RASA | THE MOST AUTHENTIC HALAL MALAYSIAN FOOD

"The most authentic Malay food since Malaysia"

Yesterday I had the honour of visiting Malaysian Rasa cafe in Westfield Stratford London. Between you and I; I was a little apprehensive because the only malay food experience I had was the REAL DEAL (on my month and a half trip to Malaysia) so I really didn't want to spoil the memory of how much I loved it the first time round.

I'm pleased to announce that dose numbers two of Malay food did NOT disappoint. I rarely write about food places unless I'm completely in love so know that as I write this I am dribbling for my next visit.

They're in the food court just bellow John Lewis in Westfield.

The decor is Malay 'street' style with mismatched furnishing pulled together with contemporary bold colours splashing from the walls and soft furnishings. I love how the counters are made to look like street food carts exactly like the ones in Malaysia. They have three counters 'Look here' where you can see the menu food laid out (just incase you want to become very indecisive - everything looks bloody amazing), 'shop here' - where you can buy packaged Malay snacks and 'Oder here'- where you can place your order when you've decided what you would like to satisfy your cravings with.

I ordered the Chicken Mubarak. Which is a Malaysian flat bread with meat/chicken stuffing served with dhal curry (perfect veggie pick) or chicken curry. Mubarak comes in a beef alternative but I'm not a huge red meat eater. I LOVED this dish, it was my first time trying it (I'm usually a Nasi Lemak kinda gal but wanted to mix things up a little).

 

For side dishes I ordered Satay Ayam / Grilled Chicken Skewer - which are Chicken skewers seasoned with spices, turmeric, galangal, lemongrass and onion that is grilled into perfection and served with peanut sauce. When I was in Malaysia I was DYING over this peanut sauce - SO fantastically good and Rasa's is exactly that.

Roti Jala - A combination of coconut milk, egg and flour batter that is crafted into a special lacy crepe served with dhal curry or chicken curry. If you LOVE both curry and pancakes you'll love this savoury infusion of the two. I overdosed on these pancakes during my travels - they're just THAT good.

For dessert I went for something a little different, I got the Kuih Ketayap / Pandan Coconut Rolls - A soft green crepe roll filled with caramelized coconut filling. SO deliciously soft and not overpoweringly rich, it perfectly complimented everything else I ate and didn't give me the sickly feeling of overdoing it (which my Personal trainer would tell me I'm deserving of haha).

Rasas menus are made of photographs of all the available options along with a short description - making them user friendly for first time Malay cuisine diners.

I also highly recommend the Teh Tarik - which literally means "pulled tea", its is a hot / cold milk tea beverage which can be commonly found in restaurants, outdoor stalls and kopi tiams (traditional coffee shops) within the Southeast Asian countries of Malaysia and Singapore. A sip of it took me right back to my Malay mornings at Papa Rich.

 

Rasa Cafe also have a kids menu along with colouring sheets and crayons... Not going to lie to ya'll, I was tempted.

Basically no amount of hype will tell you just how great this place is, you'll have to go to Rasa and taste yourself. If you decide to go and give it a try, let me know what you think and what you would recommend because I'm dying to go back for seconds!

Find Rasa on www.rasa.co.uk | @caferasamalaysia | Facebook