Malaysian in Van/Richmond

[CMT]

Your best tastes, please,....coming with a big group...

[marvman]

if no one minds driving to surrey, there are a couple of really good ones there. Satay Garden: 105-15976 108 Avenue, and Malaysian Hut: 14727 108 Avenue

[CMT]

Thanks for this....from previous question, I am looking for Surrey/Delta options

[sarawaklaksalover]

Just curious if anyone knows which Malay places in the Van area do a great Kuching Laksa?

[kwailan4]

I've only been to Malaysian Hut once, maybe 2 years ago. Food was ok, but one particular dessert was really good. It is a green crepe-like wrapper with coconut and palm sugar fillings. We had to wait a while for them to make it, but it was really good and authentic.

[yogilo]

Prima Taste is a franchise restaurant or what they called concept restaurants (http://www.primataste.com/concept/res...) using Prima Taste premixes products. In a way, it's not really that authentic in terms of fresh ingredients. But it tastes better I guess.

[fmed]

I don't know how they do it with just mixes, but the food there tastes pretty good and the presentation is top notch.

[kwailan4]

Given a choice of ok and pseudo authentic food made with fresh ingredients and good and really authentic food with pseudo fresh ingredients, I'll choose the latter.

Perhaps it is a cultural thing.

[kwailan4]

How big is big? Are you looking to simply have a meal or enjoy the night? Only Banana Leaf Kits (?) and Prima Taste can take big groups. Banana Leaf oak and Denman have pretty small rooms. The other recs are mostly hole-in-walls.

From fmed's list, I'll choose chilli padi over Kedah house. I've not been to chilli padi, but have attended a few functions where they were one of the caterers. The flavors are good, and it will be even better if eaten at the restaurant.

In Richmond, you have Ellie's and the public market.

I will not recommend Tropika if you are looking for authenticity.

[CMT]

Thanks for question/input....we'll be 7 adults/3 kids....and looking for authenticity....much appreciated

[kwailan4]

I think all the places listed so far should have no problem with your group size. Banana Leaf and Prima Taste are both licensed casual restaurants with prices to match. The room for Banana Leaf in Denman is really small.

Seri Malaysia and Chilli Padi are holes-the-wall.

Ellie's, in Richmond, and Jonker street in Yaletown have nice rooms, but smaller operations than Banana Leaf and Prima Taste.

The stall in the public market (it changed hands so many times I couldn't remember the name) is in a food court.

For myself, I will choose Prima Taste because they do the dishes I like well.

[fmed]

I second the rec for Prima Taste. They have large tables down the middle that can accomodate 10.

Re: Seri Malaysia and Chili Padi - yes they are definitely holes in the wall family run places. A bit dingy to have a casual dinner, but a treat for those who like that kind of ethnic experience. Home-cooked flavours and family style service.

[gourmet wife]

It's been awhile since I've gone to Ellies, it quite tasty and I love the option of ordering taiwanese food there. I've never been but there is a place called Kelong that serves Malaysian food on No.3 Road.

[fmed]

I've heard from colleagues that Kelong is good.

[kwailan4]

Kelong, Ellie's, Red Palms (Westminster Highway), Kari House (Steveston Village), Tropika and Prata Man (Garden City?) are all in Richmond. The one I return to most often is Ellie's, though the last time must have been more than a year back. Somehow, I do not usually feel like eating Malaysian when I'm in RIchmond.

[fmed]

I should mention that Seri Malaysia, Chili Padi are spinoffs from the original Kedah House on Fraser - ex-husband runs Seri, ex-wife runs the new Kedah, ex-chef runs Chili Padi. The food at is decent at all three and pretty authentic for Vancouver.

[kwailan4]

Wow! That's interesting!

I believe the first time I came across the chef/owner from Chilli Padi was at last year's dragonboat festival. He was operating a stall there.

[ck1234]

We just did the group lunch at Banana Leaf on Broadway and it was really good! Tons of food for $12.50 each!

http://bananaleaf-vancouver.com/menu/...

[grayelf]

ck, did you go to the original BL or the one further west on Broadway? My Chowish mum swears by the one closer to Oak, but we've had uneven experiences at the one near MacDonald...

That menu looks like really good value, though, with a couple of the dishes I like.

[ck1234]

We went to the one by Oak. It's the only one I've been to. The menu was a really good value, I was surprised as I've never looked at it before...well I guess cos I don't usually go to lunch with more than 6 people! Duh! :-)

[fmed]

Prima Taste, Banana Leaf for Malaysian/Singaporean
Kedah House, Seri Malaysia for Halal
I've been hearing good things about Jonker Street in Yaletown for Malaysian.

kwailan4 - do you have any recs?

[grayelf]

What about Tropika? We used to go a lot when they had their outpost on Broadway in Kits. They still have three locations, downtown, Cambie and Aberdeen Mall in Rmd. I don't remember the Thai stuff...

Here's the website:

http://www.tropika-canada.com/

I really liked their eggplant, sambal bunchies and roti canai, only the last of which appears on the on-line menu, but it seems rather truncated so perhaps items are not listed?