54

I'm no Malaysian expert but the food here was delcious - maybe one weaker point was the side steam vegetables (just some green beans with salty stuff on), and the lamb shank rendang which is apparently a signature dish was a little disappointing as I like my lamb shank falling off the bone. But the other dishes we tried were excellent, just the right sweet spiciness, very good.

The staff were very friendly, and the surroundings very pleasant too. The menus were a bit sticky (just my pet hate), but that's forgiveable!

The bill did give me a slight shock at nearly £100 for two without wine (we are quite greedy to be fair....), but on reflection, the ingredients were probably worth it, big juicy prawns, a nice chunk of lamb shank and a delicious duck breast.

I would definitely go back!
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Fiona
7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Tuesday, July 20, 2010

It's rare to find a Malaysian restaurant in London, and, owing to my Malay heritage, I was naturally curious.

It's not bad. But I didn't think it was *that* good either. As I type this review, I'm wondering how fair it is of me to compare the food here to that found at hawker stalls in Malaysia. But then what other basis of comparison do I have? By what other standard can I judge this food as authentic?

In any case, they definitely do a good job. In a city that seems to lack Malaysian restaurants, you could do worse than come here.

The staff are really very good and appear at all the right moments. No-one is kept waiting.

The restaurant itself is very clean-cut and smart. Noise levels are fine, so conversation flows easily. The location seems a bit remote, however. Not that this is a major problem. It's within reasonable distance of Farringdon station if you don't mind walking a bit.

It's not cheap, as I think one other reviewer also remarked upon. The bill won't shock you, but I did think it was a little on the cheeky side. We didn't order much that strayed from the middle of the road, so we were expecting a different monetary result, that's all.

Otherwise recommended.
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Alan Ingham - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Monday, June 07, 2010

Authentic Malaysian food in cosy and Asian setting. Excellent service and friendly. (This is not the usual Chinese served up as Malaysian food). Had the Laksa which tasted like being back in Penang. Loved the beef rendang (quite hot) and the fish curry was very good too My vegetarian partner had the mushroom in green chili curry with coconut rice which was unusual and excellent .Exquisite ginger ice cream and we had mango meringue and lemongrass brulee. They were brilliant as so often Asian desserts can be disappointing. Be warned though – the portions are wholesome – you'll leave feeling rather full
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alan brooks
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, March 19, 2010

Based on all the wonderful reviews of this place from fellow Malaysians, I was keen to try this place out for a dinner treat. Arriving at the place was fine, the decor was creative, oriental and looked quite cosy. The service was okay with the waitresses being quite attentive for a start.

We ordered all the classics: satay, roti jala, assam laksa, nasi lemak, roti canai and pasembur. We found all to be disappointing except for the pasembur. The pasembur was a really good effort for a restaurant in London and I have not found any restaurant serving pasembur in London so far. So was very happy with the pasembur (although the sauce does not come anywhere near the ones we get in Penang, it is still good enough).

The rest of the dishes were just a write off. One part or half of the whole dish would let down the other half. What does that mean? Well, the curry which came with the roti canai was quite superb but was totally let down by the tasteless, almost biscuit-like roti. My husband says this is the worst roti he has ever tasted in his life.

The nasi in the nasi lemak was totally without any lemak/santan. The condiments which come with the nasi lemak were as they should be but the nasi was a total washout.

The satay sauce was okay at best but the meat was bland and tasteless. A waste of time getting the satay here. The best satay in London is still at Puji Puji. If you want satay done right, the only place to go is Puji Puji.

The assam laksa was good but half the bowl was made of lettuce. It had hardly any soup in it. The soup has the right taste but had the consistency of paste. Yes the asam laksa still had bunga kantan in it (which was great) but not all there.

See how it all becomes a very disappointing experience. It is not a cheap place and they should get all aspects of a few classic dishes right. The only dish they do well is the pasembur, which had all the right ingredients and a good enough sauce to go with it all. I cannot recommend this place as the quality of food does not live up to the hype. There are other Malaysian restaurants which serve up far better food at cheaper prices.
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E Chan
4 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 1
Sunday, October 18, 2009

I have always loved Malay and Indonesian curries. So the curry fish and curry prawns were nice with really large tasty prawns and did not disappoint. The assam laksa was more the Malay version with Bunga Kantan, mint, etc. and not typical Ayer Itam Assam Laksa. It probably could be improved with more fish in the soup and more pineapples. But the prawn paste for this dish was nice. Probably only Kopi Tiam's Assam Laksa was better in the London area (of those I have tried in London).. The roti jala was an unusual find in London - O.K.- but a more spicy curry may have done the trick, and a thinner flour paste may be more like Penang's Hamidah Roti Jala. The Chocolate fondant was excellent - I could not get enough of it!! The sago red (and green) bean ice cream dessert was nowhere as good as the chocolate fondant and I thought I could taste a durian flavour in the ice cream . At 50% discount off the Ala Carte Menu price, it was value for money. All in all a very nice Malaysian restaurant for Malay food, but Sedap pips it for the top spot.
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weng - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Super service, great food (Malay duck especially delicious), well priced wine, altogether very good experience
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Duncan
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, August 14, 2009

My favourite Malaysian in town. Had Spicy Lamb soup to start which was perfect. Followed by an excellent Snapper in curry sauce. Partner had the lovely Laksa and Nasi Lemak. Too full for dessert. 50% off makes it great value.
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Sarah - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Friday, February 27, 2009

I ate at 54 with a friend. We wanted a tasty meal and a good chat. I booked by phone quoting the reference for 50% off the food bill when ordering 3 courses.

The restaurant is quite nicely arranged and the service welcoming and efficient and waitresses very helpful about providing arrangements for us to share dishes. Several groups of loud young women raised the volume levels rather high but we could still chat alright. The food was indeed tasty, adequate portions and slightly unusual with plenty of variety although a sensibly limited menu. The house white wine was very palatable and good value @ £12.50. I began to think of adding 54 to my list....

Disappointment came with "Jasmine flower tea" which was not jasmine at all but a strange dried opening flower - more akin to some sort of thistle and perhaps authentic but very unpalatable. This was taken off our bill when we asked but I have to say the evening was spoiled by a great confusion over the bill which came to a lot more than we expected. It was not clearly itemised and it turned out that we had only been given 30% discount and 12.5% service had been added. It all took ages to sort out - albeit apologetically by the waitress who said that this sort of confusion was often happening. In the end she missed out on a worthy tip as a result of all the confusion.

Based on this experience I wouldn't go again, which is a pity as the food was good.
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Sue Atkinson
6 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, February 25, 2009

After reading the reviews I've been chomping at the bit to go to this restaurant!

As a Malaysian living in London the lack of quality Malaysian restaurants can be a bit of an issue - Bonda Cafe's food is a little too oily, Awana too dear for what's on the plate, Kiasu too specialised, C&R too under-staffed for good service. So finding this gem of a place was unexpected and welcome. I've been bugging people to try it out with me for the past few months and finally managed to go on 9th February.

Having heard the reviews, what else could I order but the assam laksa? It couldn't quite match the very best assam laksas found by the side of the roads in Malaysia but it was much, much better than anything I've tasted of its kind overseas. The condiments were just right, the soup smelled divine and was hot and fragrantly fishy, the noodles were the right consistency, with an overall presentation that was very pleasing to the eye. The only thing missing at first was the otak udang, but that was promptly rectified upon request. What more could my friends and I do but tuck in with gusto??

The prices were more than reasonable, the atmosphere pleasant with a well-decorated interior, and the bathroom (have to take not of it since it gave me such a delightful surprise) had little personal touches which made it very charming indeed.

I'd go there again, through bad weather and all!!
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- View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, February 11, 2009