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C&R has been doing its thing for two decades now and is as good as ever. Squeezed into a narrow Chinatown alleyway, this Malaysian café-diner isn’t the easiest place to find, but it’s worth going on a hunt for: you’ll be rewarded with terrific-value, excellent food.
The vibe is functional but contemporary: think wipe-clean tables, pleather and stone in pale blues and greys. Staff that are friendly but terrifyingly efficient. Lighting set to ‘interrogation-level-bright’. So not somewhere for a cosy first date, then.
But on a recent re-visit, everything – from the must-order laksa (an absolutely giant bowl, its coconutty soup base packed with juicy prawns, vermicelli, fish balls, the works) to a slippery, smoky, umami-rich plate of Chinese-Malay char kway teow – was excellent. The roti canai were crisp-edged and buttery, while a classic nasi goreng saw a huge mound of rice teamed with warmly spiced chicken curry and all the usual condiments: dried shrimp, chilli sambal, roasted peanuts and so on). The only disappointment? They’d sold out of the celebrated beef rending. Still, that’s a good reason to go back. Soon.