Dish:

In the bowl: Per the listing on the wall: “Thin silver noodles with fish balls, pork, shrimp and bean sprouts in a light soup.” I didn’t notice any pork, though also swimming in the broth were a few snow peas, broccoli (but why not Chinese broccoli?), green beans, and some imitation crab.

Supporting cast: Nothing.

What to do: Just start eating.

Noodling around: The chef, who had been hovering around my table, perhaps wondering if I was going to steal his recipe, was particular adamant in telling me (with limited English) that the broth was made with a Malaysian curry paste (mixed with water, so no fish or chicken stock) that is impossible to find in the United States.

No worries about theft, as it was rather “flat” tasting. Despite being advertised as spicy, this soup is considerably less spicy than the Malay prawn mee which my partner tried. And that was far less dynamic and velvety than the laksa I had at Satay recently.

Silver noodles turned out to be rice vermicelli. It’s easy to get confused with rice noodle terms; I find Terry Durack’s Noodle book helpful with its photos and descriptions. According to Durack, the Chinese call rice vermicelli “rice sticks,” but rice sticks are the flatter rice noodles like you find in pho. (They’re actually called “banh pho” in Vietnamese.) Rice vermicelli are more wavy than rice sticks, and tend to tangle. With your chopsticks, you’ll be pulling up clumps of these noodles; they are chewier and less slurpable than other types of noodles.

If still hungry: I’d probably opt for the roti canai ($3.00) as a traditional way to start my Malaysian meal, but if you’re looking for more vegetables (the ones in the soup were too soggy), there’s lettuce or Chinese greens with oyster sauce ($4.00).

Be aware/beware: I’m not really sure what’s going on with this restaurant. It seems like it’s both Chinese and Malaysian, with separate menus for each cuisine, but the Chinese menu also advertises pho. (Perhaps more frightening, there are also side dishes of French toast and French fries.) One take-out menu lists the name as “Penang Food Court Asian Food,” while the other says it’s “Malaysia Penang Food Court.”

One thing is for sure: It’s not a food court. Penang Food Court (so says my receipt) is in the former Noodle King location. That place didn’t last for long, and I fear this will follow the same fate.

There’s a wall papered with offerings (some with photos), often with more description than you’ll find in the table menus. I laughed at the yellow price tags stickered to the signs, and wondered (as I often do at restaurants like this) why some items are an even dollar amount, while others end with 99 cents. And I’d really like to get the story on the use of photos from Malay Satay Hut’s menu–with the prices crossed out.

First published in Seattle Weekly’s Voracious on April 5, 2011.

I’ll be appending this report to my previous posting (from happier times), with hope that Malay Satay Hut can somehow rebound and return to its glory days.

It’s been about five months since I wrote up my top five Asian restaurants in Seattle. Since I’ll soon be changing my writing focus here, I thought I’d revisit that list and offer some additional thoughts. Let’s break this down by the following categories:

Chinese: The best is on the Eastside, and it tends to be Szechuan. Bamboo Garden continues to be my favorite, just edging out Szechuan Chef. In Seattle, there’s decent Szechuan food at Seven Stars Peppers and Sichuanese Cuisine, but they’re not as good as what’s in Bellevue. Seems Seattle’s settling for sub-par Chinese food. I’d like to take everyone on a field trip to Richmond, B.C., to experience what real dim sum should be. And forget about finding good xiao long bao. But I remain hopeful that someone will start offering increased variety, and increased quality, when it comes to Chinese food in Seattle.

Vietnamese: In contrast to Chinese, this is the what we get right in the Seattle area. Green Leaf and Tamarind Tree both have their strengths, and I recommend both. (I’m interested to see how Long, Tamarind Tree’s “relative,” will do in the old Qube space.) I’m also liking what the Banhs are doing at both Monsoon and Monsoon East. Thoa’s offers a different twist, and I’ll be reporting on that soon. The Vietnamese delis near 12th and Jackson offer great value; I especially like Saigon Vietnam Deli for banh mi and rice boxes. For pho, Vietnam Restaurant recently won my affections, though Than Brothers remains a convenient favorite. But to all the pho places, please watch that broth. That’s my taste test, and the quality’s been slipping around the city.

Malaysian: For years, Malay Satay Hut has been one of my favorite restaurants (inclusive of all cuisines) in the city. It’s still great, but there have been some signs of slippage here as well. Last time in, the cute little baby squids were gone, replaced by squid slices. Temporary? Or a permanent change catered more to Caucasian preferences?

Japanese: We can debate the best sushi places forever, and new ones keep opening, especially in Ballard. I’m a purist, though, so no rolls for me. Kisaku remains my favorite, and I consistently hear the same from friends in the Japanese community. In the non-sushi arena, I’m glad to see new offerings like Kushibar, but I’d like to have some lower-cost, home-cooking options like Takohachi offered. And while Samurai Noodle has been popular, I’d like to see more shoyu ramen in the city. Tsukushinbo offers a limited number of bowls for Friday lunch service, but we need more!

Korean: Is there a rule that the good Korean places have to be at the city’s outer limits? I’ve had some good dishes both toward the Shoreline border, and south toward Federal Way (where I also ate some strange pupa). And while such excursions make it more convenient to visit the great H Mart supermarkets, I’d like to see some spicy stuff closer to home. Luckily, Joule is creating great Korean-influenced dishes in Wallingford. Tasty, reasonably priced, and even adventurous (mmm…chocolate liver mousse popsicles); Joule may be my favorite restaurant in the entire Seattle area. (The photo shows prawns at Joule.)

Okay, there’s an update with some challenges thrown in for good measure. I’ve just scratched the surface, covering only a few of all the Asian cuisines. As my writing changes focus, note that I’ll still be reporting on “Asian Eats,” so please let me know what I’ve missed.

Bamboo Garden: Chinese food in Seattle is primarily Cantonese, which I find a bit boring (and don’t get me started on the dismal state of dim sum). So I send you over to the Eastside, where you can find some spicy Szechuan fare. Bamboo Garden, with its “Walk on the Wild Side” Menu, just edges out Szechuan Chef. My pick: a dish called “The other parts of the pig” (pictured).

We usually run from restaurants that have pictures on the menu. They remind us of steakhouse chains from our childhoods or Chinese takeout places where the food tastes like the box in which it’s packaged. But we find endless delight in staring at Malay Satay Hut’s full-color menu. If we could resist distraction, we’d laminate our takeout copy and hang it on the wall.

Explore the whole menu. Everything’s great, except for dessert, which we forgo. (If you want something sweet, a friend who’s a self-admitted spicy food wimp finds Nirvanic relief in an avocado shake.)

Start with the roti canai. Just order it. Look around and it seems everyone starts their meal with this wonder: a soft but crispy Indian fry bread, accompanied by an addictive curry dipping sauce that goes from sweet to hot in your mouth. Pillowy and perfect, roti canai is our idea of comfort food.

And be sure to get a vegetable dish, like the belachan string beans (the okra is also a good option). Vegetarians beware: as in much Southeast Asian cooking, the mouth-feel and fat of a little seafood or meat enhance the taste of the vegetables. Belachan preparation means stir-fried with shrimp paste (don’t try this at home if you fear an everlasting pungent odor), and some prawns provide a nice balance to the beans.

Dishin’ is having an unusually difficult time picking just one dish this time, and we have two recommendations for entrees. Malaysian Chinese pork chops always make it to our table. Don’t let their apparent simplicity fool you. One bite and you’ll marvel at the complexity of the sweet and yet seductively spiced chops, which are perfectly crisped but still tender, and appropriately garnished with fresh cilantro leaves. Toss your chopsticks. This is meat and bones, so don’t be afraid to eat with your hands—finger-licking good!

For you adventurous foodies: Check out the specials board. This is how we discovered baby squids. Order them as you wish; we like dry curry—perhaps our favorite dish of the restaurant. Squeamish about squid? These miniature versions are delectable, quickly stir-fried to a pleasing tenderness in a curry sauce that our friends frequently describe as intoxicating.

For taste and value, Malay Satay Hut is the jewel of the International District—and maybe all of Seattle. We call it Wild Ginger at one-third the price (and maybe one-third the atmosphere, which is fine by us) and three times the authenticity.

Originally posted at Seattlest (where “we” = me) on February 23, 2007. I couldn’t resist adding a few more photos here (in addition to the baby squid and the pork chops, you can see Singapore noodles, okra, eggplant and mango chicken), and will need to go back to get more (and better) photos sometime soon.

Now what? Qdoba? Bob Evans? Outback? Chains, chains, and more chains. Then I spotted the ubiquitous yellow and red sign, indicating another likely ma-ma (so-so) Chinese restaurant. But wait. This one says it’s not just Chinese, but Malaysian and Thai. That would normally scare me away (how can one restaurant do so many cuisines?), but I figure I can at least get some vegetables, which is important to me while I’m on the road.

Well, Asian Garden was a pleasant surprise. My server told me the cook is Chinese Malaysian, but with a Thai mother, which is why she’s a master of many cuisines. The menu was enormously long (about 200 dishes), so I asked for a suggestion, and the cook herself came out to talk with me. We settled upon ajat (mixed vegetables in sweet and spicy sauce topped with crushed peanuts) and laksa (even though she advised me that she wouldn’t serve bean sprouts, since they didn’t meet her quality standards). The laksa was great, with wonderful coconut curry flavor, and packing a nice amount of heat. Easily as good as any laksa I’ve had in Seattle! And to think I found it in Morgantown. I’ll be back, next time I’m in West Virginia…