Sambal Tumis — Restaurant in England

Big fan of Malaysian cuisine, was staying in Bournemouth from London where we have tried many Malay food such as Roti King.

First the ambience was authentic with wooden theme with traditional decor, with vibrant pictures giivng it a welcoming feel, it was clean and tidy.

We was warmly greeted and given advice and explanation on the different traditional food and which complement each other.

The porcelain dishes where of a high quality and served warm.

We choose a variety of starters and mains, each over exceeded our expectations and far surpassed any Malaysian restaurant we have ever been to, from the texture of the meat to the flavor you could tell that each dish had years of experience perfecting it behind each flavour on your palliate.

From the tender beef rendang which is so soft you could cut it with a spoon which we was told takes 5 hours to prepare (you can believe it when you taste it), to the ultra flakiness of the roti and the richness of the sambal.

Being so impressed with the meal we had to try desert, we went with black rice pudding with coconut milk, it was mildy sweet with a deep unique flavour unlike anything else you have to try to explain, if you like Chinese red bean it, it's not close but the closest thing I have to explain although this was far better and if my stomach didn't get full I could have kept eating and eating.

For drinks we had rose syrup and basil seeds, highly recommend as was so refreshing with the meal. To finish we had Malaysian tea, it was unlike anything we tried as the black tea mixed with condensed and evaporated milk had an almost fruity yet strong flavor, the black tea didn't taste like what you expect from normal tea, or even masala tea, you have to try to experience it!

As a seasoned foodie I would say I have to drive from London to just come here again there is probably nothing in the country like it!

Thank you to staff and chefs for such an...

We popped in for a quick lunch on a Tuesday mid-afternoon when sending a house guest to the Bournemouth train station as this fairly new Malaysian restaurant is within convenient walking distance. We first heard of it when the co-owner Oliver Tse approached me at a supermarket parking lot and handed me a business card - kudos to Oliver for being pro-active in publicising what is a much needed addition to the spectrum of cuisine in Bournemouth. We ordered the sambal squid, the beef rendang and the char kway teow. What impressed us was the authenticity of the fare - the chefs very admirably made no unnecessary attempt to "localise" the items to accommodate British/western tastes, as evident from the requisite spiciness of the sambal squid. The char kway teow was also sumptuous, and aptly sprinkled with pieces of fresh cut chilli. The beef rendang was also suitably soft though i did find the "rempah" insufficiently textured- it could do with more layering of spices as neither the distinctive sweetish edge nor the coconut flavour of that dish was sufficiently foregrounded. The decor was tasteful and understated and made good use of Malaysian-style basketry in its lighting fixtures. Likewise, the presentation of the dishes was appealing : the square of banana leaf on each dish enhanced the visual aesthetics. Although we didn't order dessert on this occasion, we were pleased to see typical Malaysian sweets as pulut hitam and ais kacang on offer, as well as what was called "banana spring roll" which we presumed was goreng pisang or banana fritter. All in all, Sambal Tumis is a timely addition to the restaurant scene in Bournemouth and an establishment well...

We had a great dinner at Sambal Tumis, which, to our Singaporean palates, was reflective of fairly authentic Malaysian food.

We particularly enjoyed the Tauhu Goreng and Ayam Paprik, which we found to have very well-balanced flavours. The Ayam Paprik was especially nice, with delicious notes of lime, lemongrass, and fish sauce, all of which paired well with plain jasmine rice.

The Char kway teow also deserves special mention - it hit the right notes with the right amounts of sweetness, saltiness, and spiciness. However, it lacked a 'wok hei' that would have elevated the dish just that bit more from merely good to one that was excellent.

The two dishes that disappointed somewhat were the (1) Ayam Pandan, and (2) butter curry chicken. The Ayam Pandan was overcooked, resulting in somewhat dry and tough chicken.

The butter curry chicken was bland, and was essentially a puzzling concoction that (probably?) aimed to be like the Indian 'Butter Chicken', but which fell significantly short - it was neither salty nor sweet nor robust enough. I found it to ultimately be a watery mess of a curry. I also disliked the use of chicken breast - thigh meat would have been juicier and more flavoursome.

Finally, we found service good, and the food to be value for money. Portions were very decent, prices were most reasonable, and service staff were prompt and efficient.

This was a 4 star meal in sum; One star docked for the disappointing butter curry chicken and...