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Add comment February 25, 2007
There can never be too many restaurants with lunch specials near work. A couple of weeks ago, I found a stack of Penang menus in the lobby of my building. I had a decent experience the last time I ate at Penang (Upper West Side), so I was fairly excited about trying out the new location (541 La Guardia Place).
By the time I got around to ordering today, it was past 3pm, so I decided on Char Kueh Teow (#27) and Sotong Goreng (#4) from the full menu. Knowing that fried squid usually has breading, I specifically asked if the Sotong Goreng had breading. The conversation went like this:
Does the squid have breading on it?
No, no breading.
I just want to make sure because I’m allergic to flour. It’s fried with nothing on it, correct?
Yes, just fried squid.
As you can guess, when the food arrived, the squid had breading. It actually smelled wonderful, tempting me to eat it despite the abdominal pain I would experience afterward. Don’t worry, I resisted. So I called the restaurant and the same man who answered the phone actually insisted that there was no breading on the squid. I tried different names like batter, flour, coating… didn’t make a difference. Finally, he passed me off to a lady who explained that they could not do the squid without the breading - but only after I spent another minute explaining what breading was. <sigh> I was given the option of replacing it with something of equal value, so I selected the Thai Basil (#34).
So far, I gave the restaurant the benefit of the doubt. Fine, they didn’t understand what breading was, whatever. But when the delivery guy returned, things took a twist. He glowered at me while he was checking out the breaded squid, like I might have ate some and then tried to return it. Then he handed me a bill for $4.34, which confused me. When I asked him, he started yelling at me in Chinese! Good thing I speak Mandarin. I tried to explain that I ordered a $7 item and was told there would be no charge, but he insisted (well, screamed) that the replacement item was $11. I ended up just signing the receipt; it wasn’t worth the trouble. Looking at the bill after he left, I realized that the lady gave me Siam Basil (#50, $11) instead of Thai Basil, which was $7.
How was the food? Well, the Siam Basil was overly greasy and slightly bitter, sort of your standard bad Chinese food. Didn’t taste like Thai at all. The Char Kueh Teow tasted like noodles and ingredient stir-fried in soy sauce. It was ok, but again, kind of like bad Chinese food. Total bill was $21+ for the two items.
So, I did a little research on the web and it looks like this is not an additional branch of the Penang on the Upper West Side. The name is actually Penang Gurney Drive - they use a similar font and the logo looks identical until you actually inspect it. I haven’t actually been to the restaurant and I doubt I will, based on my initial experience. If you’re brave (or desperate), give them a try. My advice? Avoid this place. It’s just another bad Chinese restaurant masquerading as something else. There are plenty of similar restaurants in the area worth going to, like Galanga, Klong, or Saigon Grill. And they don’t have delivery guys that scream at you in Chinese when they screw up your order.
Add comment February 15, 2007 | Updated: February 25, 2007
I just saw the US Premiere of Azur et Asmar at the IFC Center, brought here by the New York International Children’s Film Festival. What a delightful film. The story is about two boys, Azur and Asmar. Azur is a blonde, blue-eyed son of a French nobleman and Asmar is the son of Azur’s nanny Jenane. Asmar and Jenane are from a foreign land, presumably somewhere in North Africa (”across the sea”). The two boys grown up as brothers until they are brutally separated. Later, as a grown man, Azur crosses the seas in search of the Djinn’s fairy, a magical creature from one of Jenane’s tales.
It’s an animated movie, in French and Arabic. For the US audience, they subtitled the French portions, but kept the Arabic untranslated. This was on purpose, as the Arabic was not subtitled in French originally. It allows you to feel, along with Azur, as a stranger in a strange land. You have to glean the meanings of the words from the tone of voice and the body language.
The movie is very much a fairy tale (or fable). It manages to stay away from cliches and relates its ideas and morales without condescension or heavy-handedness. Above all, it is a very beautiful film. At first, the static backgrounds and the simpleness of the character rendering threw me off. It’s a very different flavor from the Pixar movies, Shrek, or japanese anime. However, once I acclimated to the style, the experience was very enjoyable. There are lots of charming little moments and some of the backgrounds are gorgeous.
They are working on getting US distribution in the theatres, which can be hard for this type of film. I hope it happens, because visually amazing films like this one deserves viewing on the big screen.
2 comments December 3, 2006 | Updated: February 15, 2007
The new line of trains finally comes to the A line. Currently running on the 4/5/6, 2/3, and the L, they feature more grab bars, LED panels that display more information, and slip-resistant flooring. If you look carefully, you’ll observe minor differences between the trains on the 4/5/6, the ones on the 2/3, and the ones on the L. The new A trains are no different. The spacing across the aisle and around the doors are wider and more comfortable. The grab bars are configured slightly better. But the best improvement is the new LED panel display station information.
Instead of a long panel displaying fixed station names, the new panel displays the next stop, the 10 stops after that, something they call “further stops”, and the final stop. “Further stops” displays the stops between the 10th stop and the final stop in batches of 5, e.g. 11-15, 16-20, etc. Also displayed is all of the transfer trains available at each stop, and the first station in a different borough is clearly marked. The constantly changing panel is fun to look at, but more importantly, you will know if the train is skipping or adding stops.
On the left of the panel is a small square screen that alternates between displaying the A Train logo and information about the TransitTrax podcasts, the service advisory email notification program, as well as encouraging you to look out for suspicious activity (If you See Something, Say Something). It sounds like common sense, but then again, you have to remember how jaded New Yorkers are, even after 9/11.
I only have one thing to complain about. The seats. They’re too low vertically and too short horizontally to be comfortable to your average passenger. Did they design the seats for kids? Also, they are made of the hardest plastic known to man. You can probably break a hammer on these things. Invest in some foam seats. Please!
Along with other upgrades in the works like the contactless payments, it looks like the MTA is trying hard to move into the 21st century. Now if only they can add modern features to the stations, like the estimated time before the next train arrival…
Add comment September 12, 2006