Restaurants

  • Kiasu

    Budget choice
  • Since Kiasu won the Best Cheap Eats category at the 2007 Time Out Eating & Drinking Awards, we’ve had mixed experiences dining here. It’s a cheerful, all-day restaurant with walls featuring graphic twists on the logo in confident tones of blue and grey. On our last visit, most customers were of South-east Asian descent, dining in couples, groups of colleagues, or solo. Kueh pai tee got the meal off to an excellent start with correctly crisp pastry cups and distinct flavours of bamboo shoot, prawn and coriander, however the acar was too watery. Kangkong belacan (water spinach with shrimp paste) came swamped in sauce, though we appreciated its fragrant fishy aromas. Soft-shell crabs, cooked in the Singapore chilli crab style, were sweetly succulent and served with feather-light mantou (Chinese buns). Portions were generous, leaving us too full for desserts of cendol or pulut hitam (black rice pudding), though they were tempting. Glass mugs of sweet teh tarik, Malaysia’s favourite blend of tea and condensed milk, helped soothe the chilli heat of dishes. Alternatively, you could opt for slushies (mango or honeydew melon, perhaps), house-made iced lemon tea, a Chinese lager, or something from the inexpensive wine list.

  • Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009

Time Out reviews restaurants anonymously and pays for meals. Of course, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or independence of user reviews.
  • User reviews

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  1. Posted by Tunaok on 01 Aug 2009 19:42

    i am a biggest fan of hokkien mee and I was overjoyed when i saw they have in the menu. I ordered and began to have high expectation. Again, i didnt want to get dissapointed as i know i cant compare to those ones in KL .. boy i was wrong, the dish was as good as HOME !
    I couldnt get enough of it and needed to order one extra for 'tau pau'
    The char kiew tiew was good as well but sadly without clams 'see hum' .
    The nasi goreng was 'alright'.
    Kangkung belacan was a little dissapointing and i couldnt get the authentic belacan taste. Portion was a little small for a 7pound dish.
    Price - a little over price but hey, its Bayswater London.
    Service - Our food was served, the table was clean. Nothing to shout about neither there is any complains.

  2. Posted by Mok on 20 Jul 2009 16:20

    Realised I forgot to place a rating on this restaurant - I give it a resounding 5/5 stars - they deserve all the accolades.

  3. Posted by Mok on 20 Jul 2009 16:13

    Went to this restaurant last week - the food is as great as I remember it to be. Compliments to the management and cooks who have been able to maintain such a high quality of food.
    Don't know what another reviewer, Mindy Spencer was talking about in her rambling prose - the food was great, the service staff friendly and helpful, the manager amiable and as a repeat customer, I can attest to their high standards and continued quality.

  4. Posted by Mindy Spencer on 07 Jun 2009 17:27

    We went to Kiasu this weekend and brought someone from Malaysia who lives in the UK for years for some 'nice' Malaysian/SIngaporean food, but we were thoroughly disappointed and humilated in front of our friend. My Nyonya laksa was plain and with very little ingredient. My Teh Tarik was lukewarm (YUCK!). We wanted Roti Chanai (my English husband and Malaysian friend were craving for that), they said they have run out of supply (it was only 1pm)! We wanted Or Chien (fried oyster with egg), they said they do not have the oyster, but then the dish miracously appeared half way. We waited ages for a bowl of white rice. At the end, we wanted ice kacang, they said they have run out of a special ingredient (gula Malacca), and ask if we could wait for half an hour for them to go and buy it! The people who run the place should put a black bin bag on their head and parade around London in shame for allowing such a shambolic way of running their business. They would not have got away in Malaysia/Singapore. Their reputation would be in the drain by the end of the day, for being so inefficient. Perhaps that's why they are in the UK, not in Malaysia/Singapore!
    I shall just stick to C+R in Chinatown and Bayswater instead.
    P/S: I am a proper Malaysian who lives to eat and knows her food. I also live in Singapore for many years. So I have a high expectation of what a good Malaysian/Singaporean restaurant should be, and Kiasu is definitely not it!

  5. Posted by uncle sam on 04 Jun 2009 23:50

    this is the worst asian restaurant that me and my gf ever been to. The services were poor with only 2 waiters serving in the whole restaurant. The waiter didnt clean our table properly and we were served in a rush. basically it was hard to get their attention. When the food was served we were really dissapointed! It was served cold - probably left unserved for some time before bringing it to our table. It tasted nasty and nothing like the food I had in other malaysian restaurants. On top of that the drinks were tasteless. All in all - very dissapointing. We left the restaurant leaving most of the food untouched because they were just so disgusting. The prices arent cheap either. Overall, the restaurant is definitely overrated, with poor quaity food and services. I will definitely never return.

  6. Posted by Boris on 18 May 2009 23:42

    KIasu was my once a week favourite local. Sadly I have moved out of the area so do not have the opportunity to that often. This Friday it's Kiasu night and can not wait. Ice Lemon tea and Kwea Tjau best one outside of KL!! So simple but soo good...cant wait to go back!!

  7. Posted by tom choo on 04 Apr 2009 17:38

    The menu brightened up my day for my crave of traditional malaysian food. i ordered the chicken curry. quite nice chicken but the sauce wasn't spicy enough and too thick there was a good variety of drinks. the service was quick. the atmosphere of the restaurant really impressed. i would not come here again but i wouldn't highly recommend coming here but it does give you the malaysian feeling .

  8. Posted by Timothy Goh on 17 Mar 2009 22:12

    Great food, great service - staff are friendly normally, but more so to the regulars. "Hawker" food at its best in London. They have 2 other restaurants across the street - the small cafe like one, Hungto, is just as exceptional. Where do they get the staff from ? They are better than most London based restaurants! Jason is the one to look for at Hungto, so I'm told by Elizabeth & Jasmine, the definite ones to look for in Kiasu - they set us right everytime with their recommendations. Good on yer, mates.

  9. Posted by Antony on 16 Mar 2009 23:27

    Went there on Sunday night for my mother's birthday. Fantastic service, my mother is disabled, and they immediately cleared a table for us. The manager Ronald was very friendly and helped recommend several dishes. The food was authentic and as good as the best food I had in Malaysia. Hainanese Chicken Rice was truely amazing and the satay is to die for. Highly recommended and very reasonably priced. I will definately be going back soon with my friends.

  10. Posted by Stuart Bowden on 18 Dec 2008 19:27

    Can't knock it at all, it's cheap (by London standards) and the food is as close as you'll get to the 'real thing' this side of the Straits of Malacca. Staff are friendly, service is as good as you'll get, and the otak otak is to die for. Reassuringly, the majority of the clientéle seems to be southeast Asian. Which says a lot.

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  • Details

  • 48 Queensway, Bayswater, W2 3RY
  • Area: Bayswater
  • Tel: 020 7727 8810
  • www.kiasu.co.uk
  • Category: Malaysian, Indonesian & Singaporean
  • Travel: Bayswater or Queensway tube
  • Times: Meals served noon-11pm daily
  • Price: Main courses £5.50-£8.50. Set meal (noon-3pm) £8.90 2 courses
  • Credit cards: (minimum £10) MC, V
  • Services:
    • Available for hire: Separate room for parties, seats 60
    • Child facilities: Babies and children welcome: high chairs
    • Function room: Separate room for parties, seats 60
  • Map

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