Restaurants

By Charmaine Mok

We like a menu that gets straight to the point. And at Rasa Sayang – a new Chinatown eatery that prides itself on serving Malaysian and Singaporean specialities – there is only a double-sided page of A4 listing many of the region’s greatest hits, with a few lesser-known but well-loved B-sides.

Newbies to this rich and varied cuisine will do well to order from the ‘Straits Culinary Favourites’ category, which includes popular delights such as smoky char kway teow (wok-fried rice noodles), beef rendang (beef slowly simmered in coconut milk) and nasi lemak (coconut fragrant rice, served with various accompaniments including dried anchovies, cucumbers and pickles). Seasoned eaters might want to opt for ‘ladyfingers’ (okra) or petai (a pungent green bean) stir-fried with spicy sambal paste.

A more lavish version of an Indonesian staple, nasi goreng istimewa, is a spread of flavoursome fried rice, coloured a deep brown from soy sauce and shrimp paste, with a kick of chilli. Served with grilled chicken satay (a touch dry), a sunny-side up egg and crisp keropok (prawn crackers), it’s an immensely satisfying one-plate meal for a mere £6.80 – the price of a starter outside this cheap-eats zone. In fact, no dish here costs over £7; it’s like daylight robbery,
in reverse.

A must-have, at the same neat price, is the classic Hainanese chicken rice, a favourite among Singaporeans and Malays. On our visit, both the poached chicken and rice cooked in chicken stock impressed – the chicken meat tender and juicy, and the rice well-cooked and imbued with the sweet flavour of a superior chicken stock. Our only complaint was with the bowl of accompanying chicken broth, which in contrast tasted thin and overwhelmingly of white pepper.

However, there is plenty here that will please those searching for homestyle South East Asian cooking. Each item on the concise menu is worth trying – there are no fillers here, and no dumbing down with the addition of familiar Cantonese dishes to fit in with the surroundings. In fact, it’s pretty Straits-forward, if you ask me.

Time Out London Issue 2010: February 26-March 4 2009