little penang

absolutely fantastic, i go there very often. i recommend the curry puffs and lobaks, they are very very nice. the customer service is perfect; friendly, tentative and professional. it's also great to see the menu expanding.

the best thing, besides the food, is the portion sizes. they are very generous and not overpriced like a lot of restaurants. food is delicious, servers are always polite and very accommodating.

the mee goreng is just about the best i have eaten in wellington. made with a lot of love which is great to see in wellington although stingy on the meat (3 prawns and that was it).

i would recommend nasi goreng and mee goreng, you can choose their level of spiciness and they taste good, also they are affordable. the price range is $13-14 per meal.

not sure why people are so hype bout this place as i cam here with mum and cuz.  i was looking for a noodle soup like a laksa but nothing to to seen from the menu.  most of the curries is on a smorgasbord and it feels like food court.  we order a few fried noodles as well and they were ok, not the best i have tasted.  service was ok but it was noisy and tables are too close together.

we enjoyed our meals this evening. i ordered a mee goreng with a lemon ice tea. our meals were very affordable and filling. we thoroughly enjoyed our meals and the medium spice was just right.

named after penang island in malaysia, little penang offers authentic malaysian cuisine in the heart of wellington. looking for a warm & filling hot meal for a casual lunch, my partner and i enjoyed our first time at little penang this weekend.

on our visit, about 1pm on a saturday afternoon, little penang was busy and crowded as always. however, the restaurant is spacious and accommodates many tables for guests, which adds to the vibrant and lively atmosphere. to me, the decor is rather plain, and if they had dim lighting, candles, and a cocktail menu, i would also love to come here for a classy dinner or date night.  

the food selection features a variety of meats and vegetables with different sauces & curries, which are all displayed in a cabinet at the front. i chose one labelled 'mild vegetable', served with rice, adding a turmeric chicken drumstick. along with a drink, charlie's orange & mango honest fizz, the three came to $19.30. 

my mild vegetable curry dish served vegetables including carrots, potatoes, tofu, and mushrooms, while also being served with cucumber, egg, and the most deliciously flavoured peanuts. i absolutely loved them and wish i could simply order a dish with the peanuts and rice. overall, i enjoyed my vegetables and rice - there was a pleasant and tasty variety served in generous portions. my turmeric chicken drumstick was average; it was enjoyable but could've been more flavoursome and tender.

my partner chose the mild chicken curry dish and added a pork bun, spending $15.80. he had the pork bun first and liked the texture because it was baked, as well as the delicious pork inside. he chose noodles to be served with his chicken and thought they complemented each other well; he loved the mildly spiced chicken that wasn't too hot, the curry it was drenched in and the overall flavours. while he enjoyed the chicken he thought it was a little dry. 

overall, a great first experience at little penang. the restaurant has a warm and inviting atmosphere, and the food is very wholesome, homely, and nourishing. i'd highly recommend little penang if you crave delicious and authentic malaysian cuisine that is simple and affordable.

saw heaps of people in this place, so decided to give it a try. i don't know what all the fuss is about ? i got nasi lemak which was very tasteless and bland. a friend had the nasi goreng which wasn't much better. maybe there's some awesome dishes that we don't know about and that is what everyone else was ordering.
on the plus side service is quick and efficient.
both the presentation of the dishes and the venue itself left a lot to be desired. the chopsticks and cutlery were all different brands and sizes and just sitting in a small container on the table along with two wispy little single ply napkins.
if the last people who used your table decided not to use the cutlery and sneezed of coughed on it then take a guess what else you would be eating with your meal.
there's a whole heap of food plopped into the bain maree heat baths where you enter the shop which then gets plopped onto a lump of rice and plopped onto your table.
also they sat a chicken wing on top of our meals for some unknown reason.
i know they can't do much about the location and surrounds of the venue but it seems to be in the most seedy looking street in wellington (strippers, tattoo parlor and a pole dance studio all across the street)
it's definitely the most overpriced place that i have seen of this caliber.
i wouldn't call it a restaurant, more like an eatery in a shopping centre food court.
for these reasons you would expect to pay food court prices.

i have now visited the legendary little penang on a number of occasions, and am yet to be let down by this fine establishment.

within my humble family lil' penang has a wondrous reputation, and is acclaimed just as highly as the 1997 cult classic australian comedy 'the castle. 

as a relative newcomer to the empire of penang i was worried that the lofty expectations created by my peers would lead to inevitable disappointment at a mediocre inner city malaysian joint. however, just as if witnessing the fulfillment of a great prophecy my heart was warmed as i accepted the embrace of a mystical place no longer foreign to me - and i knew that what had been whispered was true.

it just seems to have the balance of everything i look for in a restaurant, a diverse and authentic menu full of interesting flavours; a warm and lively atmosphere; very reasonable prices and grand serving sizes; and above all, that feel good x-factor which is so hard to pin down.

if anything, the only thing it could be missing is the one absolute knock out dish but there are many which come close. my personal favourite would have to be the sumptuous otak otak, as i am a sucker for the freshness and vibrancy of coconut and fish.

please, do yourself a favour and visit this sacred spot.

was in wellington for business, and went to another place which had no tables free so decided to try little penang.
a slight mix up with my order as didn't get my entree order till almost finished main. but they gave me it free to take back to hotel for later .had the char keow teow which was definataley the best i have had in new zealand. and probably as good as the ones i have had in penang. plenty of sausage. prawns. etc

went back next night had had hokien char which was good too
sadly my last night in wellington or else i would go tomorrow also :)

will be back.
nice friendly staff

great food. not always consistent, and portion sizes can vary. usual dishes are the char koay teow, mamak mee goreng, fried rice, hokkien mee and curry puffs.

it was a nice meal in little penang. most of things is “help yourself” that’ s why the food price is not high, which is fair enough. both of my order were yummy. will go to visit again.

ordered the clay pot rice, char kuey teow and pasembur. taste good overall but slightly salty. also, the rice is missing the crisp you normally get from clay pot chicken rice.

really had a high expectations with their foods but unfortunately 👎.. had ordered assam laksa.. it taste horrible. weirdly enough it tasted so bitter & so sweet at the same time. lack of taste and sourness/assam/masam. the char keow teow tasted good with the ‘wok hei’ taste. i can recommend that.

i had also ordered nasi tok ma on my previous visit, not sure what the chef is trying to achieve with the ‘slow braised beef with heaps of herb’ ..it was tasteless! maybe should only stick with ordering the stir fry menu item, i guess. 🤷‍♀️

overall i’m quite happy with the front house service, portion , price & the ambience.

top 3 places in welly, the roti and curry combo is super affordable and f****** delicious, get the vegetable fritters for the full experience.