Best Other Asian 2014

GOLD: PENANG DELIGHT CAFE

Silver: Amay’s House | Bronze: Laksa King | Honourable Mentions: Banana Leaf, Café Kathmandu

Penang Delight (Gold) hits all the Southeast Asian standards in a tropical hut of a room (wooden booths, Malaysian tourism posters, batik fabrics) delivering some off-the-beaten-track specialties, like glossy, sweet, salty Marmite prawns and sardine Penang laksa. Exemplary satays and noodles, and don’t miss the Malaysian vegetables: bright crunchy okra and green beans, caramelized red onion, dried shrimp, and chili. Amay’s House (Silver) is a mom-and-pop startup promising great things. Already, the menu boasts some Burmese standouts. Start with the tea leaf and pickled mango salads, the dry pork curry, and the egg and lamb keenan prata. Good value, homey, this is a yet-undiscovered gem. Bo has left, so Bo Laksa is now Laksa King (Bronze), offering good Southeast Asian food with a distinctly Burmese flavour. The mother/daughter team does the classics well: splendid (nicely spicy) roti canai, salty/sour/earthy lahpet thoke salad. But try the unfamiliar, like mohingar fish broth with noodles, eggs, and pea fritters or the Sunday-only kyee hot pot noodle soup.

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