Sentosa Restaurant @ Flushing, NY

I’ve heard raving reviews from family and friends about this Malaysian restuarant in Flushing, NY. I’ve been told that they serve up yummy, authentic and cheap Malaysian dishes. I was at first skeptical as there’re times where one tells me the food at a certain place is awesome; I find it subpar. For instance, New Malaysia restaurant where some of my Malaysian friends told me their Malaysian food is pretty good there. I thought it wasn’t that great and did not taste that authentic…at least for the few dishes we ordered.

Anyways…… we ate at Sentosa Restaurant during my recent trip to NYC with my brother and his gf. Those two kids also said that the Malaysian food there is truly authentic! =) So, it became our agenda to eat there! I soon found out that in my past visits to Flushing, we’re actually never too far away from the restaurant. We arrived there around 4.30pm in the afternoon and they are already serving a few tables. The interior was quite tastefully decorated and definitely better looking than some of the restaurants in the area.

I skimmed through the menu and realized that while some of their noodle and rice dishes are indeed $1-2 cheaper than most Malaysian restaurants I’ve been too, their appetizers and drinks/desserts are about the same with most Malaysian restaurants, if not actually a few cents to a dollar more I think. They do however offer some dishes I can’t get in Boston.

My two “kids” (although they are only 5-6 years younger than I am) already knew what they wanted. Here’s what we ordered to eat. My brother and Qi ordered Coconut juice and Ice tea to accompany their dinner. I stuck with hot tea.

1) Penang Prawn Mee @ $6.50 (Penang/Malaysia’s famous noodle served in chef’s special shrimp broth with shrimp, pork and bean sprouts) (Bottom Left). Qi who was already craving for a steamy bowl of Penang Prawn Mee ordered this without much hesitation. I thought it looked a little smaller (maybe it’s just the size of the serving bowl) and chef did not put in a 100% in making the bowl of yummy noodles more presentable looking. I tasted the soup and it tasted pretty rich, “shrimpy” and definitely good. I think we could get the same quality stuff at the Penang Restaurant in Boston. Hubby who is the connoisseur of Penang Prawn Mee would be a better judge at it!

Too bad hubby wasn’t that to join us. I did order one for him to go which unfortunately did not make it to Boston. No, I didn’t finish it in the car. The soup part of the noodles were not packed properly and spilt. To be exact, they packed the soup in an insulated Styrofoam container with a flimsy cover and placed a heavy, sturdier container with the noodle part over it. The noodle container was so heavy that the soup container cover gave way. That goodness nothing leaked onto the car seat. No wonder the car smelled so good throughout the journey!!

2) Seafood Scramble Egg Chow Fun @ $7.50 (Pan fried flat rice noodle in a light brown egg sauce, topped with seafood and vegetables) (Bottom Right). Brother ordered this and it was surely tasty. The pan fried and slightly charred flat noodles reminded me of home. The whole plate of noodles and the sauce were spot on authentic. However, this is something that I can get in Boston as well. Even though the restaurant in Boston charges a bit more for this noodle, it’s equally good.

3) Java Mee @ $6.50 (Egg Noodle served in a sweet and spicy dried quid gravy with shrimp, shrimp pancake, potatoes and bean sprout) (Bottom). I ordered this and truly regretted it. I think authentic Java Mee is usually served with some slices of hard boiled egg which was not seen in mine. The gravy was such a let down; it was bland and tasted like it had been watered down. Plus it took the longest to arrive, if I’m not mistaken. I was surely disappointed and wished I had ordered something different. I barely finished half of the portion; I just lost my appetite. =(

Although we weren’t offered anything when I told our wait staff my Java Mee wasn’t delicious, the service overall was still pretty good. Our wait staff suggested for me to take home my Java Mee and have a dish of soy sauce (or was it ketchup) to eat my leftovers with. She claimed it’s good!

The one drawback of this place is….it’s a cash only restaurant (like many Chinatown restaurants). I will be back to try the other stuff on the menu..of which I can’t get in Boston. =)

Check out their website HERE and their menu HERE. Check them out in Flushing (near the Flushing Mall parking lot) :

3907 Prince St
Flushing, NY 11354
(718) 886-6331