I love Asian foods of all kinds and I am very happy to see more Malaysian and other South Asian restaurants popping up around the Bay Area. This establishment is a smaller extension of their Milpitas location and has a limited menu with some of my favorite Malaysian items. Located at 36488 Fremont Blvd., the "express" version of slow food has satisfied my cravings for spice and strong, but balanced flavors. With friendly service and reliable food, I am working on becoming a regular.
Here are some of the things I've enjoyed.
Nasi Lemak. A delicious coconut rice dish with your choice of chicken or beef rendang. The meat is cooked until tender and falling apart in a flavorful spice mixture of chilies, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, tamarind, coriander and tumeric. The sides are fresh cucumber, toasted peanuts, hard-boiled egg, crispy sambal anchovies and tumeric-pickled carrots and cabbage. Each aspect of this dish required many steps to make. I loved the tangy pickles and fishy condiment and the portion size was enough for me to have two meals.
Malaysian Wonton Mee. Thin and chewy egg noodles were tossed in a thick soy-based sauce and topped with succulent BBQ roasted pork, bok choy and fried garlic. The juicy pork wontons were on the side in a chicken broth. The texture of the noodles were very pleasing and the sweet and salty sauce it was tossed in was very familiar and comforting.
Seafood Kari Mee. This was a noodle soup dish served in a spicy coconut curry broth with fresh shrimp, fish balls, eggplant, green beans, potato, fried tofu and fried garlic. The broth was thick, rich and full of spice and seafood flavor, while the veggies added to the textural component along with the chewy noodles. This may be a bit fishy for some, as this contains umami-packed shrimp paste, but this is one of my favorite dishes.
I will definitely return to try their other dishes. In the meantime, I am very happy that this restaurant is not too far from where I live.
