Made a last minute reservation for a group of friends and myself on a Saturday night at 6PM. We arrived on time and were seated promptly, but the restaurant was only about half full at that time. By the time we left, it was packed with people waiting. The food and service was average at best. The appetizers were quick to come out, but the entrees took a little while.The first thing we all noticed was the prices were pretty high for malaysian food, even in NYC. And the portions were tiny. For example, a plate of beef drunken noodles were almost $20. We had the chicken satay, roti canai, drunken noodles, massaman curry, and hainanese chicken. The satay had a grilled smoky flavor was was good. The roti was not bad, but it was almost $8 for a small bowl of curry with 1 piece of chicken and 1 potato and roti. Towards the end of our meal, one of us was still eating and the servers were already clearing away our dishes. I understand that they were trying to seat more customers, but we were still trying to enjoy our meal. Overall, nothing special and probably wouldn't go out of my way to come here again. There are more delicious and affordable options in Flushing, Elmhurst and Chinatown. read more

One of the best Malaysian/ Singaporean restaurants in NYC. Easy to get to, good decor without being over the top, authentic Malaysian food. You can order additional belachan on the other side. We enjoyed the sambal stingray, hokkien prawn noodles, ice kachang and kangkong belachan. Photos here are from a private Chinese New Year party where they had the seasonal dish of lo hei for people to toss for good fortune. read more

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Delicious! I got the Tom Yam noodle soup with chicken I think and honestly I was recovering from being sick that week and it was a perfect broth and seasoning. My friend got the drunken noodles. They said it was okay but I had some and thought they were good but a certain seasoning they put was way too strong. Definitely a nice place to have lunch or dinner! Would go back. read more

Rasa - Tom Yam Noodle Soup Drunken Noodles - Malaysian Near Me - New York, New York

Great service, extensive menu, reasonably priced for the area. Recommend if your looking for a place near NYU read more

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Rasa is a hidden gem for Malaysian and Thai curries and noodle dishes in the West Village! I've been here a number of times now, and have enjoyed their food every single time. Some standout dishes include: Nasi Lemak (curry chicken with sambal anchovies): A Malaysian staple, this one gets 5/5 Beef Rendang curry: One of my favorite dishes here, 5/5 Curry Chicken w/ Potatoes: I was surprised by how good and hearty this dish was, 4.5/5 Roti Kanai: Yummmyy, 5/5 Portions are generous, service is super quick and efficient. The menu is broad and there are tons of options, whether you are craving Malaysian or Thai. They are also halal! read more

Love, love, love the Assam Laksa! Whenever I am in the neighborhood, I will never miss their laksa. After a bowl of yum and spicy laksa, I will also have their Malaysia desserts - peanut pancakes and ondeh ondeh. If I am not wrong, they are the one and only Malaysian restaurant in New York City that makes these desserts. read more

Rasa - Assam Laksa - Malaysian Near Me - New York, New York

Very disappointed! First time ordering and my Tum Yam Shrimp soup had one tiny shrimp and had no lemon grass flavor. Was not pleased with my drunken noodle either. The chicken was good but the rest of the dish lacked flavor and spice. Also had mushrooms in it... this was new to me. I'm only giving two stars cause it was delivered on time and hot. read more

Having lived in Singapore, Rasa was a fantastic discovery that met my craving! We ordered classics: Roti, char kuey teow (with seafood) and nasi lemak. Unlike true southeast Asian food, that will use bone-in chicken, I was happy that all meat was boneless and easier to eat! Not absolutely amazing, but enough to satisfy a craving. read more

Rasa - Char Kueh Teow & Nasi Lemak - Malaysian Near Me - New York, New York

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My friends and I made a reservation at 8:30 PM 03/31/16 at RASA with Groupon. We're all Asian. We just came from the gym, so maybe we weren't dressed like real New Yorkers for them. Probably thought we were naive tourists. Everything was good until they charged us $12 for 3 hot green teas. It's ok to charge for hot green tea. But my friends thought we ordered just hot tea which is a different price. Therefore, my friend asked for their manager on duty to make sure what we were charged for. a lady in a red sweater came over to our table (I think she is the boss of this restaurant). She said: "YOU THINK EVERYTHING IS FREE HERE. NOTHING IS FREE. HERE IS NOT CHINATOWN. EVEN CHINATOWN RESTAURANT CHARGES FOR HOT TEA. THIS IS MANHATTAN." She continued to disparage us for a full FIVE minutes for being CHINESE, THAT ALL CHINESE MUST LIVE IN CHINATOWN, THAT ALL CHINESE MUST EXPECT FREE FOOD. Damn lady, I don't care if you charge me for hot green tea. But the fact that we're an Asian group of friends and you automatically assume we're all Chinese wanting free food is discrimination. You don't know any of us are Chinese. But the fact that you are prejudice against Chinese people is very clear. Don't worry, lady. I am letting everyone to know about your customer preferences. Thank you for letting us know that RASA in Greenwich Village is owned by such fools. Never again. -- Nicole read more

Rasa - They add 18% tips on my bill and redeem my groupon before food serve - Malaysian Near Me - New York, New York

I think this place will become my go to for Malaysian outside of Chinatown. Definitely get the Malaysian dishes and skip the Thai and Japanese. Cucur Budak - They seem to have a large selection of Malaysian snack foods to act as appetizers. We chose the Cucur Budak. It was a fried chewy sweet potato fritter stuffed with shrimp sambal and coconut flakes. The filling was somewhat skimpy, but super tasty. They only give you four pieces per order. It should be a whole basket. Naski Lemak - One of the dishes I always order at Malaysian restaurants. The chicken curry was so-so and also small portioned. I loved the coconut rice though. It was salty and very coconuty. Often you go to places where the rice has very little coconut flavor. This was not the case. They give you a lot more rice than chicken curry, but together with the ikan bilis (anchovies, sambal, peanuts), boiled egg, and pickled vegetables, the whole dish was pretty nicely portioned. We also ordered a lychee sangria to share with the table, which was pretty much all syrup and no alcohol. They might have even used the syrup from the canned lychee haha. They are pretty busy on Friday nights, but still no wait. The service was good, but the lighting is so dim. read more

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Given that Malaysian cuisine is my favorite and I have a dedicated destination for it in Hoboken, I have high standards for this Asian fare. After seeing all of the positive reviews for Rasa, I decided to be open-minded and added it to my wish list. I happened to be in the neighborhood the other night and eagerly went in to give it a try. We started with my favorite appetizer, a Roti Canai. Their version of this stretchy, sweet, crispy dough was fluffier and thicker than most. Despite being buttery in flavor, it was not overly greasy. We loved it! It was served with the traditional curry dipping sauce that was stuffed with a hunk of roasted chicken and a large potato. The sauce was a bit thin, but still spicy enough. The Mapo Tofu, on the other hand, was extremely sinus alleviating! The tofu squares were perfectly firm, and the bold sauce packed a fabulous wallop. The Shrimp Sambal was not quite as funky and unique tasting as the one that I order in Hoboken, but I loved that it included okra and eggplant versus the other's lonely pepper and onions. Lastly, the brown rice was a bit over-cooked, but still managed to sop up all of the aromatic sauces. While it was unable to dethrone Hoboken's Satay for my top Malaysian spot, Rasa came close with its friendly service, affordable prices, and rich flavors. Another bonus is that they serve sushi as well! read more

I've been here a couple of times because of how delicious there food is! I love the decor they have inside make you feel very comfortable and also portrays the Malaysian side of the restaurant. They also play very nice and calm music The food is always hot and delicious and the service is great. I always get a Thai ice tea because I'm obsessed with it here. It is a great place because I have not been to a lot of restaurants that have Malaysian and Thai food combined. read more

Rasa - Malaysian Near Me - New York, New York

The Quick: Flavorful 'fusion food', great service, and (most importantly) inexpensive good Saki! The Details: We were weary to try Rasa as their menu features everything except the kitchen sink. Luckily, Yelp persuaded us to try. Everything we tried was delicious, and we were able to enjoy a few of our favorite cuisines. The fried chili chicken, green curry, and rasa tapas were a delight. Worth a visit! The Damage: An entree each, appetizer to split, and 2 large saki came to $32 each after a 20% tip and tax. read more

Incredible! The laksa, sambal vegetables and teh tarik was delicious and generous portions. Left very satisfied and the service was very friendly. They even gave us free snacks and rice cake at the end :) read more

I've been in US for awhile and RASA is probably the closest representation of my home - Singapore & Malaysia. The owner and the staff are super sweet and friendly. They have a few dishes that, if I had a blindfold on, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference such as the Hainan Chicken Rice, Chicken Satay, Beehoon Curry with Prawns and Pulut Inti. My local fav dish recommendations are * SALTED EGG YOLK PRAWNS* - Pretty close to what we have in Sing & MY. I was very surprised that they even had this dish on their menu since it requires a lot of work to make this dish. It's pricier than other dishes but it's totally worth it. * SALTED EGG YOLK SOFTSHELL CRABS* - We usually had this dish done with Sri Lankan crabs, but those crabs are hard to find in US, the soft shell crabs are amazing too. * PENANG ASSAM LAKSA* - A bit more homestyle than the original. It felt like my mom made it which was great! All the above dishes are of very strong and rich flavor and it has a very different taste palette. I would suggest that you try it with an open mind if this is your first time eating these dishes. Oh! and make it a sharing dish so that you don't waste your money in case you don't like it. ---------------- * ROTI CANAI The curry is pretty close and, I love that Rasa goes into the details of putting in a small piece of meat and potato with it since that's how we eat it back home * BELACAN OKRA (aka LADY'S FINGER) or KANGKONG You cannot go wrong with this order. Ask for extra spicy! * BEE HOON CURRY WITH PRAWNS * CHICKEN SATAY * HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE * MALAY CURRIED WINGS A bit more americanized but still good. * BEEF RENDANG -------------- For desserts, these are my favorite * PULUT INTI Oh man, this made me miss home. * TAPIOCA This just taste heavenly and I can eat it every day. * PEANUT PANCAKE It's not my fav back home but I'll order it for nostalgic sake. * ONDEH ONDEH My favorite! I haven't been able to try all the dishes on the menu as I always end up ordering back the same dishes and I go once every week! I will try to explore more dishes and update this feedback! Cheers and Enjoy! read more

I expected more from this place. Came on a whim because Amelie had a long wait. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I should've seen the warning signs when I saw that the category was "malaysian, sushi, halal". WHAT kind of mashup is that? Maybe I just didnt order the right item, but nothing else really sounded great. I had a fried chicken leg with blue rice. The chicken was over fried and dry, and the rice was hard and had a floral scent that tasted like soap. PASS. read more

Came here for dinner May 20th (I know, I'm catching up on reviews and promise it's as honest as it gets). It's a really nice looking restaurant with a counter bar and TV and at least eight tables. We got: - Crispy Calamari (crispy fried squid dusted with spices & chili sauce) - tasted pretty dough-y, but okay, pretty chewy and nice. - Shrimp Drunken Noodles (Flat broad noodles with onions, peppers, bamboo shoots, eggs, basil leaves, chili & fish sauce) - had only a bite but seems good - Neptune Roll (shrimp tempura, snow crab, eel, avocado & tobiko wrapped in marble seaweed & glazed with chef's special sauce) - pretty tasty, but $16 for just eight pieces...would not get again but would be open to trying some of their other foods read more

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Absolutely amazing Malay food! Highly recommend the roti kanai and the prawn broth dish - both are fantastic and will have you dreaming about them for days! I also tried the crispy fried chicken which was really yum and great for sharing. Service was also quick and very friendly. Definitely worth trying out! read more

Really bad food. I'm not sure what was worse our massaman curry or our basil fried rice. The entire experience was off. The Roti in roti canai was absolutely unlike any roti I've had...tasted like it was packaged (frozen) version you get in the market instead of the real Malaysian roti. Mediocre service with less than mediocre food. Enough said. read more

Rasa - Bar - Malaysian Near Me - New York, New York

Stopped in for dinner on a Friday night, and we were seated right away. Food was decent, standard Malay fare, generally good execution with the dishes. Servers were friendly but our waitress was bit pushy, relently pushing high-priced dishes (i.e. seafood) on the menu, which was off-putting. Also, rather distracting when the kitchen staff started hauling trash through the front door when it wasn't even near closing time. Overall service felt like a typical chinatown restaurant yet the price tag does not reflect it. read more

Delicious food at their private food-tasting night :) nasi lemak was nearly spot on. The rice was a bit light on the coconut cream (santan) and screwpine leaf (pandan) flavour but the sambal which was the savoury Chinese type (as compared to the sweeter Malay sambal) was excellent. I loved that the owner even took the time to wrap it up for us in a banana leaf (known as a nasi lemak bungkus in Malaysia). When she found out we were vegetarians, the owner got the chef to prepare a special platter of vegetarian sushi for us. Really appreciated that attention to detail. read more

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Yelp has failed me again for Asian food recommendations. I'm from Singapore originally (very similar food to Malaysia) and can confirm that this is not very authentic. You'll need to go to Taste Good in Elmhurst to get the real deal. I should have known that a place which has Malaysian AND Japanese food can't have been that good. Roti Canai - this was actually pretty good. Seemed to be freshly made rather than made from frozen (which you'll find in a lot of restaurants). Really expensive at $8 for one small piece though. Hainanese Chicken Rice - very dry and tasteless. Birthing like the juicy meat and gelatinous skin that it's supposed to have. The chicken rice was good though, but a very small portion. Curry Laksa - terrible. I've had better Laksa from an instant noodle packet (Prima Taste brand). Don't think that it contained any coconut milk which is the main ingredient of the dish. Kangkong Belacan - this was OK but hard to mess up. I won't be coming back. read more

Came here for dinner last night and we had rock shrimp with spicy mayo and roti canai for starters. I had the sarawak laksa, top 10 dishes recommended by Anthony Bourdain. It was very flavorful and good portion size. The environment was definitely cute. Its a great spot for a nice dinner with friends. Definitely worth coming back. read more

Rasa - Sarawak laksa - Malaysian Near Me - New York, New York

This was a highly recommended place by a good friend and I finally got to try it out! The food was nothing short of amazing, packed with flavor and punch! The fact that it is a halal restaurant is a big plus point for me as a Muslim. I went to a school which had a big Malaysian population so I have had the opportunity to educate myself on the different types of food the cuisine had to offer. The ambience of the restaurant was warm and welcoming. We had to wait 10 minutes for the table because it was a busy Saturday night. Moving on the the food; The Teh Tarik tea was so good! It brought back so many memories from when I was in college. The taste is similar to Thai tea but a bit on the bitter side. We started off with fried calamari, curry puffs and chilli chicken. All of them were great and it came with a very spicy sauce that hit the spot! For entrees, we tried Maggi goreng, beef drunken noodles and Massaman curry. The Maggi goreng hit a home run for me, which was a portion of stir fried instant noodles with unique spices. The night was full of laughter and good food shared with friends, I definitely see myself coming back to Rasa again! read more

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The fried rice is delicious but the price is a bit steep. We also ordered the nasi lemak. It was cook with pandan leaves but you could not really taste the pandan flavor. The service is good. The outdoor seating is a little tight. Indoor seating, they have a partition. You probably can find cheaper Malaysian food in queens read more

I like to go try new restaurants on Saturday Lunch. Because many are only open for dinner or have a brunch menu, the choice of restaurants gets smaller than expected. I know, it's New York, that should be impossible! I am not a fan of Brunch menus. Many look almost the same.. That's why I prefer Asian restaurants on weekend lunches. Rasa also has a brunch menu but also the classic all day menu. Great. Thanks. read more

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Not dirt cheap but very good. Super nice attentive service and they let you hang out, I recommend.

Rasa means "taste" in the Malay language, and the food here is bursting with it! The chef/owner Camie is also the most gracious host you'll ever get, and makes every dining experience feel like home, I came here in February so they had a special Chinese New Year menu, featuring the Prosperity Salad Toss commonly practiced in South East Asia to symbolize good fortune for the new year. It is also a very delicious appetizer! Besides the salad, I ordered the small bites combo, and the curry laksa. I was also fortunate enough to sample a special dessert Camie had made for the festive season. Having grown up in Malaysia, I can attest to the authenticity of Rasa's dishes. Thank you Camie, for the wonderful Malaysian Hospitality! read more

Rasa - CNY special: Prosperity Salad - Malaysian Near Me - New York, New York

Rasa is the name of a small town in Malaysia We stumbled upon this malaysian joint after a night out at a wine event in LES. One of our friends has apparently been here a few times and recommended the place! For a party of 6...we got seated right away at around 8pm on a thursday night!! food was yummy and ambience is great. they do have a great selections of food ranging from malaysian..to singaporean..thai..indo and even japanese! We started off with the roti canai. regular one + ones with eggs inside. They were good! soft shell crab - YUMM And for the main, I had the nasi kerabu. Which i've never had before. The rice was actually blue/green! Which I am told it's colored by some type of blue flower?!!? not sure but it was good. the whole dish was flavorful. my table.. had lamb curry char kueh thao - comes with chives, bean sprouts, egg soy ssauce..and meat of your pick. mee Goreng egg noodles with sprouts, tofu, egg, and some other veggies and meat in shrimp chilli paste. for dessert the owner gave us a complimentary dish of this sticky cube thingies..i wish i remember what they were called but its half coconut and half taro. it was my fave!!! salty and savory at the same time. we also had this shave malaysian ice thing that came with peanuts, jellos and some syrup, it was refereshing. lastly we had the peanut butter crepe which was finger licking good and hot! read more

Rasa - Malaysian dessert! Peanut butter cake so good and staple dessert ice - Malaysian Near Me - New York, New York

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The service was friendly. The drinks and appetizers (Roti canai and Takoyaki) we got were great. We got a soft shell crab special -the sauce was salty but tasty, the mussels with black bean sauce was also a bit salty, the haianese chicken was not tender and didn't come with chicken rice, last was a teriyaki salmon perfectly cooked and seasoned. Prices were a bit much but it's a trendy spot in the Village. Would come back for drinks and appetizers. read more

Came here for dinner on a weekday by myself right after work. Around 6:30pm ... very friendly for solo diners, which is always a huge plus in my book. Service was very friendly and attentive (it seemed that all of the waiters were willing to help--it wasn't like one waiter was assigned to you), the food came out very quickly, and I was incredibly satisfied with my dishes! The portion was huge and there was enough for me to take home and have an indulgent breakfast the next morning .. cooked it in my frying pan and cracked an egg in there too cos why not :) My order: (1) Char kuay teow with shrimp: Exactly what I wanted--not too salty or greasy. I'm also a huge sucker for wide flat noodles. I thought there would be more veggies, but there were plenty of bean sprouts which I like. Ask for some sambal on the side for some spiciness :) (2) Ice Cendol: Never had cendol before and I wanted to check it out. Very interesting.. not many red beans, and it's quite different from the other ice desserts I'm used to (that is, just bingsoo since I'm Korean). More watery and the coconut is more of a browned sugar-type of deal, which I am unused to--sweet, but the ice and cendol balanced it nicely. Definitely worth checking out if you haven't had this before. I was deciding between that, the sticky rice with coconut (is this the kaya I've been hearing about?) and the tapioca. Next time! :) Oh and as I was paying for the check, I found it funny when two waiters asked me if I was from Malaysia ... because "you UNDERSTAND!" (I think it was my asking for the sambal that did it :P) read more

Rasa - Char kuay teow--ask for sambal on the side for some of that spicy! Flat noodle yum. - Malaysian Near Me - New York, New York

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They have a wide variety in their menu which made me a little nervous because that usually means they don't necessarily specialize and instead just want to be able to cater to a wider audience. I came here for the Malaysian food and it was actually quite authentic and delicious. I got the Penang Assam Laksa, very strong in flavors with combination of sour and spicy, I loved it, I wish they threw some shrimp in there as well but it is just noodles with some specks of vegetables and pineapples which balances out the tart and sour flavors of the broth. My friend ordered the Malay Hokkien Mee and the noodles were cooked well, and you can see that it has soaked up the sauce. For the dessert we tried the mochi ice cream, the coconut balls filled with sweet plum filling, and this shaved ice with green jelly and sweet beans. All very good. Quick service. I would like to come back to try some of their other house specialities. read more

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We had planned to eat elsewhere but ended up wandering around Greenwich village for too long and decided to risk Rasa; it has decent reviews but so do lots of places and our experiences of NY food thus far are less than impressive. As always, the whole gluten-free search is a challenge but I can usually find something on a Thai/Asian fusion menu so in we went. First, the atmosphere is lovely - quiet, soft lighting, a respite from the hectic city outside. The staff were friendly and helpful and answered all my pain-in-the-ass questions. We chose the shrimp summer rolls with mango while we tried to figure out what I could and couldn't eat and they were yummy; the mango added a surprise to what is usually a predictable option. As often happens, there were limited choices for me and I am fed up eating Thai curries so I decided to try the Singapore noodles with beef. What a great choice. We ordered one plate to share, just in case they weren't great and devoured the plate. Still hungry, we asked for the menu again but decided to go with another plate of Singapore noodles, they were that delicious. read more

After returning from a trip to Malaysia and Singapore, I started to search for restauraunts that served food from that region. I was happy when I found RASA here in Manhattan, to top it off they serve halal meat. I went for the Laksa, it was not as the one I had in Malakka but it was not bad neither. My wife tried the fried rice which was very good. The staff is very helpful and the food was served very quickly. read more

Rasa was amazing! The interior was very cozy though the lighting was a little dim. The service was incredible. Us homesick Malaysians found ourselves very much at home with the warmth and friendliness of the staff there. It took us forever to order because there were just too many good options on the menu. The food was on point. Two friends had nasi goreng kampung which had the most legit sambal I've had here ever. I had the Seafood Tom Yum which though was really good too, had a little too much coconut milk and bell peppers which didn't belong in there. Another friend had the grilled chicken which was juicy and perfectly done. And then dessert! The cendol could've used a little more coconut milk but apart from that it was perfect. It brought back memories of the ones we used to get back home. I don't know about their Thai or Japanese food but definitely come for their Malaysian food. We'll be back soon! read more

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Worth every penny! 5 star because... Halal. Delicious. Authentic. Perfect portion. Friendly. I've been to not one but countless Malaysian restaurants. NONE as good as RASA. My husband and I decided to declare RASA as the only reason to come to New York! read more

Rasa - We ordered 4 glasses! Authentic coconut milk and brown/palm sugar taste. - Malaysian Near Me - New York, New York

A pretty solid spot in the heart of west village / NYU area but I've had better malaysian food in Chinatown. Their service is good. read more

I was really craving a roti canai, and came all the way here from midtown east to satisfy that craving for Malaysian food. Rasa was very accommodating because we were late for our reservation. They still seated us in a timely manner and even asked us if we wanted to be moved to a better table once a "better table" had freed up. The drinks here are very very sweet (Lychee mojito and Lychee daiquiri). The roti canai was sooo good- a fluffy, doughy, flakey perfection. My hainanese chicken dish was really good, although the portion was a bit small. The boyfriend's crispy chicken (?) was so tender! The service is really good here and we really enjoyed our dinner. The restaurant is not very large, and is dimly lit. It can accommodate large groups because the tables can be pushed together, but it can also be a great spot for a date night. We will be back for the roti canai next time we are in the area! read more

Came here for an early dinner/late lunch on easter sunday. staff is friendly and attentive- menu is extensive. went for the tom yum soup, edamame and green curry with squid. soup I wasn't the biggest fan of because I expected it to be thai style and more coconut based but it definitely was a thinner broth like soup. the edamame was fine, nothing too noteworthy. I enjoyed the green curry but wish it had more vegetables. it also came in a rather deep bowl so you got a lot more of a soup vibe. i'm typically used to getting curry in a shallower dish- may just be personal preference. my friend got a lychee margarita and there ended being a whole lime blended in it which she was a bit unhappy with texturally. but all in all a good stop, just wouldn't seek out. read more

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Wow, they did everything right! We had a great time, food was fantastic. The amazing: the soft shell crab and their Asam. Maylasian part is very authentic, and I just could tell from the customers they have. The sushi was very fresh. We did have some rolls and apps that were great. To top it off, tonight they had authentic Indonesian dancers and they were great. We came on a Sunday and there was ample parking. Will definitely come again! read more

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