Malaysian in Flushing?

[baltoellen]

I'll be in Flushing tomorrow, and am well armed with a map to Golden Shopping Mall & some great recs from both CH and Serious Eats. The last time I was in Flushing--right around the time the NYT came out with its Beijing in Queens article--I noticed some Malaysian places. Anyone have experience with Malaysian food in Flushing? I'm especially looking for good (or even slightly above average) laksa.

Thanks.

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Golden Shopping Mall
41-28 Main St, Queens, NY 11355

[Peter Cuce]

There's another spot on 40th Rd called Restorant Malaysia. I haven't been except to buy mooncakes, but a couple of people I trust have told me it's good.

Also, I spotted a restaurant on Kissena Blvd called Satay. Has anyone been there?

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Restorant Malaysia
13517 40th Rd, Queens, NY 11354

Satay
46-01 Kissena Blvd, Queens, NY 11355

[Lau]

yah there's actually 4 that i know in flushing:
1) restorant malaysia
2) satay
3) curry leaves
4) sentosa (its not very good though)

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Sentosa
39-07 Prince St, Queens, NY 11354

Restorant Malaysia
13517 40th Rd, Queens, NY 11354

Satay
46-01 Kissena Blvd, Queens, NY 11355

New Curry Leaves
135-31 40th Rd, Queens, NY 11354

[el jefe]

I posted briefly about Satay on a long thread that really had little to do with Malaysian restaurants. I don't have enough experience at the 3 other Malaysian restaurants in downtown Flushing to make a valid comparison. However, I much prefer Satay over the over-rated, imho, Taste Good. (I was at Taste Good twice before the ownership change and twice in the year since. The Kari Laksa is the only dish I really appreciated and even then the last time I had it it was overwhelmed by what tasted like coconut milk straight out of the can.)

Just so you can discount my opinion, my favorite Malaysian restaurant in Queens is Penang on Broadway.

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Taste Good
82-18 45th Ave, Queens, NY 11373

Satay
46-01 Kissena Blvd, Queens, NY 11355

Penang
82-84 Broadway, Queens, NY 11373

[Peter Cuce]

What did you have at Satay, or can you direct me to your post? Thanks.

[Polecat]

Disclaimer: I've only been to Singapore and Malaysia in my dreams. I'll add that they were very good dreams. I seek out Malaysian food in NYC, and eat it quite often, because I love it. So, suffice to say that if I love it here, I'll go apeshit someday for the real thing. Realistically, there's no way a restaurant serving 90 some-odd menu items can compete with one-dish street specialists, but what's a guy with a Metro card and no plane ticket to do?

My one meal at Satay was pretty lackluster, the lowlight being the taro birds nest dish that tasted like everything came out of a can. We also had prawn mee and hainan chicken, neither of which was good enough to have us clamoring to return. It was just one meal, though, and occurred more than a year ago. I would be willing to return, especially since that's a pretty easy section of the hood to park in.

I've had decent curry mee at Restorant Malaysia (known as "Malay Restaurant" on Yelp) as well as a pretty good Char Kwey Teow, but also had a lousy plate of Sambal Skate - serves me right for ordering it in the first place.

Re Taste Good, back in the day I enjoyed their broths but never anything else. Shrimps, fish cakes, eggs, any of the add-ons, all tasted like they'd been in the freezer too long. Years and years ago, I dug their special prawn dish, but that was forever and an age ago. I recently had some uninspired popiah and some very tired hainan chicken.

Had a very pleasing Bak Kut Teh at Coco Southeast Asian, which never gets discussed at all on this board. The broth was pleasantly porky with nice traces of herb, cinammon, anise. I love this dish, but I'm sure it wouldn't meet the standards of those who've enjoyed it for breakfast in Malaysia, Singapore, etc. I only hit this place recently for the first time. It was full up on a Sunday afternoon. I look forward to returning.

El Jefe, interested to know what you like at Penang. I've only had their capitan noodles, some years back.

I enjoyed a nice, full curry mee at Overseas earlier this year, and had a very enjoyable meal at New Malaysia very recently. Their hainanese chicken rice is the best I've had on these shores, especially the rice, which was surprisingly light and fragrant (most versions seem to use leftover, stale rice) to my memory, and the dish known as Belacan string beans with shrimp was excellent, easily the best Malaysian dish I've had all year. The char kwey teow wasn't bad, either.

Anyhow, my two cents.
p.

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Taste Good
82-18 45th Ave, Queens, NY 11373

Restorant Malaysia
13517 40th Rd, Queens, NY 11354

Satay
46-01 Kissena Blvd, Queens, NY 11355

Coco
82-69 Broadway, Queens, NY 11373

Penang
82-84 Broadway, Queens, NY 11373

[Peter Cuce]

I love Bak Kut Teh, which I've had the pleasure of eating in Singapore, at a place called Morning Bak Kut Tea (http://www.flickr.com/photos/536/8999... ). I used to enjoy the version at the old Penang on Elizabeth St in Manhattan, so I'm looking forward to checking out the Coco one as well. Thanks much for the rec.

[Polecat]

I'm pretty sure I'd enjoy a trip to Morning BKT more than you'd dig Coco's version, but give it a spin and see what you think.
P.

[p3bbz]

A lot of great info on this thread. I've had the char kway teow both at Satay and Restorant Malaysia and wasn't impressed (noodles were on the bland side for me and weren't cooked long enough) but I'm willing to try these places again since it was only a single experience - perhaps try the Curry Mee at Restorant Malaysia as well.

This is the first I've read someone discuss Coco Southeast Asian and glad to see it's worth checking out.. at least for the Bak Kut Teh. Thanks!

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Restorant Malaysia
13517 40th Rd, Queens, NY 11354

Satay
46-01 Kissena Blvd, Queens, NY 11355

[swannee]

I think New Curry Leaves and Restorant Malaysia are by far the best in Queens--I am not at all impressed with Taste Good (the old one on Doyers St. was infinitely better). But none of them makes good Laksa lemak (although the weirder asam laksa is OK at both of the above). Curry mee is good, but it isn't laksa!

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Taste Good
82-18 45th Ave, Queens, NY 11373

Restorant Malaysia
13517 40th Rd, Queens, NY 11354

New Curry Leaves
135-31 40th Rd, Queens, NY 11354

[Lau]

ive never had a good laksa outside of singapore or malaysia, ive kind of given up, i think its too hard for people to get right just like chicken rice

[Peter Cuce]

Lau, did you make it to the amazing Happy Joy Malaysian hawker-style restaurant on Canal & Essex before they closed a few years back? Unfortunately I only discovered it something like 10 days before it closed, but made it there about five times beforehand, and got invited to their closing party. Here's a shot of something particularly toothsome from there.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/536/5988...

[Lau]

yah that was my go-to malaysian place before it closed down, that was before i had my own blog and before i was super active on the boards...i wonder what happened to the people from there. someone could have a good business if they opened up a real malaysian or singaporean style restaurant in NY

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/374608

[p3bbz]

My go-to for laksa is in Elmhurst at Taste Good Malaysian. However if I'm Flushing, I like Curry Leaves (40th rd.). Their curry noodle soups are pretty good as well as their Malaysian Cheong Fun. Also one of the only places (that I know of) that offers the char kway teow with cockles.

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Taste Good
82-18 45th Ave, Queens, NY 11373

New Curry Leaves
135-31 40th Rd, Queens, NY 11354

[Polecat]

Ditto on Curry Leaves. I've enjoyed their Curry Mee. Had it once at 6am - these guys have the early bird special from 4-11am - great way to start the day. Thanks for the heads-up on the cockles. Curry Leaves' char kway teow is pretty much the only version in NYC I haven't tried.
p.

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New Curry Leaves
135-31 40th Rd, Queens, NY 11354

[p3bbz]

I wish more Malaysian restaurants offered cockles in their noodles. Just to note, I don't think they call it char kway teow but Malaysian Chow Fun w. cockles on the menu. Make sure to ask for it spicy if you can handle it. ;)

[baltoellen]

Thanks for the suggestion. Tried the laksa this evening, and it wasn't exactly what I was expecting/hoped for. Perhaps their other menu items are a bit stronger. Next time I'm in the area will try Taste Good.

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Taste Good
82-18 45th Ave, Queens, NY 11373

[Lau]

fyi, the laksa at Taste Good gets rave reviews, but I think people are mistaken b/c they haven't had good laksa. I found it to be just okay, here's my old review:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/712808

also, Taste Good changed owner and a singaporean guy i know told me it's gone downhill, i haven't been there in a while, so i cant personally vouch for it

also, in the city, Oversea Asian has a decent curry mee (they put yong tofu in it)...Oversea Asian can be sort of hit or miss depending on the dish, but their curry mee is decent

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Taste Good
82-18 45th Ave, Queens, NY 11373

[baltoellen]

If there's no strong laksa in the area, at least there's enough other amazing eats in Flushing to keep me happy. (Already planning my return, especially to Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao and the lamb noodle soup stall in the back of Golden Mall.)

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Golden Shopping Mall
41-28 Main St, Queens, NY 11355

Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao
38-12 Prince St, Queens, NY 11354

[Lau]

yah singaporean / malaysian food is pretty weak in NY in general...actually i cant think of anywhere where its really strong outside of singapore and malaysia, i feel like just not very many of them immigrated outside of the area, probably b/c its mainly been people immigrating there (quality of life is pretty high in singapore)

[p3bbz]

Yeah it seems the cuisine is very week here in NY (according to the Malaysian boyfriend since the restaurants in NY are all I know) however Taste Good and Curry Leaves are some of the better options out there. I agree Taste Good's laksa at times can be heavy handed with the coconut milk - esp as of late. Saw your post on Oversea Asian and would love to try theirs soon.

At Curry Leaves we usually rotate the same dishes - chow fun w. cockles, bak kuh teh, the cheong fun, curry mee, prawn mee, and veggies. The prawn mee is decent but lately the broth has tasted flat and a little too sweet. Good wok hay for the chow fun however Curry Leaves too can be inconsistent IMO so I've had both a great tasting noodle dish and other times quite bland. The chili paste they provide helps a little during those occasions. I would love to find another place that serves the Malaysian cheong fun as I do enjoy this dish. At Curry Leaves sometimes the noodles are not cooked long enough and stick together but I usually end up finishing the curry broth.

My knowledge of Malaysian food is quite slim and don't find myself venturing out too often into Manhattan but Oversea is now on my list. Thanks for chiming in with your input and recommendation!

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Taste Good
82-18 45th Ave, Queens, NY 11373

New Curry Leaves
135-31 40th Rd, Queens, NY 11354

[Lau]

try the chee cheong fan at poon kee in the city, its the best version ive had in NY, tastes pretty similar to street type places in hong kong.
http://www.lauhound.com/2011/03/poon-...

btw im going to write another post on oversea soon, but be careful as I'd stick to my recs b/c some of the dishes are very hit or miss, the ones that aren't good like the hainan chicken are pretty mediocre

[Lau]

wow they actually put cockles in it? i think alot places in singapore don't even put cockles in their char kway teow anymore.

aside from the cockles though how is it? good wok hay?

what else is good there?