After a hard hour (yes, hour - I'm male) of Christmas shopping it was time for some refreshment…read more The city centre did not appeal so I took a trek through Garnethill to Charing Cross, arriving at St. George's Road outside Satu Satu. Satu means 'one' in Malay. Satu Satu translates exactly to 'One One' or, more correctly, to 'One by One'. The brand speaks Malaysian Chinese. It's one of a few Chinese restaurants in what's becoming (or become) Oriental Row. It's informal, a largely open plan space with 18 covers, informal decor in good order. A third of the floorspace is given to the open plan kitchen. It's warm and, because of all the wok activity, a bit smoky at times, despite the industrial extraction hood. Don't go in your tuxedo if you're attending the Opera after. There is the aroma of nice things frying and the happy clatters of blenders punctuating Chinese pop music. A couple of small Chinese children amused themselves with electronica while their carers worked. All in all a homely feel. The welcome was fine. I was seated quickly. The two-course lunch deal appealed to the wallet. The soup of the day was sweetcorn chicken, that staple of Chinese restaurants west of New Delhi. Not a dish that gives the chef to demonstrate his ability so I opted for the sambal tofu instead. A pot of Chinese tea filled the space while I waited. Service is speedy and the food cooked to order. The alarming flash of flames from the wok is proof if you need it. The sambal tofu was disappointing. It's not a complex dish and, much like the soup, only requires correct assembly. The tofu had been fried too long and was charred on the outside though edible. The samba was cold, in contrast to the hot tofu. Though laced with translucent onions, it was oily, too sweet and lacking the chilli bite of proper Malaysian sambal. That last, in its proper avatar, is all heat and no sweet. Pork hor fun, on the other hand, was the high point. This would be fried char kway teow to Malaysians: the flat hor fun rice noodle stir fried over immense heat with soya, blacan, seafood, egg and meat, depending on your taste. Satu Satu's version was not comparable (perhaps not meant to be) since it had, apart from noodles, only beansprouts and slices of pork. Not an issue - you can't expect the the real deal as part of a value lunch deal. What it did have was good texture (proper hor fun noodle bite), the smoky aroma and crispy bean sprouts. It lacked a certain depth of flavour that frying in lard (the Malaysian way) gives. It took a smattering of chilli oil (freely offered) and a bit of mixing to improve it. Overall, for five pennies short of a tenner, it was satisfying and reasonably good value. What could be improved? Well, what distinguishes the simply good from the truly excellent is detail and consistency. Make your own sambal. It's not difficult. We like authentic. Don't make what you think people want. Make what you want to eat. And warm it. Would I go back? Yes but this time I would go for one of the 'Signature' dishes.

Quirky and a little bit different. This latest Glasgow Malaysian/Chinese restaurant is a real gem…read more Quirky = Ribena ( hot or cold) on the drinks menu = awesome. Great food - Malaysian chicken wings and a curry soup broth with noddles, both were superb and had just the right of spice The staff were very friendly and helpful to. Two drinks, two starters and two mains were 33 quid.

Went over with my partner today for dinner as there was a special weekend event by Julie MacLeod of…read moreMasterChef! The amazing thing is, she was cooking up a special Malaysian inspired dinner! AMAZING. I was immediately sold! During the dinner, we were served a started of Roti Canai with dahl (a type of flat bread with gravy that's usually made of chick peas), a main of either Beef Rendang (traditional Malay dish) or Sayur Ladeh (also traditional from back home) with rice, and a dessert of Banana Fritters and ice cream (known as Goreng Pisang in my language!). I'm happy to say that I'm very happy with Julie's version of these different traditional foods from Malaysia! Was very happy with the tenderness of the beef rendang, and the banana fritters got me all nostalgic! She's also such a friendly person. We chatted for a bit and I learned that she's actually half Malaysian! We truly have a connection (75% of through food I assume). I love Babu as an Indian street food place on its own, but these small special events just take the cake for me (and has bumped my precious 4 stars to 5!). Julie might host more of these events in the near future and I'll be sure to be one of the first to book a table! Loved it!

I'm a huge lover of Babu Bombay Street Kitchen, and when I heard that their new chef Julie was…read moredoing a Malaysian menu, I knew I had to try it. It's only on this weekend (Thursday 23 - Saturday 25 April) and there's two sittings each night. We were a little early for our seating at 7.30pm but the place was totally ready to go so we took a seat at the communal table and looked over the menu. It's 3 courses for £18 with a set starter and dessert, and choice of two mains. Now, I am a huge fan of roti canai and thought I'd tried the best one in Glasgow but this one was served with a slightly sweet, coconutty curry sauce which was just delicious. For my main I had the sayur ladeh (veggie curry) which was packed with aubergine at my request (thanks chef!) and the flavour of the curry sauce was amazing. I personally prefer my aubergine cooked really well to the point of collapse, whereas this had more bite to it but it was still a delight to eat. I will admit I had a bit of food envy as I tried some of the beef rendang and that was amazing. Finally, there was fried banana balls. Graeme doesn't like banana and I can't eat ice cream so we did a bit of a switcharoo and we were both happy. The fritters were lovely, super crisp with a nice hint of ginger. Two is the perfect sized portion; 4 was a struggle! Ha! While you're eating you can order drinks etc from Babu which are interesting and reasonably priced. I believe you can also BYOB if you fancy drinking. This was one of the best popups I've been to - it was executed in such a relaxed, calm manner and you'd never have known it was the first night. The staff were all so sweet and lovely, and you could tell they were so excited about the night as well which makes it all the more enjoyable.

Disclaimer: This is a michelin guide restaurant. Not a michelin star restaurant…read more Im actually amazed that a malaysian food can be part of the michelin guide in the uk and its not even in london. The food were good and some of them are indonesian. So its more of a south east asian food or maybe javanese as all these people came from java. If you are in glasgow, this is the place you should come to eat since they are super amazing and worth them. Beware this place needs to be reserved since there are only 4 tables and open at specific time. Also, it might be a little bit expensive as per glasgow city. Nevertheless, this is definitely recommended me. P.s. you can trust me since im an expert of south east asian food. Havent found a good one in london they are usually whackk.

Julie MacLeod needs no introduction (Masterchef 2014) and neither does her restaurant (2018 The…read moreList Eating & Drinking Awards). I noticed it first walking past it on a winter's evening. Huddles of people waiting patiently in the Glasgow drizzle, looking in at happy faces behind the glass looking out. Nearly always full, midweek or weekend. There's no booking. We expected to wait but, surprisingly, it was less than half full on a Sunday lunchtime. An hour later, though, there was not a spare seat in sight. They do have a booking system that lets you know when your table is ready. 'Kopitiam' translates to coffee shop. In Malaysia, it's an informal restaurant: formica tables, open kitchen, minimal decor, a small menu with good quality food at reasonable prices. In that sense, Julie's delivers. It's a tiny space, barely 20 covers, and the kitchen is a nook but for all that, it's cheerful, informal and means service is immediate. The playlist is old-school Motown, soul and funk. I approve. A friendly greeting and we were quickly seated. Menus were produced in a dash. A useful talk through the changes on the day followed. The bill of fare is not extensive. In my book, that's a good thing. Much promised often means much disappointment. My companion is Malaysian so we opted for the small plate 'nasi lemak' to share followed by a 'nasi goreng' for her and 'pork belly mee broth' for me. Nasi lemak was as near to the real thing as we've had in the UK. Fragrant, slightly sticky rice cooked in coconut milk and panda (screwpine) leaf served with a splash of spicy sambal, fried anchovies (ikan bills), boiled egg, peanuts and crisp slices of cucumber. Sounds bizarre but it isn't. Overall, very nicely done. Pork belly noodle broth: a decent broth with rice noodles, a couple of leaves of bok choi, with a bit of backbone to it, a soft-boiled egg and (the star) roasted pork belly flavoured with Chinese five spice. A winning combination. Prawn nasi goreng: rice well cooked, not overdone, having a bit of a bite to it and a pleasant smoky edge, prawns well cooked and slivers of cabbage adding a textural contrast. Altogether the food was well done though slightly under-seasoned for our taste. We asked for some soy sauce which was brought to the table by Julie herself. She suggested that a little chilli prawn paste might also enhance the flavour. We happily agreed and she was right. It certainly boosted the 'zing' element of it. Allergies are well catered for. The table next to ours had a few. Julie took care to speak to them in person. It's not possible in such a small space to guarantee the food will be free of a particular allergen but she took care to talk through the options and what was delivered gave no room for disappointment. £23 for three dishes is not cheap but well worth the money. The whole enterprise deserves to succeed, not least for being a fresh take on dining that moves away from franchised catering, that delivers an individualised, almost curated take on traditional cuisine and where the experience is direct, personal and unfussy.

Ever the creature of habit, stumbled past this place on a Sunday lunchtime & saw the reviews on…read moreYelp, so decided to give it a whirl. First impressions, busy and bright/airy interior. Lady who saw us over to the table was a wee bit brash, but didn't think much to it. Waited for around 5 minutes before anyone came over to offer a drink. Quite a difference from Asia Style. Went for Jasmine Tea, which is a £1 charge. You don't pay at Asia Style, so seems strange to even charge a token £1 for it. Thai Green Chicken curry & the special, Okra with Crispy Pork. Didn't have to wait too long, around 10 minutes. Beautifully presented, but I'm afraid the taste is no match for Asia Style. Pungent smell of fish sauce overpowered both the dishes, which didn't help the enjoyment. Okra was not fried enough, so as you bit in, it was quite watery. Overly salty pork (that'll be the fish sauce) and quite fatty. The Thai curry was more of a soup. Chicken was well cooked, but again a lot of fat on the chicken and that fish sauce...arrghh! It just over powered everything. Service.. well, it made Asia Style look positively in the same league as The Black Sheep! Not very attentive and brash. Certainly wasn't trying to win you over with personality or attentive service here. £28.00 in total for a tea, 7-up, two mains and a boiled rice. Not the cheapest & certainly not outstanding enough to make me want to try this place again. The location is by far the winner here - certainly no competition for Asia Style. You Don't Gotta Eat Here... Sadly! :-(

Wat Tan Ho. Or 'flat noodles in egg gravy'? I think I'll stick to the Malaysian name, thanks…read more.. This is what I've been looking for! A simple, clean little cafe serving noodles, rice dishes, soups - it's perfect. The staff were lovely, too, recommending my noodles and bringing them fast because I was in a hurry. Yum. Slurp. Yum.

I could eat in this place every single night!…read more I am not sure I have enough words to cover how good this place is. Ok so here goes. For starters we ordered the platter, but only for one person which was plenty and the Salt and Pepper squid. I would recommend the salt and pepper dishes every time, they are that good! For mains we tried to do the whole lets share but when we both tasted our dishes we didn't want to give them up! We got a Braised Beef curry ( spicy!!) and Salt and Pepper scallops! Oooo mmmm geeeee! Nice! We also ordered 2 portions of rice, Which seemed to be more than enough. As we watched more people being served their food we noticed they seemed to be all doing the same thing which was ordering your own portion of rice and then sharing all the mains with veg as well. The only negative thing I would say (and I really don't want too) they don't have a great selection of beers that are local to their cuisine, so we both selected the tiger beer. I really want to mark this place higher than I can. 10 stars for me!

I've been a fan of Banana Leaf for many years. Prior to its refurb at the end of last year, the…read morerestaurant itself was really shabby and kinda run down - awesome food though. We recently popped in with some friends a couple of weeks ago - and I'm impressed. The refurb has worked wonders. It's managed to retain the friendly atmosphere it previously had, but now has a bit of style to go with its substance. As it's a traditional Malaysian restaurant, the tables are set with chopsticks. Ordinarily I have no issue using them, but I've a health issue that causes my hands to shake, so I asked for a fork. And I got this, delivered with quite a smirk. I'm not justifying in a restaurant why I needed a fork, but I wasn't particularly happy with being (innocently, I'm sure) belittled in this way. I had chicken satay skewers with peanut sauce to start with - really tasty, in a properly cooked, 'falling off the skewer ' kinda way. For main, I had kung po chicken and steamed rice. This was AMAZING! And much spicier than I had expected. Overall the staff were really attentive and the food was awesome. I'm knocking 2 stars off: one for the fork thing; and the second for only having one toilet (it gets really busy here).

Wau Cafe has been on my radar for a while now, ever since Serbian Cafe, "Seb's" shut down a while…read moreback. They offer traditional Malaysian food in a relaxed, no frills cafe style environment. Oh and they don't have a booze licence, just in case that is a problem for some of you ;) Firstly be warned, if you bring your cat, there will be no room to swing it as the place is teeny, but they've managed to ram around 6 tables in here. Even if the place is half full, you may feel slightly intimated as people are pretty much eating on top of you, therefore, they will be able to hear everything you are saying. Not a place for a romantic dinner then, remember that! The floor is manned by a solitary, lackadaisical waiter, who seemed to struggle with the half full restaurant, so service was a tad slow. I don't want to get the young chap into trouble but it did seem like he had been 'puffing the magic dragon' that night. My suspicions were confirmed when a glass was smashed (in this, the smallest cafe in Glasgow) and he didn't hear it, so we kindly let him know. He seemed slightly surprised but happily dealt with the situation. Unfortunately some of the food we ordered ended up being unavailable but were only told after 10 minutes of ordering, so it was a rush to pick something else but I just opted to swap the meat from my dish. On to starters, the roti was great, but the chicken wings pretty tasteless and greasy. Also, it may be authentic in the far east but seeing hairs on a chicken wing doesn't do it for me. Mains were packed full of flavour but unfortunately just didn't taste that fresh. The mains we ordered seemed to have been cooked to death, or perhaps just reheated to oblivion. The whole feel of the place is that they are still trying to find their feet but I have a strong feeling they could be on to something good here. But, certainly for the moment, they are still trying to discover their Wau factor.

Now, I've walked passed this place hundreds of times as I'm ALWAYS somewhere in GWR, and every time…read moreI walk pass, it's empty. It looks super sad and there always 2 people eating which I assume are the actual staff members. Every time I build up the motivation to try Asia Ma, I went up straying to Ka Ka Lok as its more "happening". Well for once, we managed to pull through with our decision and enter this empty restaurant. Yes, it was just me and Gian dining in at a Malaysian Chinese restaurant at 930pm. A bit awkward but, we figured maybe cause it's late? Who knows. We were seated by the window by a friendly Malaysian (I assume) auntie, given menus and two baskets of prawn crackers (how generous ey) as we skimmed through the choices of food. Went for the menu with the Chinese words because that's where the good stuff is ey! Hehe Anyway, I chose the dinner for us and we had fried rice, steamed chicken with fungi (takes 20 mins to prepare and no, it's not the fungi you think! It's herbal mushroom!), deep fried homemade tofu, and pot of Chinese tea for 2. So 20 mins of chatting and prawn crackers later, I will quote Gian, "you chose well Sarah". Yes, the food was amazing. SUPER delicious! And huge in terms of portions!! We had extra for lunch the next day! The steamed chicken with black fungi was very herbal, gingery and just plain delightful in terms of light flavours! It complimented the deep fried home made tofu super well because that was seasoned with Malaysian soy sauce, shrimp, spring onions and all kinds of robust flavours! Along with fried rice, it was TWO THUMBS UP FOR ME! Altogether it was 15quid per person, and FYI, I have a lot of left over for lunch haha it's like you're paying for 2 meals! Guys, don't be fooled by the emptiness of Asia Ma, their food is AWESOME! Next time, imma go try the fish head tofu hot pot and Assam fish. Exciting!!

Is it a rebrand or is it brand new? I'm not sure. What I do know is that it is very good and much…read moremuch better than Asia Style that was here previously. I'm surprised I'm the first to review TBH as Asiama has been here for a while. I have wanted to visit it for ages and I am glad I finally got the chance as the whole experience was really good. From the moment we arrived the staff were friendly and welcoming. It felt a bit like a Hong Kong cafe with the roasted meats hanging in the kitchen. We ordered a selection of dishes to share between four.... Here goes.... Roast duck, salt and chill chicken, Malaysian beef curry, char Sui Sichuan, authentic peppered chicken, fried rice, boiled rice and even some cheeky chips to help soak up the hangover. The food was all pretty good. The Malaysian curry was superb, spicy and with loads of sauce it was a favourite. The salt and chill chicken was really tasty and it was a great size portion. The Sichuan char Sui was my next favourite and was cooked really well. I also enjoyed the peppered chicken which had loads of peppers and onions as well as chicken. The only dish I was not that keen on was the roasted duck which was just a bit to chewy and fatty. The staff obviously thought we did not have enough food as they then brought out some really tasty and authentic dim sum which they informed us was complimentary. It was a great touch. By the time the free oranges arrived I was stuuuuuuffed! I'm tempted to give it 5, but I'm gonna go with four. Reason being the roasted duck was a Wee bit disappointing and the competition for authentic Chinese restaurants in Glasgow is now red hot. Don't get me wrong this place is excellent and I will definitely be back. Nearly forgot.... All that food and only 15 quid a head, bargain! Check it out soon Yelpers, it deserves more reviews.

Cathay Cuisine takes the top spot as my favourite chinese in Glasgow. I should probably add that…read moreit's shared with The Lemon Tree, but since I moved to the southside a Lemon Tree is a rare occurrence nowadays! As I've said in reviews before, I love a chinese that offers vegetarians something other than just vegetables in a sauce and Cathay Cuisine has the most to offer vegetarian diners in Glasgow in my opinion! Cathay Cuisine is more than just a chinese, they also offer Japanese, Malaysian and Thai dishes, as well as traditional "british" chinese takeaway fare. My usual order consists of fried beancurd and dip (Just Eat will give you an option of dips, don't bother choosing, you always get sweet chili!), fried rice and salt and chilli chips. I also really like the mini spring rolls, they're really crispy and crunchy! I'm also a fan of their salt and chilli beancurd and the sweet and sour aubergine in batter. I've never ordered a dish from here I didn't like! The deep fried beancurd can be a bit hit and miss, last time I ordered it was a bit dry, so I'd recommend ordering a sauce to go with it. I usually get the satay sauce which is a tad on the spicy side. One thing to keep in mind is that the portion sizes here are extremely large! A large rice is more than enough to feed two. A portion of salt and chilli chips will arrive, I kid you not, in a small pizza box, enough to feed four! Great if you are fully prepared for a feast or if you're ordering for a large group, but keep this in mind if you're only ordering for two people (or one person, don't judge me!). Their menu is enormous so I challenge anyone to not find a dish! I usually order from the Cathcart Road branch and deliveries can take up to an hour, so order in plenty of time!! I've converted friends to Cathay Cuisine in the past, so I'm fairly confident I'll be correct when I say, you'll love it!

Just had the Peking ribs from here-my first time ever and they were phenomenal. Also had the crispy…read moreshredded chicken the other night which was quite spicy and yummy! The food comes out quick and piping hot with massive portions.

My new favourite Chinese. Fantastic quality food... all…read morefreshly prepared authentically in front of your very eyes. Slight downside is that it can sometimes take a while because of that... but hey I'd rather wait for really fresh food! A really varied menu, I have had a classic chicken curry as well as chow mein, chop suey and lemon chicken. Prawn crackers are to die for and the chips are a cut above the usual Chinese chips. Also do a great lunch menu with selected dishes for £2.80- with basic stuff like chow mein and curry. Thoroughly enjoyed. New regular.

I was in Glasgow for an academic conference. I have a Black woman visiting from America and with me…read morewas another scholar from South Africa. We entered and were asked if we had a booking, even though the restaurant was practically empty. We thought it was weird, but we were seated anyway. After a while, the owner came to take our order, and my colleague try to order something that turned out to be a side order. The owner let her know that that was only a small dish. I asked the owner to give us some more time while she tried to make her mind up. My colleague and I decided to share a meal and an appetizer since we had already been out earlier for appetizers that evening. When the owner came back, I placed an order for an entrée and an appetizer. Then she asked my colleague what she would have, and I informed the owner that we would be sharing those dishes. She let out an audible scoff and gave me the grossest look as if I had sat there and ordered water and asked to stick around for three hours. We ordered 46 pounds worth of food. It was an absolute look of disgust as if we were below her. I immediately called her out and told her that behavior was not acceptable, and would not be accepted. She then tried to play all innocent, as if nothing happened. It was a gross display of racism, and I could not recommend this place to anyone. BLM!

The beers come in their own wee cooling jackets - good start to the meal…read more The decor is dated but if you can see past that the food is tasty and fresh. Our waiter was full of banter but I can see how some people wouldn't appreciate being taken the p*ss out of - I don't mind! We all had the sharing starter - great, a lot of fried things so not for those on a diet. We then shared thai red curry, sweet and sour, ginger chicken and plum duck. My dad chose the sweet and sour and I was dubious but it was nothing like the Uncle Bens variety - possibly my favourite dish of the night. Don't get the sticky rice - it was so sticky that it had to be welded apart! I will definitely go back.