1/12/12 UPDATE: This restaurant is now closed and replaced by IMC (International Master Chef) Kavino Lau
MALACCA is “the only authentic restaurant owned by Malaysians and Cuisine cooked by Malaysians” according to its marketing tagline. I don’t usually believe in marketing gimmicks but I felt this one’s for real once I tasted my Bak Kut Teh Favorite and Sambal Kangkong dish.
Yes, Bak Kut Teh has arrived in Manila! Yahoo!
Most of my Singaporean/Malay favorites are served in Malacca:
[Singapore #1] Makan Food Trip – My Top 10 Favorites!
Finally, a restaurant worth raving about after all the mediocre openings of “Malaysian-inspired” restaurants and the so-called fine dining places in Manila.
Most people would be familiar with Malaysian/Singaporean Favorites like Hainanese Chicken Rice, Curry Laksa, Char Kway Teow, Satay and Beef Rendang. Banana Leaf used to serve them and
Toast Box serves a good Laksa that you should try. But having authentic Bak Kut Teh, Sambal dishes, Rojak and Fish Head Curry in the menu takes Malacca to a whole different level compared to its competitors.
Thanks to Philip Ng of Wasabi for finally creating a true Malaysian Restaurant in Manila. Maybe you can also bring in a true Thai Restaurant and the Singapore Chili Crab in Manila. 🙂
MALACCA Authentic Malaysian Cuisine Menu
Start with the Short Orders menu for a Curry Laksa (P180) or Cha Siu & Hainanese Chicken Rice Toppings (P220). But if you are a Bicolano like me (who loves anything spicy), try the Sambal Prawns, Sambal Kangkong and the Fish Head Curry.
The menu also specifies which ones are Malaysian and which ones are influenced by the Chinese. The little Malaysian lady icon in violet represents Malaysian fare, and the Chinese lady icon in red represents the Singaporean dishes.
Barley with Lemon (P60) and Hot Teh Tarik (P60) – The famous foamy Indian-style “Pulled Tea” made from the finest Ceylon Red Tea with sweetened milk.
The Teh Tarik tastes like the authentic version of Lipton Milk Tea. I like it hot, especially for this cold weather in January.
Bak Kut Teh (P180) – Fresh, tender, meaty pork ribs, whole garlic paired with traditional Chinese herbs simmered into a rich and nutritious soup.
I can still taste the garlic and the different herbs used to create the meat broth, which is simmered for a long period of time. This creates a tender meat that easily falls off the pork ribs. Some say it has a medicinal taste.
Sambal Kangkong (P180) – Stir-fried kangkong, okra OR eggplant in Malay Sambal chili paste
Sambal is the chili bagoong used in Malaysia/Singapore. This dish brings back memories of the Sambal Kangkong we ate with Rache’s Auntie in the Malaysian restaurant on the 2nd floor of Changi airport.
Malay Chicken Curry (P380) – Fresh farm chicken cut into bite-sized portions and simmered in red curry sauce with potatoes.
I was literally sweating after finishing this dish. It is definitely not for kids but for those who truly love authentic chili curry.
Ice Kacang (P120) and Coconut Jelly (P80) – Fresh coconut milk gelatin with young coconut flesh, topped with shaved ice and syrup.
I recommend that you try the Ice Kacang. It comes with red beans, black gulaman and corn with shaved flavored ice on top. Surprisingly, they have a strong line-up of desserts. We did not like the Coconut Jelly that much, though.
Ground Floor, Jupiter Place, 136 Jupiter St., Makati
Telephone: +632 8993587, 8954282
Live An Awesome Life in God’s Grace,
Finally! Hopefully, this is as authentic as I remember the food in Singapore… been craving for a good Char Kway Teow for a long time now!
oh wow, authentic malaysian food in manila sounds great…im a bit surprised though they didnt include “nasi lemak” in their menu under “malacca short orders” (or did I miss it somewhere)…sorry anton if i shamelessly plug my food blog here in singapore (http://the-f-word-blog.blogspot.com), some of ur readers who might visit might want to check it out 🙂
oops so sorry, yes they do have it under “malacca short orders” 🙂 its a must try!!!
ohhhh this is exciting!! will definitely visit this place soon!!
fran
http://www.frannywanny.com/
Wow! This is exciting news indeed. So near my house pa… My sister loves hainanese chicken so she would surely enjoy this resto.
Completely off-topic: Since you used to go to DLSU, you might know about syfu (this BBQ place which used to be outside DLSU). A friend from the States is desparately trying to get the recipe for their barbecue. Hopefully you or some of your readers could help. Thanks!
address of MALACCA
We wanted to try this place last Saturday, but they somehow lost our reservation. Thankfully they still manage to seat us although in a smaller table. When we tried to order,only one appetizer was available. Plus we were given a very very long list of items that were not available in the main dishes. Upon placing an order which we thought was not on the list we were told the kitchen ran out also of that dish. We took that as our cue to leave. Too bad, the menu looked promising. Server was also not familiar with dishes and could not recommend anything nor could she assure us which was still available.
Authentic Malaysian/Singaporean food should not be this expensive!
Why am I paying P180 for a few stems of kangkong, where a bundle costs only P18?
Why am I paying P120 for ice kacang, which only costs RM2 (approx P28)?
The Malacca owner is actually robbing us!!! He’s having a laugh with a P60 teh tarik!
WORST SERVICE EVER!!! we’ve been there last month, and we left without eating!!! because the waiter didn’t submit our order to the kitchen.. we just spent 30mins waiting there for NOTHING!! and the manager didn’t even come to apologize.
The Chili Crab in Nasi Lemak Restaurant on Thompson Square in Tomas Morato is pretty good.
I am still on the hunt for real authentic-tasting LAKSA!
I stumbled upon Santi’s Astoria(yes, unbelievably so) which for me was quite close, but when I went to Santi’s along Yakal last year, I found it quite watery. Secret Recipe’s laksa was good and creamy enough, but I was quite shocked that when I tried their laksa in Secret Recipe SINGAPORE (Vivo City), the taste and some ingredients were different! Rasa Singapure in Gateway is good too.
Where in Makati can I go to get my real laksa fix??
Malacca and Secret Recipe in Makati is the closest. In Tomas Morato, Nasi
Lemak was suppose to have a good Laksa dish.
betul kan?
thats also been what is sooo hard to accept.
i love teh tarik. its about RM 1.50 which is Php 21.
kopi roti is so far the nearest in taste to the real thing is Php50.
and here its Php60?
they don’t even “tarik,” which means to pull from one glass to another, it well here.
this airates the tea and creates the bubbles. more bubbles the yummier and smoother.
sakit hati!
Food is ok but very poor service. Staff needs more training.
Went there in May. fruits rojak was ok. and the hainanese chicken rice was not bad. but the bah kuh teh was very, very good.
a couple of weeks ago, we wanted to go back for another round of bah kuh teh, but we were told that malacca was under new management and will be turning completely halal. meaning no pork. they offered us some chick-kuh-teh instead (bah kuh teh with chicken?), but we declined knowing that it just wouldn’t be the same.
Bad service? Then this makes it a really authentic Malaysian restaurant!!! Hahaha! I have been living here in Malaysia for a little over 3 years now but my family and I are moving back to the Philippines. One of the things I would miss about Malaysia is the food. Good to know there are places in Manila that seems to serve authentic Malaysian food.
One more test of Malaysian authenticity – when the waiters wipe the table, do they just wipe off the talbe in such a way that the “mumo” drops on the floor and not bother sweeping or mopping the floor afterwards? If the answer is yes, then this is really authentic. 🙂
Haha! I’ll notice that next time, thanks for the suggestion.
Anton, I just remembered that there is this really tiny restaurant (4-5 tables) located in the Scout area that serves authentic and cheap (that’s how Malaysian and Singaporean food should be) Malaysian/Singaporean food. It was used to be called Rasa Singapura and then more recently (meaning 4 years ago)Batik Rasa (or something to that effect). I forgot the name of the Scout but it is on the street that intersects with all the Scout-named streets and has a Catholic church on it. I will give more details when I have re-discovered Manila.
Yes, I think what you are referring to but I need the name of the resto
please… thanks!
anton
The last time I was there, it was called Batik Rasa. Original name was Rasa Singapura but that was when they were in a bigger location (same street but in an old 2-story house just near the current location). If I am not mistaken, this resto is on Scout Ybardolaza. I will visit that place again when I get back to Manila. By then, I would be a true ex expat. 🙂
hi, do you know where they transferred? imc kavino is now in the spot where they used to be.
They closed already 🙁