Chain Reaction M Streetís Penang Turns Out to Be Pleasant Malaysian Surprise by Rachel Hunt and Stephen Qualiana Of all the Asian ethnic cooking styles that have become largely popular in the last decade, Malaysian is probably one of the least representedówhich would make it an odd choice for the cuisine of a chain of restaurants. But thatís what Washington newcomer Penang Malaysian Cuisine isóone of a small New York-based chain of Malaysian restaurants. Penangóprominently located on M Street in a popular and established area nightspotóis no Red Lobster or Outback Steak House. It was actually quite a surprise, from the comfortable dining space to the excellent food. The restaurant is in the corner building at 19th Street, with a flight of stairs on the outside going up to the second floor entrance, but itís easy to see because of its exterior design and signs. The decor of the interior is an elegant mix of influence: Maybe it can be described as modern urban American with Asian influence, with some exposed red brick walls, teak accents, low-slung focused lighting, and a design theme centered on natural colors. We often use th e time waiting to be seated to try new drinks and chat with the wait staff to see what they like (or dislike). We are often suckers for an original house drink, so we tried the most popular one called Penango ($8), which was a light fruit and alcohol concoction of Absolut vodka, mango, cranberry, grapefruit and lime juices. The large bar is actually designed as a divider between the lounge and dining areas. The non-smoking dining room is two-tiered with soft lighting. The smoking dining room section is really on a third level, higher than the other two and also brighter and with dÈcor based on stone. The kitchen juts out into this area in walls hung with glass, and you can watch the workings of the kitchen, but no one (including us) was remotely interested in this, just what came out of the kitchen. One of our standards for comparison in the appetizer department is how well a restaurant can serve fried calamari. Penang passed with flying colors. The sotong goreng ($8.95) was not only an original variation of the favorite, but it was one of the best we have ever had. The squid was not cut in the typical sliced rings but in chunks, very lightly battered and deep fried to a light crispiness. The accompanying ingredients were also unusual but delectable. They included chunks of green bell pepper and purple onion. The whole thing was bathed in a mild chili hot sauce. We would go back just for this dish alone. Roti canai ($4.25) was a dish with a particularly tasty, crispy fried bread made of many thin, chewy layers served with a strongly flavored chicken curry, heavy with coconut. Tomyam ($3.50) was a seafood soup made with shrimp, squid, scallops and mushrooms and heavily flavored with lemongrass, a soup we had never seen before. It is also available as a noodle dish and works very well as a main course. Ahchat ($6.95) was a pickled vegetable dish listed under salads on the menu. It had a welcome crunch as it was made from julienne pickled carrots, green beans, onions and zucchini. The vegetables are dressed in a turmeric and peanut-based sweet-and-sour sauce, garnished with toasted sesame seeds, and served on a pandan leaf. The dish appears again as part of one of the interesting rice dishes. Service was actually a team effort by the wait staff with one woman taking our order and several others serving us the food. They were all young but knowledgeable, and personable to the point where they were willing to talk and give away a few secrets about the food and business. The Asian-inspired serving dishes, some with organic designs such as flowers, are carefully selected to enhance the visual appeal of the culinary creations. The presentation of the red snapper special ($19.95) was particularly inspired. The fish was served slightly curled with its belly on the plateóas though it were magically cooked while swimming in the seaówith sauce poured over it and garnished on an oversize white plate. The fish was quick-fried and fluffy and tender on the inside, with a crisp exterior dribbled with a sweet-and-sour jam-like sauce with chili, tamarind, lemongrass and lime. The nasi lemak ($9.95), a rice dish, was also Asian-artistic in presentation and came with a curry of chicken, fried anchovies, with accompany mounds of strips of hard-boiled egg and julienne-pickled peanut vegetables. The blending of tastes from the curry, poultry chunks and shredded anchovies was nicely unexpected and savory. The coconut rice cooked with cloves and pandan leaves was the feature of this dish. The hottest dish we tried was the green curry chicken ($15.50). The green curry was tasty but very spicy, at least spicier than we had expected, with an aromatic spiciness too. It was cooked with eggplant, green beans, onions, slivers of red bell pepper and ribbons of carrot. Chendol ($5.50) was one of the few original desserts that weíve seen in a while. It combines traditional Asian dessert ingredients in an original way to make a Malaysian-style sundae that included a mound of shaved ice, a sweet red bean sauce, green-pea paste, rose syrup and coconut milk. Weíve never encountered anything like this, and we were impressed because not only was it sweet, cool and satisfying, but we guessed it also had to be low in calories and possibly even good for you. The pisang pancake ($7.50) was actually a rice crÍpe with fried mashed banana filling, which is cut into six pieces and was buttery smooth. Coconut sauce was drizzled over all of it. The worst thing about Penang was that we might be forced to re-examine our feelings about chain restaurants. Penang is at 1837 M St., NW (at the corner of 19th Street). The telephone number is (202) 822-8770. Dress for the restaurant has a wide rangeófrom jeans to business casual. All major credit cards are accepted. Penang is open for lunch daily from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., for dinner Monday to Thursday from 3 to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 3 p.m. until midnight, and Sunday from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Rachel Hunt and Stephen Qualiana are the restaurant reviewers for The Washington Diplomat.