A random read through Yelp reviews had alerted me to this restaurant in the Whitgift Centre in Croydon. In the name of Yelp research and my ongoing search for good Malaysian food in the UK, I made a trip there yesterday on the tram, which incidentally is good fun Uncle Lim's Kitchen is an open plan restaurant located on the first floor in the southern end of the shopping centre. Although it's located in a corner of the mall, large signage makes it hard to miss The main counter looks like a regular pile 'em high Chinese counter takeaway place, like Panda Express in the USA if you're familiar with that concept. The main difference is that they serve Malaysian rather than Chinese dishes and there was a tempting looking Malaysian chicken curry and rendang. However, it was their menu of special cook to order dishes which looked more tempting. They had the old Malaysia hawker (street) food stalwarts like Hainan chicken rice and char koay teow. However, I did hear most of the Malaysian customers order the curry laksa and so I went with that Laksa is an aromatic spicy broth, usually using seafood as a base mixed with a heady concoction of spices and finished with coconut milk. The version had enough curry leaves in it to convince me that they had made it fresh rather than from a pre-bought paste. There were chicken, prawns and fried towfoo with the noodles. Only minus was a broken juicer meant no fresh juiuces yesterday Definitely worth a return trip to try more things on the menu. read more

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Oh look, an Asian restaurant whose name has nothing to do with the oriental nickname of table tennis, a bloody dragon, golden-something, and doesn't claim to be some royal moon legend king of Sichuan and dumpling village. Me? A problem with unoriginal, stereotypical Chinese restaurant names? No... I was, however, comforted by the fact that this Malaysian eating place had a name close to home: Uncle Lim's. In Southeast Asia, most particularly in Singapore and Malaysia, middle-aged to elderly men can be addressed as 'uncle', even if they are not a sibling of your parent. You can approach a 60-something year old man for $1 ice cream and greet him as 'uncle'. When you go into a place with a name like 'Golden Dragon', you expect food which tastes unauthentic and mediocre, just like its unoriginal name. (Having said that, I've never eaten at Golden Dragon, so I can't judge just yet, but I'm already turned off anyway.) When you go to a Malaysian canteen-style eating place called 'Uncle Lim's', you are like, hey, I feel like I know this Uncle Lim guy already, and I'm going to see a balding, aproned Chinese man take my order with a smile and a familiar slang. Maybe my expectations were a little high, as I had my order taken by one of two caucasian ladies who were standing behind the steaming trays of various meat and vegetable dishes, which were choices for meal deals which come with steamed rice or noodles. I shared a plate of Hainanese Chicken Rice (£5) with a friend, as the portions are said to be huge, and they were indeed. The dish was served with steamed chicken, cucumbers, tomatoes, and fragrant rice cooked with chicken broth. For chicken rice so far from home, they really have managed to get the correct taste of both the rice and the tender chicken, plus the black sauce drizzled on top. Five more gold stars for the extra large portion as well. The only thing I was sceptical about was the fact that the skin on the chicken was yellow - quite a scary yellow. However, I did some research, and it appears that yellow-skinned chicken is corn-fed, and therefore extra tasty. I'm definitely going to return to Uncle Lim's one day, to try their famed Char Kway Teow, (stir-fried, flat and broad rice noodles) and the mixed rice/noodle dishes. It is a good fix for a hometown-food-craving, with great value and a decent variety. read more

Uncle Lim's Kitchen - Chicken rice (£5) from Uncle Lim's Kitchen in Croydon - Malaysian Near Me - Croydon, XGL

Great Malaysian food, big portions and reasonable prices. I ordered chicken curry laksa and it was delicious - the food was spicy enough and it came out in no time! Would definitely recommend. Bear in mind that this place is cash only but there are many cash points near here. read more

Authentic. Cheap. Delicious. What more could you want? Right in the hear of Croydon, upstairs opposite WHSmith is a great Malaysian spot. The service is quick too. Give it a whirl next time you're about. read more

Get the train to West Croydon - then go down the road to Whitgift Shopping Centre - its upstairs on the first floor. I was taken there by my Malaysian boyfriend's Malaysian-Indian best mate - she lives for the food there. The restaurant is more like a "kopitiam" (a Malaysian coffee shop or even a canteen. The tables: half are inside the unit, the other being outside in the shopping centre. I ordered curry laksa and the woman behind the counter was very concerned as I might find it too spicy hot - she had to ask my friend if I knew what I was in for - I said oh its okay. After three trips to the toilet to blow my nose, the curry laksa was really GOOD - very tasty - full of flavour. My mate is full of praises for the place. read more

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The staff was amazing. They made suggestions and were very friendly. I would recommend this place to everyone.

Located in Croydon, it isn't the most convenient of places to go and eat. However, I've always wanted to go after hearing about their Hainanese chicken rice. Uncle Lim's Kitchen is located within the shopping mall and it did take a bit of time to find it. The place isn't fancy or anything but the most important thing is really how good is the food right? So we ordered the Hainanese Chicken Rice and Wan Tan Hor. Getting the not as positive out of the way, the chicken rice is seriously not Hainanese chicken rice as advertised but is regular chicken rice. Other than that, both were seriously awesome. It tasted exactly like those that I would eat at any stalls in Malaysia and more-ish! I cannot believe that I had to go all the way to Croydon to eat dishes of this standard. Ooh, you locals don't know how lucky you are. We ended with a dessert that I don't see often here which is bubur cha cha. This is a yam soup based dessert. We were struggling to finish but I can see myself travelling that distance to come back here again read more

After scouring the deepest trenches of Google to try and find a decent Asian restaurant, and I say Asian instead of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian etc largely due to the lack of decent Asian restaurants in this vicinity that isn't "Chinese Takeaway." This place is located in a, what we Americans would call, a semi-deserted Mall at the top floor. It is very unassuming when you come across it, it seems like a typical "mall Asian food restaurant" like a Panda Express or something (sorry if you don't understand the reference). The smell, on the other hand, was enticing. I've never had Malaysian food so I can't pass good judgment but I can note that the food here was significantly better than I expected. The way this restaurant is set up is a cafeteria style, you point at what gloop in which serving tray looks best, and someone shovels it onto a plate with some rice. However, the do have a cook-to-order menu. Ultimately, I decided to get something cooked-to-order because none of the cornstarch thickened chicken looked very good. After a lot of pressure by who I assume to be the manager, I ordered the Curry Laksa as a takeaway and brought it home ready to pass judgment. In reality... it was very good. I don't want to say it blew the top of my head off with how good it is but in reality it was just very well cooked and very flavorful. I'm excited by this place but a little wary. The poor location doesn't seem to attract enough business for them despite their (judging from the previous reviews) good quality food. In the end, I would highly highly recommend this place. It's a nice little find in the humdrum of the English pubs and Chinese take away and doesn't cost a lot of money considering that it's in England and near London. read more

When you have an all day appointment at the Home Office, it does look a little bleak looking for some decent food. Luckily I stumbled into this mall when I was trying to get into Sainsburys. I did a quick yelp search and found this little joint. I wish I had read the reviews before ordering because I went with the fast foodie stuff in the windows when I should've clearly gotten something off the made to order one. Next time I'll get the laksa or hainanese chicken and will update my stars then. read more

Though it may seem good value for money, avoid this place after the lunch time rush as you're only given the leftover scraps and poor pieces. I was left with dry hard meat and oily leftover sauce. This long standing cafe does attract a lot of folks who are after a slap up Asian spicy cheap meal but the food does feel very buffet style quality. Despite the spice, it lacks flavour and so if you're after a reasonable quality meal then go elsewhere, to an actual restaurant. read more

Eating chicken rise and it is delicious. Took me some time to find the restaurant the paper guide at info desk helped. read more

quality quantity price thats how i grade restaurant. i would say this restaurant has 2 items of them. self service. taste ok nothing special, not authentic, but its the closest asian around croydon. give large portion at good price read more

Located in Croydon, it isn't the most convenient of places to go and eat. However, I've always wanted to go after hearing about their Hainanese chicken rice. Uncle Lim's Kitchen is located within the shopping mall and it did take a bit of time to find it. The place isn't fancy or anything but the most important thing is really how good is the food right? So we ordered the Hainanese Chicken Rice and Wan Tan Hor. Getting the not as positive out of the way, the chicken rice is seriously not Hainanese chicken rice as advertised but is regular chicken rice. Other than that, both were seriously awesome. It tasted exactly like those that I would eat at any stalls in Malaysia and more-ish! I cannot believe that I had to go all the way to Croydon to eat dishes of this standard. Ooh, you locals don't know how lucky you are. We ended with a dessert that I don't see often here which is bubur cha cha. This is a yam soup based dessert. We were struggling to finish but I can see myself travelling that distance to come back here again read more

Its not to difficult to get there lots of transport. Located in a tucked away bit of the Whitgift center near the Whsmith, I went for the Laksa as did my son he likes it spicey! and was not dissapointed, as good as you can get in London. They have a buffet that i didn't go for but looked good and very large portions. They have some other dishes which you order off the menu like the Laksa and they are cooked fresh, i heard from a regular who had lived in Singapore and Hong kong that they were very good too, My quest for laksa in london has stopped now i found uncle lims, horaay read more

This is one restaurant to avoid. It used to be good many years ago. The number of cooks that come and go must be the highest in the country. The food tastes very different every time I visit that I have now stopped going altogether, which is a shame. The owner, a frumpy woman by the name of Sarah, couldn't care less when I asked her point blank what was going on with the quality of the food. Worse still, I saw large rats scurrying about. Very dissapointed. read more