What with three Chinatowns to choose from, cabs driven by legions of Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, and nightly colonization of St. Marks Place by the Japanese, finding Asia in New York is hardly a challenge. But hiding in the shadows are cultural and culinary gems from Asian countries that, for reasons of history or demographics, did not send huge numbers of immigrants or expats to the city.

“Experiencing an Asia Beyond China and India,” by Seth Kugel, The New York Times, September 21, 2008
Don’t forget the delicious curry-puffs at SANUR for $0.80 each!!!
Philippines:

• Grill 21, 346 East 21st Street, New York, 212-473-5950 [MenuPages | Yelp]

Malaysia:

• Sanur, 18 Doyers Street, New York, 212-267-0088 [AGINY]
• New Malaysia Restaurant, 46-48 Bowery Street, in Chinatown Arcade, 212-964-0284 [MenuPages | Yelp]

Indonesia:

• Minangasli, 86-10 Whitney Avenue, Elmhurst, Queens, 718-429-8207 [ Bridge and Tunnel | NYT | Village Voice | Yelp]

Last Sunday, I ate a very delicious Nyonya plate of rice with a choice of 3 dishes and a styro-foamed cup of clear soup … for $3 … a real taste of Penang island on the island of Manhattan … also, 2 curry-puffs and 2 Nyonya Kuehs (coconut cakes) for $3 to go … a perfect solution when I eat alone in this big City …
Sanur Restaurant, 18 Doyers Street, 212-267-0088 [AGINY | TCEDG | MenuPages | Citysearch | Yelp]

Another great Sichuan restaurant in Flushing, strongly recommended by AGINY, is Spicy & Tasty … there is a counter with plenty of ready-prepared cold appertizers, one can pick and choose … I love to eat the hot and spicey “beef tongue and tripe” and cold tofu with slivers of Chinese stalks of celery …
Moreover, along this stretch of Prince Street, there are numerous ethnic restaurants which I still must find the time to enjoy, especially the Malaysian restaurant …
Spicy & Tasty, 39-07 Prince Street, Flushing, Queens, between 39th and Roosevelt Avenues, 718-359-1601 [Menu from Bridge and Tunnel | NYT | NY Mag | Village Voice | openlist | Yelp]
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Sanur Restaurant serves excellent Malaysian food at bargain prices … hidden away on the lower level at 18 Doyers Street, 212-267-0088/0976 (laksa has posted pictures of the entrance on eGullet) [MenuPages | Citysearch]

and although you may not have heard of Sanur, David Waltuck of Chanterelle has …

Sanur at 18 Doyers Street – follow the white arrow downstairs in the pic above …

best roti canai in NYC …

the Hokkien Shrimp noodle curry soup is incredible … a phenomonal dish …

the chicken feet and mushrooms with noodles is excellent …

Hainan chicken with ginger and garlic sauce is also excellent …

Upstairs, Sanur has a bargain lunch: “Three Combination over Rice” for $3 – a fantastic deal
Update May 9, 2006: Tyler Cowen says about Sanur: “The food, of course, was great. My favorite dish was the greens (Ok-Choy) perhaps but everything was a cut above other Malaysian places I have found in this country.”
previous mentions: Hainan Chicken at Sanur; Best roti canai in NYC is at Sanur
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Technorati Tags: New York, NYC, restaurants, restaurant reviews

We went to San Francisco for a trade show last week where we exhibited. Stopped in Daly City, just 4 miles south of SF on the way in and had a delicious Malaysian lunch at Banana Island with Roti Canai, squid, Hianese Chicken and Lady Fingers (311 Lake Merced Blvd., Daly City, CA, 650-756-6868), before checking into our hotel.

Had some real Spanish tapas the first night there – Bacalao, Serrano ham, Blood sausage, Butternut Squash Gratin at a place called Ramblas on Valencia. Did Le Colonial for some upscale Vietnamese, Kokkari for lambs tongue and some of the best Octupus and Greek food and wine that I have ever had, Slanted Door for oysters and more upscale Vietnamese, Japanese Dinner at Mifune and Japanese Breakfast at the hotel (after the show we moved to a hotel in Japantown), Korean, more Malaysian at Penang Garden at 728 Washington Street, 415 296-7878 in Chinatown (a tasty Duck and squash curry), Dim Sum at Canton Seafood and Dim Sum, 655 Folsom Street, 415-495-3064, and Moroccan at a place called Marrakech near Union Square which had a decent rabbit dish, and show (but was more of a tourist trap), and a nice Pot au feu with duck and pigeon at the market on the Embarcadero.

From an email to Peter from Cindy and Mark

. . . . . . . . .

Last Saturday, we enjoyed a delicious plate of Hainan chicken at Sanur …

… in addition to a plate of the best roti canai in NYC … a bowl of laksa … Hokkien noodle soup … and fried stuffed bean curd … all types of Nyonya street-hawker food … yummy …

Sanur, 18 Doyers Street, 212-267-0088
post by Peter
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Sanur Restaurant, 18 Doyers Street, 212-267-0088 … best roti canai in NYC … chicken rice … curry noodles … ice kachang (ABC) … curry puffs … lunch for two big eaters total was $12.80 … excellent authentic Malaysian food … we did not try the Kuih, but it looked good …
Our previous post on Sanur …
eGullet postings on Malaysian food, with pics
AGINY Good Value
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The best roti canai is now at Sanur Restaurant … there are two levels …
At the street level, a glass window displays all the Nyonya “kueh” (also “kuih”) which can be purchased for home consumption … I like the curry puffs for 70 cents each … fried pies stuffed with curried potatoes and onions … a great bargain compared to empenadas or pizzas for $2 a slice … three tables where you can order three dish-combinations over rice with soup for $3.00 and no tip!
From the ChennaiOnline web site, which has too many popups to provide a link:

Straits Chinese or Nonya Kueh (cakes) are made from a variety of fullsome and flavourful ingredients such as coconut milk, sweet potatoes, tapioca, palm sugar and pandan.
When presented together, they make up a colourful, pleasing platter, and because of this, they are among the most popular items to be enjoyed during tea time, as a sweet dessert, and as part of the menu on festive occasions.

On the lower level … is a serene restaurant for the best roti canai in NYC … plus curry noodles, ABC, Mo-Mo Cha-Cha, Hainan chicken, lo-mein with chicken feet & mushrooms … Yummy …
Sanur is Peter’s girlfriend’s favorite Nyonya restaurant … 18 Doyers Street, 212-267-0088
An AGINY Good Value

The NYT had a good article on shaved ice desserts …
“Shaving the Ice, Cutting the Heat,” by Dana Bowen, The New York Times, August 10, 2005
We are very fond of the Malaysian shaved ice, ABC, at Nyona … ABC = air batu campur, also called “ice kachang” … ABC is not just a good dessert … it is an excllent palate cleanser between dishes … at Nyonya order it at the beginning of the meal … right after you order the roti canai … so it has time to melt … mmmmmmmmmmm …
Nyonya, 194 Grand St., 212-334-3669
Here’s a picture of the ABC from Malaysia Kopitiam, our favorite Malaysian restaurant in Washington, DC … it may not look like something you’d want to eat .. but take it from a fifth-generation Celtic-American … a good ABC is easily the peer of the best ice cream …

In today’s village voice, Robert Sietsema reviews a Malaysian restaurant, Skyway, that we are going to check out.
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