Makan Cafe — Restaurant in London

Makan restaurant is a halal place, and the location is great for those looking for rare deals in Portobello market. There are 2 eating area, which was originally from 2 different shops. The first internal deco was mixed Arabic and Asian. The only Malaysian icon that I can see was the wooden window frame on the mirror and a small Malaysian flag.

All menu are truly Malaysian. More than 20 dishes for nasi campur (white rice with side dishes) to choose from, plus finger foods like cengkodok pisang, nuggets, popia and samosa. They’re all clean and kept in food warmers.

We had white rice with ayam kicap and sayur bendi, as well as made to order yellow noodle seafood soup. Both were served hot, which was really good in winter. The soup portion was big with 5 deveined prawns.

Both dishes costs £22 including a bottle of mineral water. I would say this is the most value for money eateries that I have been since we arrived...

Although we have only been away from home for a few days, the crave for authentic Malay food is so strong!

Our decision to visit Makan Cafe was not a waste of time at all especially when the the weather is super cold, by our Tanah Melayu definition 😁

And best, the food did not let us down.. the basmati white rice, and the dishes we had, lemak ayam, sweet sour fish, lamb curry, and the veges were awesome.. and hey, they even have sambal belacan lah!!!! 🤪

We down the food with teh tarik.. fuhhhhh .. bayek weiiii.. oh, the jemput-jemput pisang@banana buttons, reminds me of the good Warung Pok Leh sebelah sungai..

If you want more Malay in the food, then you got to balik kampung, you are in London! 😄

Make the food taste more alive by eating like a Malay, useth thy handeths! Perggghhhhhhhh 👍

Not forgetting... Awesome...

The most affordable Malaysian restaurant I know of by far that serves the warm hospitality and atmosphere that us locals are familiar with back home. I was served by Danish who was a delight to speak with despite my rusty go at Malay.

I got the mixed rice, where you can pick 2 sides for £11.50 or 3 for £12. The teh tarik was £2.95. It’s been ages since I had a taste of home and this transported me back immediately. The cekodok (banana fritter) was a nice touch too.

I went on a Sunday at 11:30am when it was empty, but the customers start pouring in 15 mins later. Plenty of room in the restaurant with nice air conditioning too. As a Malaysian, this is authentic and as affordable as it gets in the UK. I’d highly recommend and would love to try their roti...