Skyway

[Pan]

On Bond Girl's recommendation, I tried this Malaysian restaurant tonight. I had been reluctant to try it, because it's in the same location that housed Proton Saga, which I hated. Skyway is under completely different management. The Roti Canai I got was the best or at least most to my taste of any I've had in New York. It was a fair-sized disk and reminded me of the old-style roti canai I used to get for breakfast from an Indian man on the streets of Kuala Lumpur near the Pasar Chow Kit back in 1975 (though the sauce wasn't as rich as his were).

I also got Curry Mee with Young Tau Foo. It was particularly rich: Aside from the coconut milk and layer of rendered red fat in the broth itself, the dried bean curd sheets tasted very strongly of the lard they were fried in. The broth could have been spicier, but it was within a range of spiciness I found acceptable, and the various bits of isi (solids) were delicious.

The meal was very cheap, only some $6 and change plus tip. Thanks, Ya-Roo.

Skyway Malaysian Restaurant

11 Allen St. (just south of Canal)

New York, NY 10002

Tel.: (212) 265-1163 or -2352

MasterCard, Visa, and Discover accepted

[Pan]

This place passes the laksa test. I dared to order asam laksa today, and it was tasty. The mackeral was good and not fishy. The other thing I ordered was poh piah, which was OK, not special but satisfactory. A complimentary cup-sized bowl of bubur cha cha was provided for dessert, and it was good. Dinner cost $10.59 plus tip.

[mascarpone]

Was the asam laksa a regular dish, or was it a special. I looked for it on the take-out menu but couldn't find it.

This place passes the laksa test. I dared to order asam laksa today, and it was tasty. The mackeral was good and not fishy. The other thing I ordered was poh piah, which was OK, not special but satisfactory. A complimentary cup-sized bowl of bubur cha cha was provided for dessert, and it was good. Dinner cost $10.59 plus tip.

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[mascarpone]

I found it; never mind.

[Pan]

I went back again for dinner tonight. There was a large party (something like 12 people), so they were slammed and service was very slow. The waitress was very apologetic, but I understood and didn't hold it against her. I have to advise you not to figure on getting a straight answer to a question about how large an appetizer is. I ordered pasembur and curry mee with young tau foo. The pasembur is an appetizer -- for two people, maybe more. I was pretty hungry tonight and actually finished both the pasembur and the curry mee, but I feel stuffed, and I in fact declined the complimentary dessert. The price was certainly right, though -- $12.20 plus tip.

I have one mild criticism of the pasembur: At least today, the bean sprouts were a little old, so they were brown-tinged and tasted very earthy (the same bean sprouts, when used in curry mee, are more noticeable as a texture than a taste). I prefer fresher bean sprouts. Nevertheless, I'd order pasembur again, but not by myself if I planned on getting anything much else.

[Pan]

Went back for dinner again tonight. Get the Roti Telur, it's really good.

[Pan]

Went back for dinner again yesterday, with a friend. The meal wasn't perfect: One of the pieces of chicken in the Nasi Lemak was undercooked. But overall, the meal was satisfying. And the main reason I'm posting is to tell you all to get the satay. We had mixed beef and chicken satay (3 skewers apiece), and I'm here to tell you it's the best satay I've had since I was in Malaysia. The peanut sauce was great and included a touch of lemongrass; the meat itself was tasty and well-cooked.

[mascarpone]

Went back for dinner again yesterday, with a friend. The meal wasn't perfect: One of the pieces of chicken in the Nasi Lemak was undercooked. But overall, the meal was satisfying. And the main reason I'm posting is to tell you all to get the satay. We had mixed beef and chicken satay (3 skewers apiece), and I'm here to tell you it's the best satay I've had since I was in Malaysia. The peanut sauce was great and included a touch of lemongrass; the meat itself was tasty and well-cooked.

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The satay took longer to prepare than the other dishes. When it came I was somewhat overstuffed. It was so good that I ate some anyway. Very good sauce.

[Pan]

That's a good point about the satay. It felt like it took 20 more minutes to arrive than any of our other food, but I suppose the actual amount of waiting was less (maybe 15 minutes?).

[Pan]

I had dinner at Skyway tonight with three other people, including gaf, who will undoubtedly post later. I've revised my opinion of this restaurant upward, based on the meal. Skyway's bigger plates are better than the noodle soups (asam laksa, curry mee with young tau foo) which I tend to have when I go there by myself, and I believe those plates might well be considered good and not merely so-so if the restaurant were in Malaysia. I'm looking forward to going back again with a group of people and getting an asam dish and a curry.

[Pan]

Well, since no-one else has yet posted about our meal, I'll post in more detail.

We were a party of four and ordered the following:

Roti telur (2 orders; good as usual)

Satay (1 order chicken, 1 order beef - in Malaysia, this would be merely good, but for New York, the smokey taste of the satay and the tasty peanut sauce were excellent)

Nasi Lemak (everyone was delighted with this)

Squid with Special Sauce (terrific complex sauce I can't really describe, but it had a great rempah [spicy mixture])

Aromatic Crab (another great dish, with a different fragrant rempah)

Kangkung belacan (very good rendition)

I don't think I forgot any of the food.

The cost was $21/person, even though the crabs were dungeness and cost something like $25, I think. Next time, I think I'll post an ISO, and anyone who doesn't come is a rotten egg!!