Feasting Their Way Through Malaysian Week

I went back to one of my favorite restaurants in Chatham today, and this time, it was for a special occasion.

Steven Chia, the owner of A Taste of Asia, has been serving a "Malaysian Week" tasting menu for $20.10 since Monday. It will last through Sunday.

Chia was contacted by the Malaysian consulate in New York City, which was looking to promote Malaysian cuisine in the United States. He said today he was very happy to be part of this effort since, he explained, most people don't know what Malaysian cuisine is. Generally, it's a mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian and some Thai flavors.

Thirty-three other restaurants in the area have joined in the effort.

To highlight the Malay part of the cuisine, Chia decided to come up with a tasting menu with dishes that reflect those flavors. The tasting menu will be offered on Saturday all day and on Father's Day in the evening once the restaurant is done serving dim sum in the afternoon.

I went for lunch and the tasting menu was hanging in the front as we walked in. Each category had three choices, which prompted us to start picking. Once the waitress came to take our order, I started by telling her what I wanted. She informed us that the tasting menu included all of the choices on the menu. Wow, I thought—that is a great deal. We sat back and waited for our meal.

I loved not having to pick—I was getting everything on the menu. How good is that?

A long rectangular plate with appetizers was placed in front of us. It consisted of the satay chicken on a skewer, which was tender and topped with a tangy peanut sauce. Next was the pandan chicken—a chicken thigh was fried with curry flavor wrapped with a pandan leaf. It was delicious. Last, but not least, was pulut panggang—it was the most exotic. It was a rectangular shaped banana leaf filled with sticky rice. The rice had a seafood filling inside.

I really enjoyed the sweet sticky rice with the savory filling.

For the entrée, a large round platter came my way, full of food. In the middle was the nasi goring, which is the exotic spiced fried rice. I think a lot of people mistake Malaysian food for being spicy, but that is not the case at all. A lot of spices are used in the cuisine, but there is no heat to the dishes. I had a bite of achat, which is a cold mix of pickled vegetables with ground peanuts and sesame seeds. The owner told us it is a play on the original Indian "achar," which is a spicy pickle made with all sorts of vegetables, including lemon and green chilies.It was delicious with the curry chicken, which I had next. The chicken is simmered in coconut milk and includes potatoes.

My favorite was the beef rendang. It has tender pieces of beef braised in coconut and a Malaysian spice mix. I loved it the last time I reviewed this restaurant and today it was as good as I remembered.

It was a lot of food and we couldn't finish it all. We decided to take the rest home. My only criticism, and a small one, is that there was no dessert. I would have liked to have a little less food in the tasting menu and would have preferred to have dessert to end a delicious meal. Other than that, it was a very enjoyable afternoon.

I think it is a great idea to promote Malaysian cuisine. The multi-course menu at A Taste of Asia gives the customer a sneak peak of the rest of the menu.

If you have never tried Malaysian food before, this is your chance, and if you love the cuisine, it is a great way to enjoy your favorite foods at an affordable price.