Bonda Cafe [London]

[JFores]

Hello all,

Limster and I recently met for lunch at Bonda Cafe on Sussex Gardens rather close to Paddington Station. This restaurant is effectively a student canteen for Malaysians and those interested in the cuisine;' the prices and the selection both reflect this. Weekend specials are laid out near the kitchen's viewing window and one is able to choose specials which allow for 1, 2 or 3 dishes with rice and cabbage for anywhere between 4.50 and 6.50. They also do student discount. The weekend specials as well as the Malaysian style Tamil biriyani were all fantasitc and very nicely flavored. Bonda does not cook to the same refined level as Sedap by any means, but it does more or less reproduce Malaysian home cooking in a Malay kitchen. Other notable Malaysian restaurants in London (ei. Kopi Tiam and Sedap) are Malaysian Chinese run. While Limster is undoubtedly the expert on this place (he ate there something like 3 times this week before I went with him), the really notable dishes seemed to be these weekend assortments we got. All of their components are orderable on weekdays and I would imagine the quality transcends the entire menu. The assam laska, however, was very somewhat flavourless. It was possibly the least tangy, sour or interesting assam laksa I've ever had. Don't take that as a discouragement! The mussels in chili sauce, chicken biriyani and the catfish curry were all fantastic.

Given it's location, Bonda Cafe is particularly cheap and particularly good. It does a booming business with Malaysians and its prices are extremely reasonable. It's also very central. Finally, the place does give off that vibe of authenticity. Whether you care about that or not, it's there and you can feel it through a wait staff that speaks Malay despite containing Indian Malaysian members, a primarily Malaysian clientele and a kitchen staff which is wholly Malay. Authenticity must count for something because the food is excellent.

[cathodetube]

Thanks for the report. I am now looking forward to paying a visit.

[limster]

Some other dishes:

Mee goreng mamak consists of deftly stir-fried wheat noodles (spaghetti-sized), all beautifully coated by tiny flakes of egg, a brilliant show of technique and high octane wokking. Darkened with soy sauce, spiced up with chilli, enlivened with a squeeze of lemon (lime would have been better). Bite sized pieces of firm fried tofu/bean curd, bean sprouts, prawns, other vegetables. Truly savoury and an excellent reflection of the hawker rendition.

The chicken satay seemed only above average -- not enough of the delicious char from a charcoal grill, the marinate while nice could have been more complex and penetrated more into the meat -- but the meat was fairly moist and had a reasonable flavour. Sauce seemed more lemongrassy than most I've had, but still good. With the standard accompaniments -- cucumber, raw onion, ketupat (soft slightly fluffy rice cakes).

Nasi goreng kampong (literally "village style fried rice") was pleasant -- fried anchovies enhancing the spicy fried rice, served with a boiled egg on the side (would have preferred fried egg). I think the rice could have been even more dry and articulate.

On weekends they have a pretty good selection of dishes (~8 or so) to go with rice. The lamb curry was excellent -- the sauce and spicing were honest, complex and soulful, a harmony of spicy flavours (lemongrass, coriander et al) with coconut milk and will seem familiar to rendang fans, although it's not exactly the same. A dish with less gravy -- chicken coated with a sweetish soy sauce and kechap manis like sauce. And then a very good classic sayur lodeh -- a yellow vegetable curry, with tofu and mung bean vermicelli among the vegetables.

Desserts are quite good, with a couple of excellent ones involving shredded coconut and palm sugar -- wrapped in a green light fluffy crepe or top of fine long grain rice, slightly sticky, steamed in banana leaf. The sweet corn custard atop the long grained sticky rice was also good, as was the version with coconut custard. A medium dense pandan cake was slightly bland.

In general, the food was honest and down to earth in a very good way and the spice combinations were well calibrated and harmonious despite the complexity, even though I wouldn't mind more chilli heat. As JFores mentioned, Sedap has an extra refined touch that these guys don't have, but it's also a bit of an apples to oranges scenario, as Sedap does Nyona cooking whereas these guys do Malay, so there is a lot of non-overlap. Plus it's not a fair comparison, as the family the runs Sedap were very famous for their cooking in Singapore.

[limster]

The ais bandung, an iced rose syrup and milk drink, is exactly as back home. And the teh tarik is warming and frothy. I would love to have kaya (a spreadable coconut and pandan custard) toast there for breakfast one of these days.

[Harters]

You learn something every day. I had not realised until your last post that "home" was not the UK (in the sense that I assume you meant "home" i know you live in the UK). 'Tis the problem of discussion boards - unless it's clear from someone's username (or they say something specific), you often don't know a person's gender, nationality or ethnicity. Often it doesnt matter, sometimes it's relevent to better understanding. It has led me astray on other boards (as others have been led astray about my background).

[limster]

Yep - home is Singapore (with large similarities but also some differences in the food to Malaysia).

[MonkeyC]

It is often refreshing to be led astray!

[howler]

wonderful! i'm looking forward to trying it out when i'm back in blighty. (quiz: where does the word 'blighty' come from? a pox on you if you google it).

now how come you haven't tried the malaysian canteen on queensborough terrace? i thought it - not very originally - the malaysian version of the indian ymca.

[Harters]

Without Googling I know "blighty" is a corruption of "foreign" or "foreigner" from one of the Indian languages. Dunno which one. FWIW, my Dad served with the army in India throughout WW2.

[howler]

yep, it means foreigner - the hindi word is 'vilayati', the bastardization of which gives 'blighty'. well done.

and to keep this on subject - what on earth is malaysian style tamil biryani?! shouldn't it be malaysian tamil style birynai? is there even a tamil style biryani? sounds lovely anyway.

[limster]

It's called nasi briyani (nasi is rice in Malay). Long grained rice cooked with a variety of spices (saffron and others), often with cashews, served with a side of slow cooked meat with a somewhat spicy gravy (rendang-like). Comes with achar/pickles -- lightly vinegary, somewhat oily and chilli spicy (Bonda's version is more austere -- more vinegar than oil) and involves sliced cucumber, pineapple, carrots and sesame seeds.

pictures here: http://www.google.com/images?um=1&...

[limster]

P.S. the dish is largely cooked by the Indians (who are by and large Tamil-speaking), but it's not super unusual to see Malays preparing it.

[Harters]

My Tamil food experience is home cooked Sri Lankan, rather than Tamil Nadu, but it seems firmly similar to southern Indian rather than north. That said, food isnt fixed in geography.

[limster]

I'd be the first to admit that I've been remiss in not trying the Malaysian canteen -- have to go soon. Promise to get there before you hit Brixton Village. :)