Nur Malaysia is an authentic Malaysian restaurant on the fringe of Oud Metha, near the Malaysian Trade Center. It’s where Rasa Sayang used to be. Its interior doesn’t look very different from Rasa Sayang; it’s simple and homely but in this incarnation, not particularly Malaysian. Nor was it very clean; our table had crumbs all over and was sticky from the meal before.
Our meal too started with disappointments, a Nasi Ayam Penyet which was too “smashed” and the Laksa Penang which was more of a spicy-sour fish-based noodle soup and nowhere near the fragrant coconut and curry infused Curry Laksa I was expecting. It had an overpowering smell and taste of boiled fish and prawn heads, not for the faint-hearted.
The popular Indian Muslim hawker street food, Mee Goreng Mamak however, although a little sweetish, was lovely. So was the surprisingly small portion of intensely flavourful Rendang Daging which was served without any rice – really? What would also have gone well with rice was the well-cooked, if a little too salty, water spinach, Kangkung Goreng Belacan. If I had to choose a favourite dish, it would be a tie between the delicious Rendang and Chicken Satay (Satay Ayam) we started with.
Stuffed as we were after all this food we simply couldn’t resist the temptation of their desserts. Easily my favourite was the earthy, cane sugar sweetened black glutinous rice porridge which came topped with thickened coconut milk, Bubur Pulut Hitam – OMG! We also tried Seri Muka, a two-layered dessert with steamed sticky rice forming the bottom half and a green, Pandan flavoured custard layer making the top. Nice, but the iced, super-sweet, coconut milk based, Cendol was far more entertaining…and yummy.
Our smartly uniformed Malaysian waiter spoke broken English. Without wanting to belittle him, I felt that he understood even less than he spoke. Thankfully I was there with a friend who spoke Malay. Service, although smiley and courteous, was far from friendly and accommodating. It was like being served in a third world government run restaurant; slow and indifferent. Our food, for example, was served without serving spoons or even plates – hello. We had to literally coax everything out of this poor guy and our table quickly turned into the one constantly asking the waiter for something. Other tables, with one dish orders, seemed quite content so it could have been us being too demanding. Whichever, I miss Rasa Sayang. This new restaurant certainly has a lot going for it; some of the food we had was really good…but some, the Laksa, in particular, wasn’t. I think they’ll improve in time. Irrespective of the hiccups, knowing what not to order, I’m going to recommend you give Nur Malaysia a try because what’s good is really good. Just turn a blind eye to some of the quirks for the time being…
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Xerxes physically visits (and dines at) each and every venue he reviews. He pays in full for whatever he and his companions eat and drink. Xerxes accepts no money, gifts, discounts or free meals in return for reviews. What you have read was not influenced in any way by the venue. Join me on Instagram @ravenousxerxes or email me on: xerxes@dellara.com