Malaysian restaurants in New York

One of the funnier sights of New York for me when I was working there was Allen Street on the Lower East Side, where, right at one end of the street of restaurant supplies, the Singaporean restaurant Sentosa stood near the Malaysian restaurant Proton Saga. If you're not from either country, that might not be funny, but it's hard to think of two names that are more immediately recognisable as belonging to the respective countries. Plus, besides the amusing naming, the places had great food - tucked away at one end of the LES, they seemed to attract smaller crowds than, say, Penang or Nyonya, but more hardcore diners.

Sadly, Sentosa moved out to Flushing a while back (I wouldn't be surprised if it was even better now), and now the Village Voice informs me that Proton Saga has been replaced by a restaurant called Skyway, whose name, while still based on a Malaysian icon (it's the tram that leads to Genting), doesn't quite carry the kick of "Proton Saga" in my opinion. But for those of you homesick Singaporeans and/or Malaysians in the city, it still sounds worth a go.

Comments

Niti Bhan said…
Do you know of any Malaysian or Singaporean restaurants in San Francisco?

Thanks
tscd said…
I like the Proton Saga. It's a feisty car.
Amy N. said…
hahaha. i think that's interesting. but restaurants in Malaysia always have interesting names. i have no idea where they get them from. heh.
Daryl said…
niti: the only one I know of is Straits Cafe.

tcsd: Never driven it, so I can't comment.

amy: I once ate at a stall in Malaysia that was called "Kampung Burger", kind of like a Ramly Burger knock-off. Except this stall had kangaroo and ostrich meat on the menu. I was like, what kind of freaky kampung did you grow up in?
Agagooga said…
They should've upgraded to Wira
Anonymous said…
The first time we took the M15 past Proton Saga, I think I nearly fell over while standing in the bus when I saw that signboard.

Now it's become a bit of a running gag: Gee, I guess the food must taste like burnt rubber and charred upholstery, with pieces of the rims for texture, huh? ;)

Either way, we were never too impressed with the food there. Never got a chance to try Sentosa, unfortunately. And Taste Good 2's moved away, more's the pity. Ah well. I'll survive.
Daryl said…
agagooga - Maybe they were favouring public transport?

mich - I thought Proton Saga was decent. Sentosa was excellent. In any case, you really should make your way out to Flushing sometime, the food's excellent.

(Random story: I passed by a supermarket in Flushing, and noticed one of those flyers on the supermarket bulletin board was actually written in Bahasa Indonesia! Someone looking for a roommate. I guess that shows how diverse NYC gets.)
Niti Bhan said…
Hey, I went and found out! Nyonya in Little Italy in Manhattan is excellent adn Penang is the best in Chinatown, SF

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