The first thing that strikes you about Sri Pinang (356 Karangahape Road, Ph: 09 358 3886) is the efficient service. Then you meet the host and proprietor, Angie, and you understand why this unassuming place is packed night after night, even after 21 years. Angie’s warm and engaging nature makes her the perfect host and she is truly the heart of Sri Pinang.

Coincidentally, the night we visited was Merdeka Day, the anniversary of Malaysia’s independence (31 August 2024). This year is rather special; the celebration coincided with the Muslim New Year, Hari Raya Aidilfitri, resulting in a double celebration of Merdeka Raya.

We settled into our teh tariks ($3.50) and our entrée of roti curry ($7.00). The teh tarik had a good tea flavour, but could do with more milky creaminess. We enjoyed the chicken curry, which came with the crispy roti, had good robust curry flavour with generous pieces of tender boneless chicken.

The sambal okra ($17) was sublime, our favourite dish of the evening. I’m Malaysian, but I normally shy away from sambal. It’s not an easy flavour to get right, it can be too salty, too pungent or too spicy. Sri Pinang’s sambal was perfectly balanced; the belacan was fragrant and mellow, the chilli was spicy without going overboard, the sweet/salty ratio was perfect. The fresh, crunchy okra made a great vessel for the sambal.

Pinang fish curry ($26, whole or if you are bone-adverse, also comes filleted) came in a claypot, with thick pieces of snapper and chunky vegetables (okra, green thai eggplant, tomato, onion and pineapple) enveloped in a delicious thin, spicy, sour-ish curry. The fantastic curry gravy was slurp worthy. My dining partner, whose mum comes from Penang, declared this a very good version of a Penang fish curry.

The garlicky, bean-flavoured stir-fried spicy chicken ($15.50) could not stand up to its more wonderfully spiced neighbours. Watch out for the dried chilli pieces among the onions, courgettes and garlic scapes.

A phrase by Todd Kliman (dining editor of the Washingtonian magazine) echoed in my mind at this point “I paradoxically knew I had ordered too much, and yet, somehow not enough”. I had ordered too much food, but certainly not enough to give us a complete feel for the culinary pleasures of Sri Pinang.

We managed to find room to tuck into the banana fritter partnered with a scoop of passionfruit ice-cream and drizzled with mango sauce ($6.50) and the sago coconut pudding ($5.50). The banana fritter was on the oily side; however the sago pudding was deliciously cold, smooth and creamy, the taste highlighted by the treacle notes of the palm sugar syrup.

Sri Pinang is a must visit for a taste of excellent Malaysian cuisine; there are some remarkable dishes on the menu. If you get stuck, be sure to ask Angie for recommendations.

Carmella Lee - who grew up in Malaysian Borneo - is the heart and mind behind the Easy Food Hacks blog, which chronicles her fascination with gastronomy, and how to create good food and impress family and friends while putting in minimum effort.

As much as we try to jazz it up, Malaysian food is renowned for having glorious fast food (or, as we call it, hawker food). In Malaysia, these are located in large hawker centres, where you get a bewildering number of stalls specialising one particular dish, the recipe having honed and perfected over many years. In NZ, we tend to find Malaysian food in food halls, where the proprietors have to re-create a large number of Malaysian dishes across various ethnicities.

Food Alley (9 Albert Street, Auckland) has been around as far back as I can remember. There used to be a lone Malaysian eatery, Malaysian Noodles, but there is now a second level with a second Malaysian place (Kampung Delights).

I was here to sample the offerings at Malaysian Noodles. The proprietor recommended the laksa, and I was surprised to hear his accent. I queried, and was told that he and his family are from Bangkok, and purchased the eatery 10 or 12 years ago. He had never even stepped foot in Malaysia. I was suitably intrigued, would Malaysian food cooked by someone who wasn’t Malaysian or had visited the country be authentic?

The verdict? Yes, it passed muster. And admirably so.

There were about 30 dishes (and variations) to choose from, costing between $9 and $12. It took a while to make our decision, and we were pleased with what we ended up with.

The char kuey tiaw with chicken, prawn and squid ($10) had the requisite smokey flavour, with the right amount of kicap manis (sweet soy sauce). It was not oily, and the two prawns, although somewhat dry, had their shells mostly removed (what a great idea!). I would have liked more egg and beansprouts, and the use of chives rather than spring onion, but that would be quibbling.

The chicken curry nasi lemak ($10) came on a large platter. It consisted of creamy coconut rice with a generous blanket of curry gravy, a large serving of the chicken curry, achar (vegetable pickles), crunchy roasted peanuts and deep-fried ikan bilis (anchovies), half a boiled egg and some julienned cabbage and carrots (the last part is a Kiwi addition). Malaysians will note the lack of sambal bilis, though the nasi lemak was very tasty and is enough to share.

Malaysian Noodles doesn’t serve desserts or drinks - these have to be purchased from the Food Alley drinks counter. We ordered teh tarik ($3.50), although they didn't impress - these tasted like frothy chai lattes.

If you are in the CBD, Malaysian Noodles is a good, cheap, tasty option.

Carmella Lee - who grew up in Malaysian Borneo - is the heart and mind behind the Easy Food Hacks blog, which chronicles her fascination with gastronomy, and how to create good food and impress family and friends while putting in minimum effort.

I have driven past Cinta Malaysian Restaurant (454 Dominion Road, Mt Albert, Ph: 09 - 623 2808) many times (it’s on my way to work) but hadn’t found the time to drop by this well-regarded restaurant. A review request from Malaysia Kitchen was the perfect excuse to book a table for Sunday night.

Cinta’s décor is a nod to the different cultures in Malaysia - I noted the Dayak Pua Kumbu woven runners and Melanau Terindak cone hats (Sarawak), other weaving and masks (unfortunately I am unfamiliar which regions these effects come from). I was really impressed that they took the effort to introduce other aspects of the Malaysian culture to the diners.

We started with Pandan Chicken ($8), deep-fried morsels of lightly seasoned chicken tied up with strips of pandan (screwpine) leaf, and Tofu Satay ($6.00), deep-fried cubes of tofu served with peanut sauce. I would have preferred the peanut sauce to be spicier.

Assam curry fish with okra ($28) is a memorable dish of deep-fried whole snapper served with an absolutely delectable tamarind-chilli gravy with tomato and okra. The interplay of the soft meat with the crunchy skin and thick spicy gravy works really well.

The boneless duck breast with spicy sauce ($22) came as thinly sliced pieces cooked in a sweet and sour chilli sauce with onions and dried chilli pieces.

We savoured the vegetarian yam basket ($22), a small deep-fried yam ring sitting on a crunchy bed of moreish deep-fried rice vermicelli and heaped with sautéed mixed vegetables and cashews. The rich texture of the yam complemented the freshness of the vegetables well.

What’s a Malaysian meal without a refreshing glass of teh tarik (hot or cold, $3.50) to wash it all down with?

To end the meal, we shared a cold dessert of sweetened red bean, cendol and gula Melaka ($6.50) and a warm dessert of sago and gula Melaka ($5.50). The red bean and cendol was too sweet for my liking, however, the sago dessert of sago pearls, warm coconut cream and the fragrant sweetness of the gula Melaka (palm sugar) makes for a fantastic end to the dinner.

Cinta is opened for dinner 5:30 – 10:30pm every night. Note that Cinta is no longer opened for lunch, although the old signage has not been removed. Parking is readily available in the little alcove behind the restaurant, or on the nearby streets.

Carmella Lee - who grew up in Malaysian Borneo - is the heart and mind behind the Easy Food Hacks blog, which chronicles her fascination with gastronomy, and how to create good food and impress family and friends while putting in minimum effort.

The Sri Mahkota restaurant chain (three so far, in Epsom, Newton and East Tamaki) has seemingly burst onto the Auckland food scene.

However, the original Sri Mahkota in East Tamaki (22D Torrens Road, Ph: 09 273 9188), tucked away in a small side street off Torrens Road, has been a destination for Malaysian food enthusiasts for many years. With the franchise in place, the tattered, well-thumbed menus have given way to shiny laminated pictorial ones, and the décor has been stepped up a notch.

There is a lunch menu, with 8 rice and 14 noodles dishes; most are priced at a reasonable $12. But, you can also order from the dinner menu, and this is where the magic lies.

Sri Mahkota has two dishes, which they are famous for. The first is their Fish Noodle Soup ($20), thick vermicelli noodles served in fish soup with fresh fish pieces and chinese cabbage. The soup is sublime and brimming with flavour, - the bones are simmered for hours until they simply melt into the soup, resulting in the cloudy stock. This is a huge serving, and is plenty for 2 or even 3 people.

The second is the Nestum prawns ($27). Nestum, an instant cereal made by Nestle, is a common pantry ingredient in Malaysian homes. The prawns are breaded with Nestum and egg, and deep-fried until golden brown, tossed with curry leaves and chili, and served with lots of the crunchy savoury breading. The amalgamation of sweet, spicy, chewy, crunchy sensations makes this an instant hit.

We ordered a serving of the creamy fish fillet ($28). This had similar flavours to the Nestum prawns with the deep fried fish and the use of curry leaves and chili.

The Char Kuey Teow ($16 for dinner size or $12 for lunch size) has excellent flavour without the common oiliness. The flat rice noodles were fried with shrimps, chicken, squid, egg, Chinese sausage and generous amounts of bean sprouts.

To balance out the protein and carbs, we had a serving of mixed vegies ($18), - this consisted of choy sum, shiitake and button mushrooms, bamboo shoots, wood ear fungus, bamboo shoots, corn and broccoli.

Their interpretation of Malaysian milk tea ($4) had a good balance of tea, milk and sugar.

The menu is extensive and focuses on the use of traditional Malaysian spices and flavours such as sambal, belacan, assam (tamarind) and coconut milk.

The East Tamaki branch of Sri Mahkota is the smallest of the three, and it pays to book (we saw three groups waiting for tables). This branch is not licensed (the other two are licensed), but BYO is available with $5 corkage charged.

Carmella Lee - who grew up in Malaysian Borneo - is the heart and mind behind the Easy Food Hacks blog, which chronicles her fascination with gastronomy, and how to create good food and impress family and friends while putting in minimum effort.

KK Malaysian Cuisine has served wonderfully authentic Malaysian cuisine from their tiny hole-in-the-wall location at 463a Manakau Road, Epsom (Ph: 09-630 3555) for many, many years.

When Malaysia Kitchen asked me to do a review, I was delighted - and even more thrilled to discover that the once-cramped KK's has spread into the space next door and also spills out onto the sidewalk (perfect for those warmer days).

It’s still very busy, so it pays to book. The service is fast and efficient - once the order is taken, food starts appearing in less than 10 minutes. How they manage to do this even though the entire restaurant was booked out is a mystery.

We started with the chicken satay (6 sticks for $9) served with a piquant peanut sauce, and the deep fried tofu ($5), which was topped with julienned onion and cucumber, wok-toasted chopped peanuts and drizzled with a sweet chili sauce. I am very partial to the tofu, which is crispy on the outside and custardy soft on the inside.

Beef rendang is a specialty of KK’s, and consists of eye round beef pieces slow-cooked in a spicy curry base until almost dry, then finished with wok toasted desiccated coconut ($20). The beef was meltingly tender.

They were out of the kangkong on the night, which we substituted with sambal eggplant ($18), stir-fried with chili, shrimp and chicken pieces. This is quite spicy, but you can request for the heat to be toned down.

Butter prawns ($30) is a famous Malaysian dish focusing on the nutty, caramelized butter flavor and delicious strands of salted egg yolk. The fresh birds eye chili and curry leaves complement the dish. The prawns can be cooked with or off the shell. This was a huge winner.

We also got a bowl of the seafood laksa ($18) and came piled with fishballs, deep-fried tofu, a large prawn, surimi and slices of fish cakes - plenty for two to share.

KK is one of those family restaurants where there is no fuss and décor comes a distant second to the exquisite food. And the fabulous food is what makes KK so special.

Carmella Lee - who grew up in Malaysian Borneo - is the heart and mind behind the Easy Food Hacks blog, which chronicles her fascination with gastronomy, and how to create good food and impress family and friends while putting in minimum effort.

Sri Puteri is a well-known Malaysian Mamak restaurant located at 59 Queens Street, Panmure (Ph: 09-574 6775). Mamak food is the food of Muslim Indians, and has woven itself into the Malaysian community to be considered as quintessential Malaysian cuisine. Sri Puteri also serves Chinese and South Indian favourites.

Lil Bro, Little Z and I came to sample the food as part of the Malaysian Kitchen’s ‘Makan Blog Squad’.

To whet our appetite, we started with a plate of Jay’s Malaysian Chicken Satay ($8.00). This is 5 glorious skewers of tender, marinated chunks of chicken served with a peanut sauce and diced cucumber, red onions and cubed ketupat (coconut rice cakes).

We also had Seelan’s Coconut Butter prawns ($12), - 6 prawns cooked in garlic, curry leaves and coconut flakes. This takes 20 minutes to cook, but is well worth the wait. The prawns were certainly buttery, with some sweetness and just the right amount of spicy chili kick.

I had the sting ray asam pedas (hot tamarind curry), $13.50 or $15.50 with rice and two vegetables (on the day, this came with turmeric cabbage and mixed seasonal green vegetables). There were generous pieces of soft sting ray pieces cooked in a spicy, sweet and sour gravy with pineapple, tomatoes and okra.

Lil Bro had the Wan Tan Hor ($11.00), a huge serving of fresh flat rice noodle (kueh teow) and vermicelli (bee hoon) in a thick gravy, cooked with fish cakes, eggs, chicken, prawns, squid and vegetables. The gravy was a bit salty for my taste, but it was certainly tasty.

We also indulged in hot mugs of Teh Tarik ($3.00) and little Z had a glass of pink Bandung Sirap (rose-flavoured evaporated milk drink, - $4.00).

To end our meal, Lil Bro and little Z shared an Ice Kacang (also known as ‘air batu campur,’ or ‘mixed ice dessert’) – sweetened kidney beans, palm seeds, mixed jelly, sweet corn, topped with a mound of shaved ice and flavoured with palm sugar, rose and pandan-flavoured syrup.

I had the Cendol, which is green, coconut, pandan-flavoured strands served with sweetened kidney beans, shaved ice, rich coconut cream and palm sugar. The cendol was frozen, and was icy and crunchy instead of slippery and gummy, but it still made a good finish to the richness of the curry.

Sri Puteri’s staff were rushed off their feet on the day we visited. Tables took a while to be cleared and wiped down. Given their authentic offerings and wide range of Malaysian foods, I can certainly understand why.

Carmella Lee - who grew up in Malaysian Borneo - is the heart and mind behind the Easy Food Hacks blog, which chronicles her fascination with gastronomy, and how to create good food and impress family and friends while putting in minimum effort.