Impossible to resist at Rasa Sayang

On the other side of Shaftesbury Avenue from Ba Shan a Singaporean and Malaysian restaurant has recently opened. At Rasa Sayang, Reg and I were shown to a small table for two in the crowded ground floor room and then, after we had chosen our dishes, were sent to sit side by side in the corner on the grounds that we had ordered too much food.

We wanted to start by sharing a Singaporean chilli crab offered at the notably reasonable price of £11.80 and found it impossible to resist fried wantons and roti canai, a rich, folded flatbread served with a curry sauce, and then the Straits Chinese specialities of Hainanese chicken rice and char kuay teow as well as beef rendang because it looked so good at the neighbouring table.

In general the mild prices can make you a bit reckless and I noticed that a group of girls who looked fresh from the Home Counties had decided to hold a birthday party at Rasa Sayang and had brought with them an inexpertly iced cake and a packet of candles.

The crab was great if characteristically difficult to grapple with, and the Hainanese chicken rice as elegant a balance of flavours and textures as it should be. Beef rendang was not in the same league. There are no frills in the décor and service can be brusque but what Rasa Sayang does, it does very well.

Rasa Sayang
Macclesfield Street, London, W1D 6AY