Sedap: a little slice of Malaysia

Malaysia is one of those countries which has never really taken off for foreigners.  It has more beautiful beaches than Thailand (Perhentian Islands), a more diverse array of cultures and, in my view, a more interesting cuisine.  Despite this, people always seem to skip on by.  Trips to South East Asia always  involve Thailand, perhaps Vietnam and Cambodia, and a flight out from Singapore.  This is a great shame as, having spent a year in Malaysia growing up, I think it has to be one of the best places around (especially when you are outside the hustle and bustle of KL).

But while the people, history and landscape are all impressive, it is the food I love the most.  Sat at the crossroads of centuries old trading routes (Melaka/Penang), Malaysian cuisine is a blend of Indian, Chinese and Indonesian. Despite this interesting blend of flavours, it has never been popularly recognised - I can't see Alan Yau opening a Malay version of Busaba Eathai any time soon.

Things started wel at Sedap, the Archard was delicious -  a thick peanut and sesame paste on crispy pickled veg.  So too was the roti prata - rich chicken curry with flaky pastry-like bread.  I would have preferred it if they had served roti canai - my favourite of all Malaysian dishes - but you can't have it all.

On to the char kway teao (thick rice noodles fried with egg, prawns and a chili paste) - this transported me straight to the markets and restaurants of Ipoh (the supposed home of kway teao - although the people of Penang may have something to say about that).  Absolutely fantastic - spicy, rich, five stars.

Less impressive was the laksa - insipid sauce with vastly overcooked noodles.  A real disappointment.

A little better was the sambal okra.  The okra was well cooked but the sambal was a little sweet, lacked the hit you should get from shrimp paste and could have done with a great deal more chili.

All in all it was a mixed bag.  What was good, was very good.  The laksa, third rate. That said, I have no doubt I will be back, even if its just for a portion of kway teow at lunchtime.

Malaysia Canteen: Make Yourself a Malaysian Friend

After leaving school some years ago now, I spent a year living and working in Malaysia.  I had a great time, met some fantastic people and ate some wonderful food - my local restaurant, in a small town south of Kuala Lumpur called Mantin, served some truly delicious dishes.  Perhaps it is because there is less of a party atmosphere, but it has always confounded me why Malaysia is so often overlooked, both as a holiday destination and in terms of its cuisine. 

Most of the Malaysian food I have eaten in London has been a sad imitation of the wonderful blend of Chinese, Indian and traditional Malay dishes that make up dinner on the peninsula.  So when I heard that there was a canteen underneath the Malaysian High Commission serving up traditional food for its workers and Malaysians living in London, I was always going to go.

On my visit we shared a wonderfully tasty beef rendang, a prawn curry and some crispy fried anchovies.  The rendang (a slow cooked curry originally from Indonesia which has strong flavours of lemongrass, galangal and tamarind) was just like I remembered from Malaysia.  The prawns were juicy although the sour sauce was a little tough for me.  The anchovies were great.

We were on a roll now and ordered some roti canai - originally Indian, this has been adopted as Malaysia's national dish.  A crispy, multi-layered fried bread, normally served with dal, in our case it came with a thin curry- sadly not quite up to the Central Market next to the national mosque in Kuala Lumper.

Beef Rendang

Crispy anchovies.

Prawn Curry

Eating lunch took me back to being a 17 year old taking my first tentative steps into south-east Asian food (growing up the most authentic Asian food I had came in westernised restaurants in Edinburgh!) This place is great! A word of warning, though, in order to get in you must be accompanied by a Malaysian!  So find yourself a new Malaysian friend and head on down...