Sedap (Straits) – London, England
Oct 15th, 2009 by admin
Sedap, which means ‘delicious’ in Malay, serves Chinese-Malaysian fusion food, also known as Straits or ‘Nyonya‘ cuisine. There aren’t many ”Nyonya’ restaurants in London. Kiasu I visited once but over two years ago, so a revisit is on the cards. At Nyonya, which has closed down, I only had a snack, so I can’t comment properly on the food there. If I remember correctly, Sedap is run by the people behind Nyonya. Rasa Sayang I’ve been to twice recently, but apart from the black pepper crab, it wasn’t particularly exciting.
The archard – Malaysian vegetables pickled marinated in spices with peanuts & sesame seeds (£2.80) was a tasty cold starter of crunchy vegetables, with just the right amount of kick. Sambal okra – stir-fried okra & prawn in homemade chilli shrimp paste (£4.95) was delicious. I’ve had sambal okra at Rasa Sayang before, and I much prefer the Sedap version with its cleaner flavours and fresher ingredients. Both my friend and I had been told by non-mutual friends to try the char kway teow - stir fried flat rice noodles with prawn, beanspouts, chinese sausages, egg, fish (£6.95). Again, this was far superior to any I’ve had before in London (it reminded me of the versions I’ve had in Singapore and Malaysia). Rice noodles can sometimes turn really gloopy, but not at Sedap.
Another excellent choice was the sambal fish – deep fried mackerel with sambal sauce cake, soy sauce, chive & chilli paste (£6.50). Two reasonably sized pieces of fish arrived, simply presented, but each succulent bite was slowly savoured. The meal was beautifully rounded off with a small selection of nyonya kuih, or sweet cakes, made from glutinous rice flour, palm sugar and other ingredients like coconut and pandan leaf. I loved the chewy texture and also that they weren’t tooth-achingly sweet. In fact they were so good that my friend, who grew up in Indonesia, bought some to take home with her. There are many types and varieties, so if anyone can help me identify them, I would really appreciate it (the middle one was my favourite).
Sedap stands out as the best amongst the Straits restaurants I’ve been to in London, in terms of freshness, tastiness and presentation. It’s also the most comfortable and relaxing, in that the lighting is dim and the service calm and friendly. I would most certainly go back again to try some of the other dishes. Most of the dishes could be sampled with a small group of friends…
Dinner without alcohol cost just under £30 for two.
All the London restaurant reviews on World Foodie Guide
Contact details:
Sedap
102 Old Street
London EC1V 9AY
Tel: 0207 4900 200
info@sedap.co.uk
www.sedap.co.uk
Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday
Lunch: 11:30am – 2:30pm
Dinner: 5pm – 10:30pm
Saturday, Sunday & Bank Holidays
Dinner: 5pm – 10:30pm
Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide
Your review confirms the good things I’ve heard about Sedap and I guess I’ll be making the trip for my fill of noodles. Although I’ll leave it for a while as despite my internet moniker, I’m getting a little weary writing about noodles!
The middle kuih is made of tapioca (bingka ubi), the one on the left is a little hard to make out but did it have layers? If so, it’s a kuih lapis. The one on the right looks like a kuih talam. They look just like the kuihs that were served at Nyonya. Oh, I definitely have to try this place!
I, too, preferred Sedap over other Straits places I’ve tried in London (including the much-vaunted Rasa Sayang).
Yum! I love nonya food
We don’t have many nonya places here and there is one that stocks the kueh but the time that we went they were all gone and they told us that people call to reserve them hehe
I really must try this place especially as it’s so close to my flat. I loved Kiasu, especially their roti pratha but haven’t been for ages. I think they won the Time Out cheap eats awards a couple of years ago didn’t they? This looks set to be a hot new contender! Fantastic review, as always.
i STILL haven’t been to Sedap… Kiasu seems to be my regular haunt (am going tonight!) but I really should just go to Sedap one day. Everyone who’s been raves about it…
Mr Noodles – I had also heard good things and was relieved that everything we ordered was to our liking. Look forward to hearing your thoughts on it!
Su-Lin – thanks for identifying them for me! I can’t remember about the red one anymore though. You must go soon and let me know what you think…
An American in London – in comparison, Rasa Sayang really wasn’t that great (apart from the black pepper crab that I had)…
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella – wow, the kueh are that popular, are they? Have you tried making them before?
gastrogeek – lucky you living close to Sedap! I think you’d like it. It’s nothing fancy, just good food in a nice relaxed environment. A perfect local for you!
catty – I walked past Kiasu the other day but was on my way to Four Seasons, so couldn’t pop in. Must go and compare Sedap to Kiasu before I forget everything!
Helen Yuet Ling
Mmm, I’ve not tried Nonya cuisine, that I’m aware of. Will add this to my (loooong) wishlist! Thanks!
Hi. I love all your recipes and your blog. Keep up the good work! I was wondering if you’ve ever had the chance to make Chinese Rice Soup (I think it’s called Jook?). It’s basically watery rice with Cenutry Egg (I believe) as well as chicken, ginger and some other things. Or do you know a good recipe for it? Thanks.
Wow, that sambal okra looked really yummie.
Kavey – I think we all have super long wishlists don’t we?! I have so many on my list…
Sheila U – thanks! There is a recipe for congee with pork and thousand year old egg, under Chinese Recipes (which can be found under the Recipes page tab at the top).
Hälsporren – it was really good!
Helen Yuet Ling
The red one is definitely Kuih Lapis if it comes off in layers.
Chee – thanks! I don’t seem to remember it coming off in layers. This only means I’ll have to go back and investigate and take better photos to show you. All in the name of research!
Helen Yuet Ling
The char kway teow looks great! I’ll go there just for that.
pigpigscorner – really would love to hear your thoughts on Sedap!
Sedap serves delicious kueh. Much better than any that I’ve tasted in Singapore. In fact, I used to walk there after work just to get the kueh for Wife, who adore them.
Have to agree that the service is fantastic as well.
When I was living in London, Nyonya was my favourite place to go to when I wanted a taste of home (even above Kiasu, which I found very variable), so I’m sad it’s closed. However, I’m glad they’ve re-emerged with what seems to be a great restaurant! I always loved the char kway teow at Nyonya, so do try it at Sedap (am pretty sure they’ll offer it!)
Oh wait you did try the char kway teow – Am glad that it was great!
London Chow – high praise for the kueh indeed! And I agree, the service really was great.
enuwy – I only went to Nyonya once for a snack, so couldn’t comment on whether it was good or not. The char kway teow was excellent at Sedap! I can’t wait to return…
Helen Yuet Ling
I love Sedap and they are very close to our London home so I am able to enjoy it (they also do take out and deliveries).
Also, and I’m sure your significant other will value this (as does my own one…) – they are very flexible with making veggie versions of most dishes on the menu. Many dishes appear already in veg versions on the menu, others they will happily adjust to vegetarianism or other dietary concerns. Although I have never been to that part of the world, I adore Straits cuisine, and loved Sedap (and then I also loved Kiasu). Personally (like you) I did not like Rasa Sayang that much. At the same time I am not judging this food by how authentic it is – I don’t have the tools for that – but just by how tasty it is for my palate…