Kiasu

To all but the super-informed the response until recently to the name Kiasu might well have been 'huh?' All that has changed with the recent opening of Kiasu Restaurant, on Queensway and nicely accessible for central London. It owes its name to the Straits of Malacca, which down history have always represented a massive mix of culture, race and religion. Nowhere does this show itself better than in the diversity of colours, music and fashions.

With this in mind the owners of Kiasu, which translates as 'afraid to be second best', have selected chefs and dishes from different parts of the Straits and its neighbours, with the result that delighted customers at Kiasu may well feel themselves to be transported into some culinary paradise where tried and tested recipes are available for their pleasure. All the ingredients are authentic and selected to meet the demands of the original recipes and every dish is properly presented and garnished true to tradition.

Matthew Norman writing in The Guardian in 2007 said, 'the service was warm and smiley, and the bill absurdly small for the quality of food and the size of the servings'. Shall I stop there - no? You'd like to know more. Very well. Let's take a look at the starters. By the way all the items are scaled for strength from mild to hot - just count the chillies. Pai tee consists of six crispy pastry cups filled with shredded yam bean, bamboo shoots, pork and prawn. Or luak is an aromatic spicy egg and flour omelette with fresh oysters cooked à la Singapore. Then there's gado gado, Indonesian style salad with boiled egg, rice cake and vegetables in a sweet and spicy peanut sauce, or roti pratha, two traditional Malaysian flour pancakes served with curry gravy.

By now it will have undoubtedly passed through your mind that the opportunities here for Straits tapas are virtually endless, and the presence of vegetable dishes like kangkong belachan, which is a firm Straits favourite and the very popular home-style choy sum with garlic, plus side orders of fragrant jasmine rice and assorted crackers, to name but a few, are supportive of this proposition. A quick glance at the mains would suggest more of the same until you realise by a discreet glance at a passing plate that main dish prices and helpings are one of the world's great bargains. Do not be tempted, I beg of you, to treat them as tapas - they are most other restaurants' main dishes.

Hokkien mee soup, yes that's soup you read - is made up of Singapore style pork and prawn noodle soup, topped with prawn, spare ribs, fish cake and bean sprouts, with a choice of yellow egg noodles or rice vermicelli, or a mix of both. The Hainanese chicken rice, an old favourite from Singapore and Malaysia, is specially flavoured with freshly made chicken stock and served with tender braised chicken, chicken broth and Kiasu's special chilli sauce. Probably the most loved local Straits dish is nasi lemak, coconut rice served with crispy anchovies, fried chicken, prawn sambal, hard boiled egg and achar.

Kiasu represents tremendous value for money, and the opportunity to eat well and imaginatively in good surroundings with people who are clearly enjoying themselves.

Their Website will keep you up to date on menu changes, special offers and opportunities for private parties.