[Demvtr]

In a perfect world, Malaysian would be the new Thai. If everyone considered the truism that cuisine is largely a product of geography, and that Malaysian food is thus heavily influenced by Thai and Chinese cooking with significant, but less assertive, Indian cuisine influences, they might decide that Malaysia Kopitiam is worth trying. And if everyone in the D.C. area ate at Malaysia Kopitiam a couple of times, Malaysian restaurants might start springing up in equal numbers to Thai restaurants.

Malaysia Kopitiam is where I head when I am downtown and want to grab a fast, inexpensive dinner with a buddy or by myself. It is not a first- or second-date restaurant. It is not a business-lunch restaurant. And it is probably not a restaurant one can get his or her parents to try, as "Malaysian" to them probably sounds as alien as "Martian."

One enters the restaurant by going down a few stairs. The dining room is divided into two main dining areas, but the restaurant is still not much bigger than one's family's basement rec room. The wood paneling, worn carpet, kitschy decoration, two-person mini-bar, and casual atmosphere evokes thoughts of a standard 1970s-era Chinese restaurant in New York City. The tables and booths were probably last replaced during the (first) Reagan administration. The menu is a place-mat-sized laminate, and the accompanying picture menu is bound in a black binder straight from Staples.

But when one opens the binder, and actually sets eyes on pictures of the roughly 100 menu options, the surroundings become immaterial, and food becomes the focus.

My most recent visit to Malaysia Kopitiam was with four other people. One had eaten there with me once before. The other three had never eaten there or any other Malaysian restaurant.

I started out by ordering some safe appetizers for the table. Three orders of curry puffs (two to a plate) at $2.50 an order is a great way to start the meal. The curry puffs are close cousins to Indian samosa, the main differences being that they are not quite as large as standard samosa, and they are somewhat crescent-shaped, as opposed to the pyramid shape of most samosa. They are hot, doughy, and filled with curried potatoes and peas.

I also ordered a round of roti canai. When one orders roti at an Indian restaurant, the expectation is that what will come out will be a baked whole wheat flatbread. At Malaysian restaurants, roti is a flatbread, but the similarity ends there. It is fried, flaky, and lush. An order of roti at Malaysia Kopitiam brings out warm flatbread, and ordering roti "canai" translates into a bowl of curried chicken accompanying the bread. While the chicken chunks floating in the curry tend to be tough and chewy, the "canai" is worth ordering because the curry itself is wonderfully spicy and rich. Any bit of the liquid that is not sopped up by the bread will almost certainly end up being used as a dip for an entree.

I ordered achar salad for two of us to split. Achar salad is one of those dishes that suffers from an off-putting description on menus, but wins one over when it materializes. The achar salad at Malaysia Kopitiam is described as "pickled pineapple, jicama, carrot, cucumber, [and] cabbage in a spicy, sweet & sour sauce top[ped] with peanuts and sesame seed." The salad comes out in canoe-shaped bowl, and it is just big enough for two people to share. The dish never strikes me as spicy, and the sharpness of the components' pickling gives way to the sweetness of the salad's sauce. The salad is covered in a generous serving of crushed peanuts and sesame seeds. This is one of those dishes in which individual flavors give way to the whole, and it is so satisfying that leaving a bite is not an option.

Though there were five of us at the table, we ordered only three of the entree options. Two people ordered the black pepper chicken, one person ordered the assam sambal shrimp, and two of us split the curry gluten.

The black pepper chicken is a "safe" dish, a simple stir-fry of vegetables and chicken (of a far better quality than that used in the canai curry sauce) in a pepper sauce. It is not far removed from its cousin on a million Chinese menus, and its preparation at Malaysia Kopitiam is competent, if not adventurous.

The assam sambal shrimp plate produces a number of thick, well-cooked shrimp stir-fried with red peppers and onions in a spicy and sour sauce. I did not try the dish, though the person who ordered it enjoyed it.

The curry gluten is a unique dish, mixing stir-fried chunks of super-chewy gluten, soft, pillowy tofu triangles, and green and red bell peppers in a creamy yellow curry that is sweet with just a hint of spiciness. The gluten is an acquired taste (or, more accurately, texture); most diners will leave the chewy gluten aside and concentrate on the tofu. I find the gluten to have such an interesting mouth-feel that I keep grabbing chunks of it with my chopsticks despite my appreciation of the flavorful, curry-soaked tofu. We cleaned the plate, with the last of the still-warm curry serving as a dip for the last few remaining pieces of roti.

Malaysia Kopitiam deserves its perpetual placement in the Washingtonian Top 100 Cheat Eats. All of the aforementioned food for five people, plus three sodas, came to a total of $90.00, and that includes tax and a restaurant-added gratuity, plus our rounding up to an even number. Five appreciative diners walked out of the restaurant happily chatting about our meal and ready to spread the Malaysian gospel to our friends.

[AlliK]

I second the roti canai - I order extra bread and make that lunch for under $10

[DonRocks]

AlliK, on Feb 12 2006, 10:04 PM, said:

I second the roti canai

I read this as "root canal" just now.

P.S. There was a guy who owned a Chinese restaurant in Laurel named Thomas Tung. Also I saw a Segway rider going up Connecticut Avenue the other night talking on his cellphone.

[foodandreason]

I last ate at Malaysia Kopitiam somewhat over a year ago, but still remember the meal. My partner and I started with some curry puffs. Unexceptional and rather soggy. My patner had a beef rendang. I suppose it was rendang because that's what he ordered, though the sauce seemed more like packet brown gravy. And though the beef was cooked through, the center was quite cool and its texture suggested that it had been reheated from freezing. I had the nyonya chicken. It was lumps of gristle and fat in a lemongrass soap sauce.

Alas, we didn't have time to find something edible before we were supposed to go to a school event of mine--which led to us finding our way to the event in sullen silence, walking to the door, and then walking away in search of food.

I don't really like being so harsh--especially as I have a hankering to love any restaurant with a quote like this on their website:

Quote

Many argue that the surest way to find out if a Malaysian restaurant is authentic is to benchmark its Po Piah, Satay and Roti Canai against Penang hawker stall standards. By Penang standards, Malaysian Kopitiam does fairly well.

I'm glad to see that others seem to have had vastly better times there. But our experience really wasn't satisfactory.

[Bean]

One thing you must try is the fresh granny smith apple juice with salty plum. The juice it to order and it is a perfect combination of tart, sweet and salty. I have to ration my sips so I don't down the thing in one gulp.

[jjshyne]

I used to go there for lunch time to time when I worked around the area. Haven't tried the truly Malaysian dishes because I always order the same dish. My favorite dish there is Hainanese Chicken Rice. The best part of the dish is the sweet soy sauce mixed with rice and fried onions on top. I've tried their fried rice with the fried egg and lettuce on top. Their prawn mee noodle soup is good for a cold day, but oily.

[bbq4me]

Two dishes to try: chicken rendang (not beef!, the beef rendang aint so good) and the heavenly chicken nyonya: super crispy chunks of deep fried chicken with a simple but intriguing dressing of lime, garlic, lemongrass and secret love.

[Tweaked]

so after Tom Sietsema's glowing review of Malaysia Kopitiam's Rotiwich in last Sunday's Washington Post http://www.washingto...6062701389.html, I decided to skip the long lines at Galileo Grill and check it out.

Sorry Tom, but you're out to lunch!

First the glowing review: it is a pretty tasty treat, chewy roti, slices of sweet beef with that just right balance between toothsome and tenderness...I imagine buying a couple at a roadside stand by the beach in Malaysia with a cold beer would be heaven.

But, for $6.95 for lunch, don't waste your time. It's listed on the appetizer menu for a reason, it's appetizer small, literally maybe 4 bites, 5 tops. think two wafer thin slices of beef small...think one taco small...or a wedge of quesadilla small.

Certainly not "it's lunch time and I want a nice sandwich" big...certainly not a pork sandwich at Galileo Grill.

[Demvtr]

I had another off-the-charts good meal at Malaysia Kopitiam last month, tearing through the achar salad, fish ball appetizer, and curry puffs like it was my job. But I must express just the slightest bit of frustration about showing up there tonight at 9:50 p.m., finding the dining room half-filled with diners, but being told that the restaurant was "closed." The waiter that greeted us told us that he was sorry, but the restaurant closed at 10 p.m. What I thought was, "Well, yes, I know that. Luckily, it's ten minutes before 10 p.m., so I would like to eat good Malaysian food now, please."

I didn't say any of that, of course, because I'm not unsympathetic to the facts that (i) employees want to get out of the restaurant sooner rather than later, and (ii) it takes a while to get the kitchen shut down and ready for the next day. But I was disappointed, and I can't help but state the obvious: 10 p.m. means 10 p.m. I used to work in the food industry, an ice cream shop, to be exact, and even if we had shut down the yogurt machine, turned off the lights in the ice cream displays, cleaned the scoopers, and put away the waffle cones, I would still break anything out that I had to if someone walked in the door at 9:59 p.m., and not begrudge the customer for his or her timing.

As it turned out, I ended up having a great meal at Heritage India Dupont, so the night ended pleasantly. And, ultimately, I'm not mad, just a bit frustrated. The folks at Malaysia Kopitiam are super-nice, and the food is top-notch, so I will keep going there as often as I'm in the neighborhood.

But only if it's before 9 p.m.

[JimRice]

Malaysia Kopitiam is one of those places that you must order properly to enjoy, I think. I ordered poorly Thursday night. Me and a friend started with the achar, the roti canai, and crispy squid salad with lemongrass dressing. This is a wonderful appetizer, an interesting counterpoint of apples, mangos, and onions in a savory dish. The crispy squid and shallot only served to add flavor to these main components.

However, when it came to main courses, I busted. I got Assam Laksa Noodle Soup, which is described as "Noodle soup with tuna in sweet spicy sour broth." Fair enough, except that the tuna tasted like it had probably been canned and the bowl was packed with too many noodles and not enough broth. The broth itself was interesting, reminding me of the tamarind soup you get at Burmese restaurants. But the other things in it (some strange herbs and veggies, I think) were not to my taste.

My friend got the Raja Chicken, which was good but didn't pack much in the way of interesting flavors, other than fried and a sweetish sauce.

One thing that I didn't care for that surprised me was the Chicken rendang. I brought an order home for Barb. Does it not travel well, or did I hit it on an off night? The chicken in it was tough and not particularly well trimmed. The flavors were ok, but didn't wow me.

I would go again for some of the appetizers, but the main courses I tried just didn't do it for me.

[JimRice]

Going to try it again tonight for dinner, any new recommendations?

[JimRice]

So I've been to Malaysia Kopitiam twice recently, and I've done a better job of ordering.

The first time with friends, we didn't tell them that we were going to Malaysia and ask for help ordering, and came out winners. We got the sampler appetizer which was an interesting mix of curry puffs, satay, a fresh roll, something steamed in banana leaf. Then I got the assam sambal shrimp, which was tasty but not that spicy, while my friends got nyonya chicken, a tasty bowl of deep fried small pieces of boneless chicken in a sweet sauce; tamarind beef, which reminded me of potroast and some dishes I've had at Burma in the past, and Malaysian Curry Shrimp, which I don't think I tried. There was beer involved, many bottles of Tiger, a polite and tasty beer that didn't have many distinguising qualities.

Last night I was there with my wife, and we told the server that I'll be in Melaka next week. She gave us some pointers, and asked about spicyness. I said we liked spicy food, and they cranked it up. First we had the Rembah Udang, sticky rice with curry chicken and shrimp inside, steamed in banana leaf, and Baby Oyster Omlette which is mentioned on several food blogs in Melaka. If you like oysters, it's good stuff. It's like a cross between a pancake (think Korean seafood pancake) and an actual omlette, served with a small dish of sauce with red onions in it.

Our entrees were the Mamak Mee Goreng and the Nasi Lemak. I had the Nasi Lemak, and it was good, with the coconut rice and the chicken and little fish curry, and the pickled pineapple and vegetables. If you're sqeamish about baby fish, bones and all, in curry sauce, you might skip this dish. If you're game, just try to keep the little bones from poking your gums. The curries were moderately spicy. I liked it, because of the mix of flavors and textures in the dish, and would recommend it.

Barbara had the Mee Goreng, and it was the spiciest thing we've ever had there. It was an intermittant thing, she'd be happily eating her noodles with shrimp, tofu, etc, and then all of a sudden she'd take a sharp breath of air and grab some of my rice. She kept trying to figure out what it was, and gave me bits of stuff, but we couldn't pinpoint the incindearies in the dish.

Even with her discomfort, it was good, real good. As were all the dishes. I'll let you know how it stands up to street food in Melaka and other places in a month or so.

[JimRice]

I spent 3 weeks in Malaysia and Singapore recently. Malaysia Kopitiam does a good job of getting the flavors right compared with what we had in Melaka and KL. That said, there are some accommodations made to the American palate. Specifically, there is usually more food in the portions, and more meat in the dishes. That is forgivable if the flavors are right, though. One minor complaint is that their roti seems to be premade. It's just too uniform and thin compared to the roti we had that was fresh made, stretched, flipped, and folded right in front of us.

With regard to specific dishes, after we got back the mee goreng hasn't been as spicy as we had before. I'm thinking that they made it in the Melaka style for us in the trip before we went over, which is spicier than other parts of Malaysia. Also, in Melaka it's typically served with a baby lime and chili sauce on the side to adjust flavors as you prefer. I usually had nasi lemak for breakfast in Melaka (Nasi lemak without chicken curry, but with everything else and a cup of coffee for 3 ringgits, something less than 1 dollar!), and the version at Malaysia Kopitiam is spot on. Baby oyster omlette is perfect as well. The laksa with beef is very good, but again much more meat than the laksa we had over there.

I'll try to post more on the travel boards about places to eat in Melaka, Singapore, Kuching, and KL in the coming days. Or we may just throw up a link to Barbara's blog about the trip.

[KeithA]

Went for lunch today. We started with the roti canai ($4.50)- a nice size pancake like bread cut into triangles with a nice size bowl of thick curry sauce and few pieces of chicken. We both thought it was very good. I wish I had kept the remaining sauce to pour over the plain white rice that came with my entree.
For entrees, my friend had the rendang chicken ($12-13), which was ok - lots of chunks of dark and white meat chicken (with some bones) cooked in a curry-like brown sauce but unlike a normal south asian curry seemed to be without the cococut milk despite the description. I had a very unusual decent, but not great dish which consisted of "salty fish" and "chips." ($16) The dish came out with fish flavored puffed rice chips on the side and lots of chunks of white fish lightly fried and salted on a bed of shredded lettuce with diced bell peppers, green onions, and few pieces of mild chilies. My friend really liked the fish dish, but i thought it was too salty and could have used a sauce or even some lime wedges. Very good service. Not always the best place, but always an adventure to find unusual dishes you won't find most other places in DC - some of which are better than others.

[goodeats]

Like everyone else, I started with the Roti Canai, which came with 2 pieces of roti and very hot curry sauce with 2 pieces of chicken and a piece of potato. I also ordered the Hainanese Chicken rice dish based on jjshyne's recommendation, but will not get to it because I am too busy trying to look for a fire extinguisher. The appetizer is very good and following KeithA's advice, I am saving the sauce to make something with it at home.

[DonRocks]

goodeats, on Jul 30 2008, 07:06 PM, said:

Like everyone else, I started with the Roti Canai

Better a Roti Canai than a Root Canal, I always say.

[yfunk3]

I've found that it's hit or miss at Malaysia Kopitiam depending on the time of day/what day you go. Lunchtime is typically weaker. The first time I went, it was around 2:00 PM on a Saturday and the mee goreng I had was totally and utterly flavorless. I don't mean just bland and needed salt...but completely flavorless. The following times, I've gone for early Saturday and Sunday dinners, and I've gotten great meals since. I'll just have to remember to never go there for lunch!

Also, as someone mentioned previously, their roti canai is pre-made (probably the frozen kind). I wish there was a way to combine Penang's fresh roti canai with Malaysia Kopitiam. Then MK would be my favorite restaurant in the area (barring the distance from my apartment, that is)!

For those who don't like spicy but love the big flat rice noodles, try the char kway teow. MK has a great one, and it's comfort food (for this Singapore-born girl, at least) at its best.

[Ericandblueboy]

After blowing all my dollar bills at Camelot, I went next door for some Malaysian food. Started with the Deluxe Sampler Appetizer of satay chicken, otak-otak, curry puff, lo bak, and po pia. The lo bak (described as crispy pork roll) is made with some pork by-product but it's delicious (reminds me of kishka or boudin). The po pia and otak otak were both good and worth trying. I didn't try the satay chicken and found the curry puff uninspiring. Another appetizer was the roti canai. The roti, even if house-made, wasn't better than the frozen ones you can buy at Great Wall but the chicken curry was quite nice (with very flavorful slow cooked chicken). The entrees were chili shrimp (more sweet than spicy, which is how it's supposed to be according to Wiki) and Assam curry fish filet. The shrimp flavor was good but they were slightly overcooked (which happens often in Asian joints). The fish filet was lovely, similar in flavor and consistency as the fish filet I've had at Ruan Thai and Nava Thai. The street food dishes were the curry laksa pork rib noodle soup and Hainanese chicken. First the chicken. I grew up eating something called white chopped chicken - whole chicken boiled and then chopped into pieces served with a soy dipping sauce. MK's Hainanese chicken reminds me of that and how boring it really is. I also did not detect much flavor in the rice. The laksa, in contrast, had all kinds of flavor and the pork and noodles really absorbed those flavors. Personally I think laksa ranks up there with floating market noodle soup, ramen, beef noodle soup, and pho as great Asian noodle soups.

ETA: never been to Malaysia or Singapore.

[Sthitch]

Ericandblueboy, on 23 July 2010 - 11:18 AM, said:

After blowing all my dollar bills at Camelot

I thought that the Lo Bak, Laksa, and the Roti (brought to life by the sauce) were the dishes of the evening. The satay was a mixed bag, the chicken had a nice grilled flavor, but the disjointed sauce overwhelmed it.

[yfunk3]

I find MK's Hainanese chicken pretty good, but again...I've had one bad and one good there (bad at lunchtime, good at dinnertime).

It's essentially a fairly "bland" dish, which is why it's served with a chili sauce (if the chili sauce is done well, it's got lots of flavor and you don't notice the heat too much). But that simplicity basically is what gives it such a huge following (and why tons of Singaporeans want it to be named the national dish). Everyone wants to try to inject as much "flavor" into it without changing the ingredients too much. Incidentally, Bangkok 54 in south Arlington (the grocery store, at least) sells prepared meals of Hainanese chicken, and theirs is good. A bargain at around $6.

Good to know that their laksa is worth trying. I just might order that next time I'm there. I've been trying to stick to making it at home with this laksa mix, which is surprisingly good.

[Sthitch]

yfunk3, on 23 July 2010 - 08:30 PM, said:

Good to know that their laksa is worth trying. I just might order that next time I'm there. I've been trying to stick to making it at home with this laksa mix, which is surprisingly good.

We had both decided that the next time the snow is blowing sideways we are going to make our way to MK for a bowl a Laksa, last night it was a bit much, but come December I am sure it will do wonders to remove the chill.

[goodeats]

yfunk3, on 23 July 2010 - 08:30 PM, said:

I find MK's Hainanese chicken pretty good, but again...I've had one bad and one good there (bad at lunchtime, good at dinnertime).

It's essentially a fairly "bland" dish, which is why it's served with a chili sauce (if the chili sauce is done well, it's got lots of flavor and you don't notice the heat too much).

I am confused. Good Hainan chicken is not supposed to be bland. It's supposed to be encased rich in its oils and moist, with the fat from the chicken soaked by the garlicky rice and the marriage of the two, when dipped into the chili sauce, pop in your mouth. At least that what I thought it supposed to taste like. I guess bland in the sense it's not marinated in soy sauce or something, but please explain?

[yfunk3]

goodeats, on 24 July 2010 - 12:35 AM, said:

I am confused. Good Hainan chicken is not supposed to be bland. It's supposed to be encased rich in its oils and moist, with the fat from the chicken soaked by the garlicky rice and the marriage of the two, when dipped into the chili sauce, pop in your mouth. At least that what I thought it supposed to taste like. I guess bland in the sense it's not marinated in soy sauce or something, but please explain?

Bland, especially in the context of Nonya cuisine, that it's not got ten million flavors going on and is supposed to enhance the flavor of the chicken (even the rice is supposed to taste like chicken). The chili and the light soup are all there to compliment the chicken. There might be other subtle flavors in there (cilantro in the soup, pandan, coconut and maybe even some cream in the stock that the rice is cooked in, etc), but it's all about the chicken and not spices, marinades, salt, chili, etc.