Kiasu (Straits) – London, England (8/10)
Nov 15th, 2007 by admin
Never one to turn down an opportunity to eat, I went with my Singaporean Chinese friend to Kiasu, a small restaurant specialising in authentic dishes from the Straits of Malacca (Malaysia and Singapore). I’ve travelled to both countries before, many years ago, but all I remember are the extraordinary colours, flavours and aromas of the food. I’m no expert, so I won’t even begin to start explaining the cuisine to you. ‘Kiasu’, however, means ‘afraid to be second best’ in the Hokkien Chinese dialect…
We arrived early, as we hadn’t reserved a table. Even though it was only mid-week, there were already ‘Reserved’ signs on a good number of the tables, and the restaurant soon filled up, with a queue forming at the entrance. It was nice to see so many Malaysians and Singaporeans eating here too. The cafe-style interior is perfectly adequate for a meal out. It’s nothing to write home about, but if I had to choose between style (the interior) or substance (the food), I’d choose the latter any day!
Although I studied the menu with great interest, I left the ordering to my companion, who eats here regularly. Naturally, she selected far too many dishes, on the pretext that we could take home what we didn’t finish!
What we ordered:
For starters, we had Malay Chicken Satay (£5.50), which came with a thick textured peanut sauce. All the satay sauces I’ve ever tasted up to now have tasted like they have come straight out of a jar. The chicken was succulent and definitely not overcooked, which it sometimes can be. We also had Ngoh Hiang (special crisp Teochew pork and prawn bean curd roll, accompanied with fried fish balls and chilli dip – £4.50). I was slightly unsure about this, but can’t compare it to anything else I’ve had before. Perhaps it was similar to a mini meat loaf.
Gado gado (£5.50) was on the specials menu, so we had to have that too. This was a large salad of vegetables, boiled egg and rice cake in a thick peanut sauce. I have to say, this wasn’t my favourite, but that’s probably just because I’m not a fan of thick sauces with salads.
On to the mains, which were superb. My absolute favourite was the classic Beef Rendang (beef chunks cooked in spicy coconut gravy – £6.80) with plain rice. I can still taste the incredibly tender beef, and next time, I would be in heaven if I just had this. The Mee Siam (authentic Nonya-style fine rice vermicelli on a tangy assam gravy, topped with prawns, egg and chives – £7.00) came a very close second. My friend said that there are ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ versions of these dishes. Everything was just mildly spicy, which was perfect. I’m getting hungry just writing this. And of course, we left nothing on the plates that we could take home!
The verdict?
I’m keen to return to try some of the other dishes, although I’ll always order the Beef Rendang. One thing to note – the portions are substantial! Kiasu is fantastic value for money and a great place to sample some exciting food with friends. Definitely recommended.
10 – Perfection, 9.5 – Sensational, 9 – Outstanding, 8.5 – Superb,
8 – Excellent, 7.5 – Very Good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 – Average
All the London restaurant reviews on World Foodie Guide
Contact Details:
Kiasu
48 Queensway
London W2 3RY
Tel: 020 7727 8810
www.kiasu.co.uk
Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide
Helen, the food looked as authentic as they could be! Does your friend brought along his/her cooks from Singapore? And, I love the restaurant’s name!
Hi Hanie! My friend has met the chef actually. The food was really excellent and I can’t wait to go back for more! Did you try making the mango pudding? Helen Yuet Ling
Hi Helen,
I have only been to Kiasu once, and had the Wat Tan Hor. It was a pleasant lunch, and staff were friendly and efficient. I tended to frequent C&R Cafe in Rupert Court, Soho for Malay food. Whilst service is virtually non-existent, food was consistently good and with “wok hei”. Nasi Lemak, Wat Tan Hor, Mee Goreng, Beef Rendang, Char Kuay Teow and Curry Laksa were my regular staples there.
Custard Bun – thanks for these tips too. I’ve heard good things about C&R in Chinatown, but not the one on Westbourne Grove. May give it a try one day.
Helen Yuet Ling
This place was a fav of mine. But it had a series of bad reviews and has now closed. Not sure why it went down hill – I had been looking forward to going this weekend!
David – what a shame! Thanks for letting me know. Perhaps the competition – Rasa Sayang, Sedap etc?
Helen Yuet Ling
It looked open when I walked past the other day – must have been undergoing a refurb.
Thanks for that! I also haven’t read anywhere else about Kiasu closing down…
Kiasu was closed for a few weeks but is now again open. I recommend you try the Pai Tee as a starter and the chicken rice and roti canai. I was wondering why this is under your ‘won’t be revisiting’ list when you gave it a good rating?! Btw i love your site and have been to many great restaurants in London thanks to you!
Dolly – thanks for confirming that Kiasu is now open again! I’ll try it again and then move it back into the middle section. I’m not sure why it’s there either now, but thanks for pointing it out and I am clearly due a revisit.
Went there just a couple of days ago. I am wondering about some rather negative reviews this restaurant received recently – the food was great. I love the old favourites of hawker food. There are always difference in opinions and mine is that people should seriously try this restaurant – they have been serving really great food and I was at the Singapore Embassy Open House last year for National Day celebrations and am going again this year – unashamedly admitting due to the food that is served by this restaurant. No mean feat; the Singaporean embassy people are not easy to please and they keep using this restaurant, so that says a lot. Keep it up staff! How about opening another Kiasu in the Clapham?