With all the snow we've been having we decided we needed a night out with some delicious hot and spicy food. I am often stuck when thinking of new Asian restaurants to try out, having been a regular diner at Bangkok Cafe, Ichiban and Mint and Mustard for several years now. We decided to try and find a Malaysian restaurant and resorted to the internet to see what might be out there. Why Malaysian I here you ask? Well, my wife and I went on honeymoon to Malaysia and had some great food whilst we were out there, it was about time we found some Malaysian food in Cardiff. We weren't surprised to find that there are only two in Cardiff and plumped for Cafe Malaysia in Woodville Rd, Cathays.
We initially looked on their Facebook page and realised that this would very much be a true street hawker experience. No frills whatsoever when it comes down to the decor and appearance of everything in the Cafe, it really is all about the food. Think greasy spoon, without the grease and red and brown sauce - you do actually get a spoon!
When we were in Malaysia the restaurants looked exactly like Cafe Malaysia's interior so 10 out of 10 for authenticity on this. Bare walls with the odd picture or map of Malaysia, full on lighting (low energy bulbs a go go) and plastic checked table cloths. This interior's authentic look might put a lot of people off as it is a far cry from our social norm of what is expected in many restaurants these days in the UK. As I hinted at before it really is all about the food!
On entering Cafe Malaysia you are startled by how bright it is and the welcome wasn't exactly bursting with warmth and hospitality, but that was more down to the fact that the French girl who was serving that night can hardly speak English, which only made me think it made it even more authentic!!! She could understand that we wanted two Tiger beers and that's the important bit. We weren't here to socialise with the waitress but to sample some hopefully, amazing Malaysian cuisine.
We kicked off with the only two appetisers on the menu Skewer Satay Chicken (£3.50) and Roti Canai (£3.50). Well my wife and I were speechless other than to say "Oh my god this is amazing!". I was immediately transported back to the Hawker market in central Malacca (if only), where we sat outside and watched the street hawkers ply there trade marinating small morsels of chicken before sliding them onto wooden skewers and char grilling them. Yes they were that authentic, and were succulent, flavoursome and should have been all mine, but in view of not having to sleep in the spare room I had to share! The peanut sauce wasn't amazing and I prefer it when it has a strong peanut flavour but that's just my personal preference and in terms of an authentic peanut sauce this was spot on. In Malaysia our Chicken Skewers were sometimes served with Ketupat (small sticky rice balls), as well as onion and cucumber.
The Roti Canai (an Indian influenced flatbread) were delicious and actually rather decadent. The dish came with a small amount of dahl and curry sauce for dipping and I have to say is the best bread dish I have ever had. It was soft and flavoursome, due to the amount of ghee (clarified butter) in it and reminded me why I love butter so much (a food stuff that I am banned from having in the house as its so unhealthy).
Our starters didn't last long and certainly went down well with the cold Tiger beer (£2.10). When it came to choosing our mains we already knew two of the dishes we wanted having eaten them before in Borneo and Melacca. We ordered the Beef Rendang, Chilli Spices Lamb and Nasi Lemak as we wanted a selection of mains to try. Two mains would easily be enough but we just had to try three!
The Chilli Spices Lamb (£7) was the definite winner. The lamb just melted in the mouth and the combination of spices was phenomenal, full of flavour and not too spicy at all; once again we were just sitting there beaming with our choice of restaurant this evening.
The Nasi Lemak (£6.50) is coconut infused rice served with turmeric fried chicken, hard boiled egg, sambal paste with fried anchovies and cucumber slices. It is widely considered the national dish of Malaysia and is often eaten for breakfast. We dived straight into the coconut infused rice only to find that it was steamed rice and a huge disappointment. Nothing wrong with the rice it was perfectly cooked but had no coconut flavour whatsoever. The turmeric fried chicken drumsticks were crispy, flavoursome and downright naughty. Anchovies are just like marmite, you either love them or hate them, we love them! The tiny deep fried fish went down a treat.
Our final main was the Beef Rendang (£7), which is beef stewed in freshly ground spices, lemongrass and coconut milk with caramelised dessicated coconut. This was a truly spicy dish a lot more so than the Chilli Spices Lamb. The rice was perfectly cooked once again and the spicy coconut sauce overpowered any flavour of the beef but was delicious all the same.
No space for dessert, which was just as well as the dessert on offer only consisted of ice cream. I would normally have tried what was on offer as I love my ice cream but as I am trying moderate the amount that I eat I decided to try a Kopi instead. Kopi is Malaysian instant coffee with condensed milk and was a great dessert substitute, although some people will find it overly sweet. Even my wife who doesn't have a sweet tooth had a sip and cooed.
The bill came to £33.40 which I think is a great price for some good authentic Malaysian food. The chef and owner Shang Teoh is from the Penang region of Malaysia and really has brought some great food to Cardiff. Penang is well known for its food in Malaysia and thats why Shang Teoh is so proud to bring his regional cuisine to Cardiff. Cafe Malaysia has been open since April 2012 and is very much a small local business bringing something different to the Cardiff dining scene. As I said before, don't expect the best service in Cardiff but do expect some authentic tasty food. Their opening times reflect when they have their busiest trading periods and is common in businesses who are slowly developing and can't yet afford to have lots of staff. Working split shifts six days a week catches up with you eventually. I wish him every success and hope that this hidden gem; or perhaps rough diamond keeps its authenticity, as its popularity is bound to increase.
Cafe Malaysia
101 Woodville Rd
Cathays
Cardiff
CF24 4DY
Tel: 02920 235616
Open: Mon-Sat 11am-3pm and 5pm -8pm
Sun - Closed
Cash Only no cards
