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Review: Seri Malaysia Restaurant


owzer

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So after about 3 months waiting and anticipating, I finally noticed the "open for business" sign at Seri Malaysia restaurant. :biggrin: Walked into a clean and no-frills dinning area that had another table of 4 occupied. This was at about 2 in the afternoon.

Took a look at the menu, which had a ton of dishes (been told will probably be pared down over time according to popularity of the dishes). Was in the mood for Roti (a dish that I use for gauging the quality & authenticity at every Malaysian restaurant I visit) and also order the Mee Reebus. Service was warm/inviting and efficent/quick (a good sign). The roti arrived and serving size was slightly larger than other places in town (eg. Tropica). The key was the curry that goes with the dish. Spot on for flavours without excess oil or being watered down (unlike someother places in town). :smile: This was followed by a steaming hot bowl of Mee Reebus, which is a egg noodle dish with a sweet potato/yam gravy. Delicious! Not made in the Malay/Penang style, but more in the Singapore style where the gravy is nice and thick. Again another generous serving. :smile:

All in all based on these 2 dishes, IMHO my most authentic Malaysian meal in 15 years in Vancouver. :wub: (other that when mom comes back into town... :wink:) So, I chatted up with the owner, Jamel. Found out that he was one of the co-owners of the original Kedah House on Fraser Street. Seemed like a friendly and laid back kind of fellow.

On a selfish note, thought that I might want to spread the good word around even though I don't usually post. Anything to support a new and much needed entry for Asian cuisine in the East Van/North Burnaby area. Hope that word gets around and they get busy enough to make this one work. For my sake anyways.... :raz:

Anyways here is the info.

Seri Malaysia Restaurant

2327 East Hasting Street (right across from the Churchs Fried Chicken)

Tel: 604-677-7555

Hours are everyday 12noon to 8pm. You might want to call ahead in the evenings.

Edited by owzer (log)
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sweet! thanks for the review! i'm always on the look-out for new malaysian/singaporean restaurants. i remember going to the original kedah house when they first opened, and i liked it a lot.

i went to orchid delight last week, they probably have the best oyster omlette in town...their other dishes are imho a bit average, so it's great to see another place open up. mee rebus is something i always skip over -- maybe i'll give it a shot this time! SHIOK!

album of the moment: Kelley Polar - I Need You To Hold On While The Sky Is Falling - 2008
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Yes, thanks for the review.

We'll have to check this place out, as it's close to our favorite Italian market. Do you have any other menu recommendations for a noob to Malaysian food?

Edited by sanrensho (log)
Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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sweet! thanks for the review! i'm always on the look-out for new malaysian/singaporean restaurants. i remember going to the original kedah house when they first opened, and i liked it a lot.

i went to orchid delight last week, they probably have the best oyster omlette in town...their other dishes are imho a bit average, so it's great to see another place open up. mee rebus is something i always skip over -- maybe i'll give it a shot this time! SHIOK!

Hey. No sweat. :raz:

Like I said, it is a little self-serving. The more people that know the more business they get. The more business they get the higher chance of them staying float in the long run. :laugh:

Orchid Delight is a couple of blocks away from my studio. Do stop in time to time for some Char Kuey Teow. Agree on the oyster omlette although I haven;t had one in a long time. Cholesterol and all, you know... :wink:

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Yes, thanks for the review.

We'll have to check this place out, as it's close to our favorite Italian market. Do you have any other menu recommendations for a noob to Malaysian food?

No probs. We shop at Donalds Market across the street. :smile:

What other recommendation do you need? Just picked up some roti, mee reebus (yes, I know....I am predictable) and some chicken satay for dinner. The kids are munching on them as I type. They were out of the beef. Darn these are tasty. Still nice and moist after the 1/2 hour car ride home. The rice cake are fresh and the peanut sauce pretty much bang on.

Darn. I feel like a walking advert board.... :wink:

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I'm keen on this too, so thanks. Always found Banana Leaf

over-rated, although really liked Kedah when it was on Fraser.

Haven't tried their new location yet.

San, if I may ask, what's the "favorite Italian market" to which

you refer? (I like the one at Hastings and Renfrew; not that one

is it?)

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San, if I may ask, what's the "favorite Italian market" to which

you refer? (I like the one at Hastings and Renfrew; not that one

is it?)

The aptly named Italian Market one block west of Donald's Market, south side of East Hastings.

Very clean, well-kept store, good turnover of goods and just about the nicest people you could imagine. On Saturdays, there's usually three generations (family-owned business) working behind the counter.

Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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I'm keen on this too, so thanks. Always found Banana Leaf

over-rated, although really liked Kedah when it was on Fraser.

Haven't tried their new location yet.

Banana Leaf is to my taste a very solid provider of Malaysian cuisine.

My only beef with them is that it is sort of downtown :sad: and that they once overcharged me for their "chilli crab" special (ie. got charged 2.5lb for what was obviously a 1.5lb crab...). :rolleyes: As well, it is a weeee-bit "westerned" for my tastes.

Have tried Kedah House 3-4 times since they have moved to their new location. The 1st couple of times was pretty good (when they still had their buffet lunch & dinners), followed by a takeout order that was horrendous (satays tasted like they were from the night before) and an okay visit on our last visit. It is too much of a hit and miss situation, especially for us North Shorers... :biggrin:

So for 2 for 2, the food at Seri has been outstanding. Wife remarked that the peanut satay sauce is the best in Vancouver (although she said that the rice cakes were a little soft for her tastes... but what does she know.... :wink: )

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San, if I may ask, what's the "favorite Italian market" to which

you refer? (I like the one at Hastings and Renfrew; not that one

is it?)

The aptly named Italian Market one block west of Donald's Market, south side of East Hastings.

Very clean, well-kept store, good turnover of goods and just about the nicest people you could imagine. On Saturdays, there's usually three generations (family-owned business) working behind the counter.

Love that store. Lena & Claudio are the owners. Grandma, that's what my son calls her, is a fixture there. And yes you are right, you might see both sons helping there on weekends (Stefano & don't know the name of the other). Super friendly people, with outstanding QPR for their meats. Love their sausages. Just wished that they could make the store bigger and stock more items. :smile:

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Love that store. Lena & Claudio are the owners. Grandma, that's what my son calls her, is a fixture there. And yes you are right, you might see both sons helping there on weekends (Stefano & don't know the name of the other). Super friendly people, with outstanding QPR for their meats. Love their sausages. Just wished that they could make the store bigger and stock more items.  :smile:

Another regular, I see. Nonna is always super nice to my kids as well. I haven't been in a few months, so I hope they haven't been affected by the new Bosa location.

Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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Thanks, I'll have to check out the market. Sounds a bit like

Cioffi's, though -- so dense and crowded I sometimes think I'll

crumple to the floor and sob like a four year old. I'd stop going

if their stuff wasn't so darned good .... or if I could find a comparable

shop not too far away.

As for peanut sauce, I know it's Thai, not Malaysian, but Sawasdee

on Main St. has, for my money, the best satay and peanut sauce

in the universe. Yes, a tad "westernized" but who cares when it's

this good.

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Love that store. Lena & Claudio are the owners. Grandma, that's what my son calls her, is a fixture there. And yes you are right, you might see both sons helping there on weekends (Stefano & don't know the name of the other). Super friendly people, with outstanding QPR for their meats. Love their sausages. Just wished that they could make the store bigger and stock more items.  :smile:

Another regular, I see. Nonna is always super nice to my kids as well. I haven't been in a few months, so I hope they haven't been affected by the new Bosa location.

Moccia, right? With the black awning?

Joie Alvaro Kent

"I like rice. Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2,000 of something." ~ Mitch Hedberg

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The rice cake are fresh and the peanut sauce pretty much bang on.

This is the draw for me. Ketupat (rice cakes) is not very easily found in this city. Glad someone is making it!

Thanks for the review. We'll be going this weekend to check it out!

Quentina

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The rice cake are fresh and the peanut sauce pretty much bang on.

This is the draw for me. Ketupat (rice cakes) is not very easily found in this city. Glad someone is making it!

Thanks for the review. We'll be going this weekend to check it out!

No sweat.

Be curious to find out what you ordered and what you liked. :smile:

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