti canai was the best I've had so far State-side; it has a nice crispy texture and has the savory sauce on the side.

Mom ate the noodle soup, which was spicy even by my standards. It had really good flavor (not too fishy), and they didn't skimp on the shrimp, fish, and other seafood. The char kway teow was pretty good, too, and definitely better than what we had at the Penang Malaysian Cuisine (see my post on that here). It's such a standard Malaysian dish. The flat noodles are my favorite; it's like a more flavorful, colorful pad see ew at Thai restaurants. The rest of their dishes we couldn't really compare, since we didn't order the same things. But Dad and I can't stand bland food, so we enjoyed everything we ate here.

They give large portions, so we were thankful we didn't order too much. Even with just two dishes and an appetizer, we had way more than enough for three people. The service is friendly, albeit a little slow, especially considering that there were only two tables of customers. I can't wait until I get the chance to go back to Penang to eat my fill of Malaysian food, but this will have to do for now. It was quite awhile ago, but I do remember leaving the restaurant pretty satisfied. Or at least my stomach was.

---

Little Malaysia Restaurant

3944 Peck Road, Ste 8

El Monte, CA 91732

(626) 401-3188

Penang Malaysian Cuisine (West Covina, CA)

Dad was kind enough to finish his rounds and drive me to Koreatown today. On the way, we discussed the possibility of stopping off in El Monte--directly off the 60 freeway--to try Little Malaysia Restaurant. I haven't had good Malaysian food in a while (since London, strangely enough), so I've really been craving something, anything related to Malaysian cuisine.

After a productive meeting in LA, we headed back towards home. Using Dad's trusty Blackberry, we Yelp'd the location of the restaurant. Fortunately, Dad thought to call ahead and find out whether or not they close for the afternoon. And sure enough, they were just about to close. So we changed plans (and freeways) and headed towards West Covina. Dad is something of a human compass; so despite my faulty sense of direction (I'm completely lost without a GPS), we made it to Penang Malaysian Cuisine.

The restaurant is tucked into the corner of the very randomly-located Hong Kong plaza (South Glendora and Vine). Since it was already almost three in the afternoon, the place was pretty much deserted. Not that we minded--Dad doesn't like crowds, and as long as the food's good, I don't care either way. Needless to say, Dad and I were the only patrons in the restaurant.

Penang Malaysian Cuisine is definitely a far cry from the usual humidity, dustiness, and buzz of the open-air hawker restaurants. But I don't expect a southern California restaurant to exactly replicate my travel experiences. It was clean, quiet, and nicely decorated; the ambience was somewhere between a modern Thai restaurant and a Mexican cantina (if you can imagine such a place).

I think I surprised the waitress because I ordered without a menu: teh ice, roti canai, satay, and char kway teow. She actually asked me if I was Malaysian. I suspect most people just look at the pictures and point at what they want, or "point and click" as my dad calls it. Weirdly enough, the waitress is Thai, the cooks are Chinese and Mexican, and the owners are Burmese.

I don't think exported cuisines will ever be as good or authentic as the original, but the roti was still pretty good. It was flaky and thin and the sauce tasted almost exactly like what they served us in Penang. Dad had never had real roti before, so I was pleased that he finally got to try it (I'm dying to take him to Penang myself).

The satay came out shortly after; we ordered combination chicken and beef. Dad couldn't help saying over and over, "it's the best satay I've ever had." And he's tried a lot of different satay. It brought back very fond memories of trying satay from the vendor off the side of the road on the way to Tesco in Penang. The meat has a nice sweet glaze and a smoky flavor, and the sauce that came with it was great. Those who know my dad know that he's a sauce person; I suspect the sauce is what won him over.

Finally, we split the char kway teow. The noodles were actually the kind normally used in pad thai, so that was a little disappointing, and it wasn't as flavorful as I was hoping. It did have a spicy after-kick. I think it's probably pretty hard to match the char kway teow I've had in Malaysia, but it was still edible.

I was telling Dad about how people in Penang are fiercely proud of their food. Although I was only there for three weeks, by the end of the trip, even I was ready to defend Penang's cuisine against anyone from KL or elsewhere. It's been over a year now, and I still miss all of the food and all of my friends in Malaysia. I wasn't blown away by this restaurant, but it was still really fun to go adventuring with Dad and re-eat some good memories.

---

Penang Malaysian Cuisine

971 South Glendora Ave.

West Covina, CA 91790

(626) 338-6138

Sun-Th 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

Fri-Sat 11:00 am - 10:30 pm

For those who might be interested, they also give you a 10% discount, a song, and a free ice kacang (think shaved ice) for your birthday.