|
London restaurant, 54 is fast becoming known for excellent Malaysian
cuisine and warm hospitality. One hesitates to use the patronising
word 'authentic' but with head chef Mazlan Omar from Penang and a
supporting team from Malacca they have together created an excellent
menu that tastes as it should.
All too often in London Malaysian food translates to 'mean Chinese'
but at 54 it's quite the opposite. Uniquely Malay cuisine dominates
the menu and the complex Malay curries and rendang sing out and are
as good as those tasted in Malaysia.
Nothing is too much trouble to get the right flavour so hard-to-find
ingredients such as Bunga Kantan (wild ginger flower) Daun Kunyit
(fresh turmeric leaf) and top quality Ikan Bilis (minute whitebait)
are regularly imported. And to get the very best taste their
ingredients are fresh, seasonal and free-range (nothing caged).
The black, red and gold interior makes for a genuinely warm &
relaxing Asian mood. Menu highlights include Cucur Badak, prawns
wrapped in sweet potato & coconut, as a starter, followed by lamb
shank rendang which just slides off the bone and finally the homemade
tropical fruit ice-cream durian.
Another charm about 54 is their basement cocktail bar Chinta which
really is a hidden gem. Perfect for private parties or just a quiet
place to sip a glass of wine with some delicious Malaysian bar-style food.
David Suchet summed it up when he wrote; "My work has taken me
to many parts of the world where I have eaten Malaysian food many
times but 54 is right up there with the very best of them. It's my
favourite local restaurant."
54 Restaurant, 54 Farringdon Road, London,EC1R 3BL
Tel: 020 7336 0603
www.54farringdon.com |
