Malay Satay Hut

[girl chow]

Mamster, et al, thought you would want to know that the Malay Satay Hut in Redmond is now open. I was going to meet the owner last Tuesday, but he missed our appointment, which meant my preview of the restaurant was essentially me pressing my face against the window. Here's what I saw:

The seating capacity has got to be close to 100. The tiki style bar, flanking the left side of the dining room, is all about kitschy bamboo and lava lamps. The dining room is more subdued with tables and chairs in some kind of cherry laminate material or wood maybe? (read: uncomfortable) and the kitchen is somewhat visible from the dining room. I peeked at the menu that was sitting on a table in the entryway and it looked quite similar, if not identical, to the menu of the Seattle store. Also, the pricing looked nice and reasonable (glad they won't be charging us for that Eastside real estate).

I briefly spoke with the owner last week and he said that the Seattle location would be reopening, although I didn't press him about a firm opening date. Mamster, perhaps you know more than I and could give us an update about that?

My pals who work a few blocks from the new MSH Redmond say it looks like it opened to the public on Thursday, or at least that's when it looked like people were going in and out on a regular basis. I'm going to the Eastside later this week and I'll check it out and give a full on chowdown report. Or, anyone else feel free to dish if you've been!

The address: 15230 N.E. 24th St., Redmond (located in the same strip mall as Performance Bikes and directly across the street from Office Depot).

Their phone: 425-564-0888

[mamster]

I have no inside information on the Satay Hut, but I'll ask Nancy for the latest.  GC, you'll probably make it to the eastside location before I do, so please report.

[mamster]

Nancy reviews it today:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html....10.html

Three stars.

[PerfectCircle]

Finally made it out to the Bellevue/Redmond/Overlake area last weekend and thought I'd report. This place gets enough well-earned praise that my $.02 seems hardly necessary, but I wanted to confirm that the roti canai appetizer is not to be missed, and that the string beans with shrimp paste are truly truly delicious. I have to admit a moment's hesitation when ordering them, because I've been out-shrimped in the past (at other establishments), but the flavors were perfectly balanced and weren't excessively fishy in the least. We tried one of the noodle dishes, the one with the slightly thicker, rounder noodles (sorry I forgot the name already!), and it was very good as well, with an interesting faintly bitter aftertaste. The lime drink was delicious, the people were friendly, and I can't wait to go back. I really can't wait until the rumor that they plan to reopen down on Jackson & 12th is made fact......

[girl chow]

I've tried to eat at the new MSH Redmond THREE times now. It has been so packed, it's impossible to get a table. So I compromised and got my food to go yesterday. As always, the roti canai ROCKS! I think it's worthy of a meal on its own. I'll report more when I go back for a "real" experience (hopefully next week). But I wanted to let you all know that the place is still hoppin. Also, they only take cash. No credit, no checks. Just a warning :)

Any news on the ID location?

[malarkey]

I'm dying to go here now you guys. maybe I'll get lunch to go one of these days.

[mamster]

I went by the ID one a couple days ago and they have a big yellow OPENING SOON banner. I'm guessing next month.

[MsRamsey]

The seating capacity has got to be close to 100. The tiki style bar, flanking the left side of the dining room, is all about kitschy bamboo and lava lamps.

Tiki lounge style for me is like catnip to a cat!

[MsRamsey]

Somewhat uninteresting update: I had called the Kirkland(?) Malay Satay Hut weeks ago asking when the I.D. branch would be open. They said "end of month," meaning the end of July. (They probably get a lot of these calls . . .)

Today I ate at Nha Trang (which was wonderful, BTW, and perfect prices for a mamster Seattle Times review).

Anyway, I made a point of noticing what's going on at Malay Satay Hut. Unfortunately, it's pretty empty and doesn't look anywhere close to being ready. The front door was open, so at least there are people working in there. Maybe by Christmas???

Kathy

[LaurieA-B]

After reading in the Seattle Times yesterday that the Malay Satay Hut, Seattle, was re-opened, I decided to head there for lunch. Roti canai was calling my name.

(I considered posting to egullet for lunch companions, but on Tuesday, when I had a big list of things to do, I spent way too much time on egullet. So on Wednesday I swore, no egullet all day. And I got a lot done, including lunch at MSH. Also, as I admitted to Matthew last night, I wanted the roti all to myself.)

I took off for 12th and Jackson without stopping to get cash. FYI: MSH is cash only, and there is no such thing as an ATM at 12th & Jackson, that I could find. I walked down to Viet Wah to see if they had an ATM, and then to find something to buy so that I could get cash. I was very pleased to find a jar of Horlicks for Matthew.

At Malay Satay Hut, which was quite busy, I ordered roti canai, fish filet with tamarind sauce (off the lunch menu), and a fresh lime juice. The roti was delivered along with the soup that comes with the lunch special. Roti delicious as I remembered: crisp, buttery shards of bread, spicy sauce, a fabulous combination. The soup appeared to have cabbage and carrots. I don't know what it tasted like because, as I dived into the roti, I knocked the soup all over my lap. Fortunately it was not blistering hot. I sponged myself off as best as I could and returned to the table to finish my roti. The fish was large chunks of moist white fish, battered, fried, and covered with a heavy red sauce that did not taste noticeably of tamarind. It was okay, but I will try something else next time.

Fresh lime juice very delicious, reminded me of drinks in Thailand.

See you all tonight at 12th & Jackson.

[Schielke]

A friend and I went to the Redmond Malay Satay Hut this last Friday and had a great time.

We had:

Roti Canai- a standard by this point, very crisp and tender at the same time. The dipping sauce is nicely spiced and rich.

Malaysian/Chinese Porkchops- Tender cuts of pork with a sweet spiced glaze. This was a fantastic dish.

Dry Curry Crab- After we ordered this dish we looked at the Crab tank to see a Crab desperately trying to escape from it's prison. It was almost enough to pull a heart string and spare the little bugger...almost.

The dish is a whole crab cleaned (possibly steamed) and then stir-fried in a nicely balanced red curry sauce. The curry was slightly spicy and garlicky. The dish was of course messy to eat but worth it.

My dining companion ordered a young coconut drink and was promptly brought a freshly hacked open whole coconut with a straw inside. Nice.

I need to go back here more often, the menu is very large with some quite interesting options. Crispy pork intestines anybody?

Ben