Mummy Pixie: Malaysia Cafe

Earlier on this week I was invited to sample the delights at Malaysia Cafe, a Malay street food restaurant here on Woodville Road in Cathays, Cardiff. The decor was really cute, they'd put out Malaysian flags down the table and some menus of the food we'd be sampling.

I can seriously recommend the 'Kopi' - black roasted coffee with condensed milk

The lovely Dhruv Baker, winner of Masterchef 2010, who was cooking for us

After having time to check out the menu, Dhruv came out to chat to us about Malasian cuisine and the food we'll be eating, and how it's very authentic and true to typical Malay food.

The first food to come out was the Coconut & Chilli Salad, this was surprisingly nice, I'm not normally a fan of beansprouts but with the flavours of the coconut and chilli, it helped to balance out the 'damp' taste/smell that they have.

After that, it was time for the 2nd starter sample, the Inchi Kabin (Malaysian fried chicken), I'm afraid I didn't taste this since I'm vegetarian, but I'm told it was lovely :)

The final starter to come out was the Squid Satay. Being the lucky vegetarian I am, they also brought out some Paneer (pic below). The satay was lovely, it wasn't overly sweet or runny, the nuts had been chopped up beautifully so they weren't too small or too rough.

The paneer version of the Squid Satay, it was delightful!

Squid Satay -Marinated squid with a peanut sauce

Next up the first of the mains - this was a Tofu Laksa (everyone else (meat eaters) had chicken & prawn laksa), this was definitely my favourite meal of the night. It was in a creamy coconut and chilli sauce - it certainly packed a punch. Instead of combining it with noodles, it was mixed with spiral cut vegetables to add some bulk to it but keeping it lighter than noodles. The flavours were immense, I'd have been happy to have had a Ramen-sized bowl of this and nothing else :)

These are the Vegetable Murtabak, a leavened bread stuffed with vegetables and spices - this was very tasty too and complimented the Laksa really well.

I am sorry, this was the Tofo Rendang (the veggie version of the beef dish the others had), it looked so delicious I just jumped right in before photographing it - so this is it, mostly eaten! It had quite the kick, but nothing I couldn't handle. Most of the food had a spicy chilli kick, taking the spice level to about medium I'd say, maybe slightly milder.

Dessert - Buah Melaka - Malaysian rice balls with melted palm sugar inside. These were lovely, not too sweet. They reminded me of mochi, the Japanese dessert, they had a similar springy texture, but the addition of being covered in coconut was lovely, and the palm sugar inside wasn't too much, they were a lovely treat to finish the night on.

The inside of a Buah Melaka.

There was also Pisang Goreng, which is Malaysian banana fritters, but I'm allergic to bananas, so I didn't sample them.

It was a lovely evening and my first time ever trying Malaysian food. It's a safe bet to say I'll be returning and bringing the hubby with me - it's a well priced restaurant with main courses costing around £8.50. The restaurant had a laid back street-food-style vibe with a hint of canteen and overall great value for money.