Kedai Makan Belltown — Restaurant in Seattle

Not exactly thrilled about being charged such a high minimum gratuity charge when my service was borderline ok/good. At least The food to price ratio was the opposite… now I know this review is critical, but I don’t want anyone to think the food wasn’t good enough because it was plenty delicious. Take away the high gratuity and bland service and you have yourself a 5 star experience for the price point.

I tried two dishes and a drink. The drink was a passion fruit tea which was very delicious and almost tasted like lychee. For food I ordered the nasi lemak and the spicy fried chicken…. Saya something

Let’s start with the fried chicken. It was tasty, extremely large, and juicy. The crust however looked a lot cooler than the actual experience trying to eat it actually was. It crumbled and fell apart everywhere and was kind of dry to the taste. I think it was supposed to have all the spice/seasoning flavor which probably explains why it wasn’t very spicy. I didn’t taste any spice until half way through my second wing. Still delicious. Especially the sweet side toppings the chicken came with. The toppings were a bit odd trying to use but tasted amazing when I turned my brain off and just ate.

The nasi lemak was just yummy. I thought it had too much rice but for some reason it was just right. I even wished the fried chicken had came with some rice. I guess the only thing I wanted from the nasi lemak was maybe one more item on the plate. The other dishes I’ve had like this had a bit more to it. Either way I’d for sure eat it again. The spice it came with was so darn spicy and addicting I used almost all of it.

Should I even talk about the parking? Well it’s belltown so expect to park about it a block away if you drive. Maybe further depending on what time and day of week.

Surprisingly I did do my infamous water test and I had mixed feelings. I for sure had to pause and think about it, but I didn’t see any weird micro floaties swirling around in the glass so I was able to down a few glasses just fine. It’s summer so ice for sure would have helped. Also be ready, all the utensils are stored in bulk at the table. My partial germifobe imagination thought of a few interesting scenarios, but also decided to just go with it.

Last but not least, interior design. It was cool. Very belltown but with a Personal touch. Malaysian? Idk I haven’t done enough research and I don’t care to. All in all, I would recommend coming. If you’re still reading this, understand my frustration only gets more interesting and worth your time. During the first part of our meal everything was great, but by the time the last dish came I didn’t see them again until I was almost done eating. While I was dining and wishing the waiters would show us more love on their own, I watched them tend to everyone else...

Kedai Makan, often praised as one of the best Malaysian eateries in Seattle, came highly recommended to me. However, my experience there was far from what I had hoped for.

Upon entering, I was met with a lackluster reception. No greeting, no acknowledgment—just an awkward wait before I was finally seated. The restaurant wasn’t busy, with only one other party present, making the inattentiveness of the service even more perplexing. I started with a simple toast while waiting for my friend, only to find myself waiting longer than expected. Strangely, another guest who arrived after me received their main course before my toast was even served. When it did finally arrive, it was disappointingly cold—an inexcusable oversight for something as basic as toast.

Once my friend arrived, we ordered two Nasi Lemak and one Chicken Biryani. This was where the real disappointment set in. As someone deeply familiar with Indonesian, Malaysian, and Singaporean cuisine, I expected a level of authenticity—or at the very least, flavors that honored the essence of these dishes. Instead, what was served bore little resemblance to what Nasi Lemak or Chicken Biryani should be. The issue wasn’t a lack of seasoning—there were certainly spices present—but the flavors felt entirely misplaced, as if the seasoning choices were designed for a completely different dish. The Chicken Biryani, in particular, was unrecognizable. It lacked the signature fragrance, depth, and complexity expected from the dish.

Service, unfortunately, remained a weak point throughout the meal. Despite multiple attempts to get the waiter’s attention, we were repeatedly ignored. It became evident that the mandatory 18% service charge had removed any incentive for attentive service, making the experience even more frustrating.

The only redeeming aspect was the restaurant’s ambiance, which was pleasant and inviting. However, when the service is inattentive and the food fails to meet even the most basic expectations of authenticity, ambiance alone cannot salvage the experience.

Maybe I’m being too harsh, but I can see how this restaurant might make sense if it’s intentionally catering to an Americanized palate. If the goal is to create a Chipotle-style, “Malaysian-inspired” dining experience rather than an authentic representation of the cuisine, then the flavors make sense in that context. However, in that case, the restaurant should not be marketed as an authentic Malaysian establishment. If you’re looking for real Southeast Asian flavors, this is not the place.

Rating: 1.5/5 While the atmosphere is inviting, the food lacks authenticity, and the service is unacceptably slow. If you’re expecting real Malaysian food, you’ll likely be...

great looking food but everything is just too sweet.

disclaimer: as a malaysian my standards are set pretty high for any malaysian food

had three dishes roti jala (with chickpea curry). the roti was pretty good but the curry was way too sweet to my liking nasi lemak (with chicken curry). the first bite was good but it tapered off after that. the coconut rice had the signature fragrant smell and tasted pretty authentic but the bottom half of the rice was too sweet, tasted a bit like a dessert. also some of the rice was a bit clumpy/gummy, probably because of a bit too much coconut milk. the roasted peanuts were good but i’m not a fan of the lemongrass-y flavor. same with the sambal which was good but there was a soury/lime taste to it which i’m also not a fan of. the ikan bills (anchovies) was smaller than what i usually eat with nasi lemak. and the chicken curry was good, tender prices of chicken thigh but… yeah it’s also sweet. laksa lemak (with prawns). the broth was thick and dense and that went well with the noodles and other toppings. the shrimp was borderline rubbery but still had a nice bite to it. my problem with it is that the more i eat it, the sweeter it felt.

overall the food looked the part and it does remind me of malaysia food but the taste is a bit off. primarily just the amount of sugar in the dishes, i know i’ve mentioned it a few times already but it doesn’t reflect authentic malaysian food. it’s never this sweet. at the end of the day, i do understand that the dishes were tweaked to accommodate local tastes, so i kinda see where it comes from.

other than that, the service and ambiance was pretty decent. i came during their soft launch so i got seated immediately. they do impose an automatic 20% service charge (in lieu of custom tip amounts) which seems to be a trend these days with seattle restaurants. my only though is that if there’s already charging an automatic service charge, why not just bake the 20% into the price of the food? maybe that’ll just make the food prices look overpriced.

but anyway, i’ll come back again to try the...