Malaysian

After eight years, one of our favourite restaurants in the Highbury and Islington area, Sambal Shiok, has closed its doors for good (on 27 May). The Malaysian restaurant, which opened on Holloway Road in 2018, has been forced to close thanks to the financial pressures that are starting to hit more and more small businesses. 

As founder Mandy Yin says, "Sambal Shiok’s closure reflects structural cost pressures facing the UK’s independent hospitality sector rather than any single event. The numbers stopped working."

Sambal Shiok had started life as a food stall before

Celebrity restaurant openings aren't new in London, but given how he roasts others for their cooking there was a lot riding on Kawan by Uncle Roger. Thankfully, it delivers.

You've got to hand it to Times restaurant critic Giles Coren. Somehow, he's managed to persuade one of his favourite London restaurants Med Salleh, to open a new restaurant right down the road from his home. If there was ever a shoo-in for a Times review it would surely be this one.

If you haven't been to either their Bayswater or Westbourne Grove restaurants then here's Coren's description to give you

If you fancy a virtual trip to Malaysia by way of bold and zingy flavours, then put South East London’s Nunhead on your restaurant radar: Duda Diner is coming to town.

Located on the site of Goodcup Cafe, which has been going strong since 2018, Duda Diner will bring a dinner service to the venue in the form of a Malaysian family-style restaurant. Operated by husband-and-wife team Hakeem and

Roti King has been on the expansion drive of late, having recently opened at Waterloo and Battersea alongside the original Euston restaurant. Now the specialists in Malaysian street food are getting ready to open in the City. 

The new spot is opening on Artillery Lane, just off Bishopsgate. While we don't know too much about the restaurant yet, we do know it'll be a two-floored

In an early Christmas present for anyone living and working in Waterloo, Roti King have just announced that they'll be opening their third London restaurant there. Having started life as a street food stall, and now with restaurants in Euston and Battersea it sounds like things are definitely going well for Malaysian founder Sugen Gopal.

Key to Gopal's success has been his amazing roti canai, all of which are

5/11/23 - updated with the opening date

Abby Lee's Mambow has been a hit in Market Peckham (and we were impressed), but now it's about to make a big move. She's upping sticks and taking it to the other side of town to open as a standalone restaurant in Clapton (taking over what was Le

Chef Abby Lee brings Malaysian cuisine to Peckham with Mambow. Already an instant hit, we popped into Market Peckham to try it out. 

With a new generation comes a new restaurant. The sibling duo behind newly opened Queen's Park restaurant Sudu are continuing their family legacy as they're children of the owners of Paddington's much-loved Satay House.

Since opening in 1973, Satay House has been a hit amongst the locals with their authentic Malaysian cuisine. In Queen's Park, Sudu has a shorter menu, but Satay House

Chef Abby Lee's first foray into the restaurant world, Mambow, didn't have the best timing, opening in Spitalfields just weeks before the first lockdown. But now she's ready to hit the ground running with her second attempt, this time in Peckham.

Lee is opening at Market

With the end of restrictions on restaurants within sight (we hope) we're starting to see a lot of businesses plan for a return to some sort of normality. That's certainly happened for North London restaurateur Mandy Yin who's been vocal during the pandemic about the strains placed on small businesses, particularly by unsympathetic landlords.

Writing to customers last week, she revealed that she'd decided to close Nasi

NASI Economy Rice is the next-door spin-off of Sambal Shiok. We take it for a Test Drive takeaway and find it makes for a pretty perfect lunch. 

You've got to feel for the many London hospitality businesses who opened their doors in the weeks running up to lockdown. All that excitement, passion and energy followed by an abrupt closure and then, nothing. Mandy Yin's Nasi Economy Rice was one such place, opening for business just 10

Sambal Shiok in Holloway has been a huge success, with the warming bowls of laksa being a big draw in Holloway and beyond. Now owner Mandy Yin expands next door with a takeaway serving up affordable Malaysian rice boxes. 

it's time for another of Haché's special burgers, they've been teaming up with some of the best female chefs in town, and once again it's a mash-up that looks well worth checking out. 

This time they're teaming up with Sambal Shiok's Mandy Yin for the new Chicken Satay Burger, which was originally served on Sambal Shiok's street food stall. That's made of a spiced chicken patty with Sambal