Kiasu Restaurant

I came here for lunch with an old friend (both of us are Singapore expatriates) and while the lunch started out decently, it quickly took a nosedive. I’m told by my friend that this was very atypical and that he had experienced better at this establishment. However, service was decent despite the less than stellar food. We ordered a wide variety of dishes (as much as two people could eat) and the following is what we experienced:
1. The Chye Tao Kway (fried white radish cake) was odd in that it was fried with beansprouts – while this is common in Malaysia, it is not the norm in Singapore (after all, the restaurant is named «Kiasu» which basically describes a very typical Singaporean-​only quirk in our national character). Other than that, the taste was acceptable.
2. On the other hand, the Or Luak (oyster omelette) was great and it was one of the few things that hit pretty close to home.
3. The Beef Malay Satay was well marinaded before grilling but there was a very odd texture to the meat. It had a sandiness to it, almost like the meat had been frozen too long and it had broken down in the process. But the dipping sauce and ketupat (rice cake) was very authentic and onion and cucumber were as expected (after all, how could anybody screw up raw onions and cucumbers…).
4. The first sign of a major slip was the Otak Otak. Instead of the normal, expected texture of the grilled version of Otak Otak, which should be the consistency of a firm flan (there is also a Penang/​Thai version which is steamed and of a consistency even more custard-​like), it had the exact consistency of an Asian fishcake – very chewy and rubbery (which is totally wrong for Otak Otak). Even the taste wasn’t anything like Otak Otak should be… The only thing that was correct was the colouring. I suspect that they overdid it with the fish in their zeal to give the dish some «heft» but some dishes aren’t meant to have any heft. Not if you want authenticity anyway.
5. The Char Kway Teow was a dead loss. The ingredients were in there but it somehow lacked any authenticity and tasted like something an amateur would whip up in the family kitchen. It was too wet and was missing that «je né sais quoi» that would be found in the professional’s version that I’ve tasted in every hawker center I’ve ever been to in Singapore and Malaysia and the better restaurants offering Singaporean/​Malaysian fare outside the region (and I’ve been to a lot in over 20 years living in Singapore and another 20 living overseas. Char Kway Teow is my favorite and also my bellwether dish that’s indicative of a kitchen’s expertise in the cuisine).
6. Then there was the Mee Goreng. This was an abomination by any definition of the word! It was obvious that the cook mixed up Char Mee with Mee Goreng (even though they mean the same thing in different languages, the execution is totally different – the former has a Chinese lineage and found at Chinese stalls at hawker centers while the latter has an Indian lineage despite its Malay name and normally found at «Mamak» or Indian stalls at hawker centers). And it, too, was overly wet. A real Mee Goreng is much drier and it doesn’t have shrimps nor bean sprouts in it (What *IS* it with this restaurant and bean sprouts? It’s almost as if they think that more bean sprouts equals more authenticity!!!) Nor is celery an ingredient! And the final nail in its coffin was that the taste of tomato sauce/​ketchup was so dilute as to be almost nonexistent. WTF?
7. Two other things that contributed somewhat as saving graces to elevate this from a one-​star review (aside from the Or Luak) were the Ice Bandung and Sago Gula Melaka. They came as close to authentic as possible but truly, they don’t take any skill to make. The Bandung is only a simple mix of rose syrup and evaporated milk while for the Gula Melaka, the only «difficulty» in preparation is boiling the sago correctly so it doesn’t result in bedraggled lumps – adding the coconut milk and melting the date palm sugar is trivial.
Maybe this is an off day but shouldn’t off days be for amateurs? Professionals shouldn’t have off days to this extent!

My friend and I have made eating at this restaurant into a weekly event. I have no idea what they put in their food, but it’s soooo delicious and ridiculously addictive! The Mee Goreng is this wonderful spicy noodle dish with prawns, tofu, scrambled egg, fresh tomato in a light brown sauce. My friend always orders the thai red duck curry with a side of white rice. oh so good!
For the filipinos with a craving for home-cooking…they have chicken and pork adobo. I haven’t tried it yet, but when I do, I’ll update.

We just arrived from San Francisco and this was our first meal in London, near our hotel. Kiasu didn’t disappoint. Very friendly service — very accommodating when my daughter’s Pad Thai was too spicy for her taste. (She really liked the replacement.) We LOVED the honey-​glazed spare ribs: sweet and spicy, just perfect. My vietnamese salad (grilled beef, cilantro, rice noodles) was fine, nothing special. Terrific service. Will return!

We found this restaurant on Unilocal and decided to follow the recommendations of the other Unilocalers, and visit this restaurant which, from outside, does not look impressive at all.
But first appearance can be totally wrong, because the food is as good as the one you can find at some fine hawkers centers in Singapore, and you know what I mean: a huge choice of perfectly prepared dishes.
We started with chicken satay, then we had Hokkien Char and Ko Lo Mee (we were out for noodles!). A delicious homemade Durian ice cream to close.
The service is quick and attentive; the price is value for money; we leaved the place completely happy with the experience. We will definitely visit again Kiasu.

I arrived late to dinner with friends (got to love the circle line on a rainy night) so I don’t have the full picture of the experience. What I do know is that we had good, cheap food. Some of it could have been spicier, but the flavors were excellent. The service was a bit slow. We feasted for 10 quid each so it is my kind of place…

I’ve lived in the neighborhood for a year now and just tried out Kiasu last night … and now I’m thinking about going back tonight. As a warning, this place should pride itself on the food, and not the ambiance, which feels like a florescent-​light filled fast food restaurant. The service was, however, very friendly and efficient.
Now the goods. The food is superb and the menu is extensive, though it is lacking on vegetables and vegetarian options. If you don’t eat meat, they are happy to amend your order, and with all the spices and ingredients, you won’t miss out on any flavor. The Vietnamese Spring Rolls were our favorite. The crispy lettuce wrapped around the fried roll with a steaming hot center and sweet dipping sauce, it was a simple dish at it’s best, and a great starter to share. The Otak Otak, or fish cake in banana leaf, wasn’t anything exceptional, but very interesting in concept. It is like a fish cake and pancake in one; I’ve never had anything like it. I would not recommend it personally, by the bf loved it and he thinks he’s more of a foodie than I. The Tauhu Goreg was also completely unique and soooo good, the tofu, bean sprout and cucumber in spicy peanut sauce: yum!
For mains we had the Char Kway Teow, a sort of chow fun, and the Nonya Laksa, a coconut gravy noodle soup. Both very very good. I don’t think it is possible to go wrong here if this is your kind of food, and there are even helpful pictures of each dish to help you decide!
Not the place to take a date, if you’re in the mood for super yummy food, this is it. And it’s recommended that you make a reservation for dinner as it fills up fast, and for a reason. Only 4 stars because the décor is worse than non-​existent. They tried, and massively failed :(

Not sure what’s changed since the previous reviews, but we waited an hour for small portions of very indifferent food. Spicy, sticky, sweet Pad Thai? Gristly meat? Not worth it.

I’m a little torn on this review. I wasn’t thoroughly satisfied with this place, what with it’s lacking in veggie options. One thing I ordered came out with pork despite my protestations, and had to be sent back. That said the food was decent. Certain cuisines just don’t like cooking with meat as an *option*… sigh.
Ok, but what’s with the name? Kia means fear in hokkein, which is a dialect of chinese that is spoken in south asia. As I understand it, Kia-​su means fear of getting behind. It is quite popular among the Singaporeans I guess. Fear of getting behind manifests as a bit of a vice… trying to jump the queue, trying to beat your teammate, trying to eat all the food on a buffet, that kinda thing. It is a national character because of Singaporean history, as I understand it.

It’s rare to hear my dialect of Chinese, hokkien, spoken in London let alone see it up on a big restaurant sign. Translated literally, Kiasu means ‘fear of losing’ and reflects the drive to be the best.
Certainly, Kiasu does brisk business and the place is frequently filled with a lot of Malaysians and Singaporeans. Disappointingly for me, although the restaurant sign is in hokkien, very few of the restaurant staff actually speak hokkien.
The restaurant does very competent versions of hawker favourites like char koay teow, fried hokkien mee and nasi lemak. However, do try less commonly available dishes such as otak otak, a soft spicy fish cake wrapped in banana leaf and roasted and pai tee, crispy pastry cups filled with fresh vegetables, prawn and pork.
It’s worth a trek for fans of south east Asian cuisine.

This place is really sweet. It has very good food and the owner and the serving staff is wonderful.
Things try here are
Teh Tarik (I like the cold version)
Murtabak (I wish they made a full dish out of it)
Thai Red Duck Curry
Chicken Rice
Beef Rendang
Char Kway Teow (Take the spicy version: This is very tasty)
In short, this dishes at this resturant are fantastic and makes me wanna come back for more.
Nasi Lemak: This is supposedly better at C & R Café. I am yet to try it there to confirm it.

This friendly and welcoming restaurant brings cuisine of the straits of Malacca to London. The word Kiasu means ‘afraid to be second best’ in the Chinese Hokkien dialect and I suppose you’d be hard pushed to find a better version of this restaurant, mostly because there aren’t any.
The décor is bright and fun (and mostly purple) and so are the staff I’m pleased to say. This is a great and cheap little place to come for a quick lunch, the food is somewhere in between Chinese and South East Asian but the also offer Vietnamese, Thai and Malaysian dishes if you’re looking for something a little more familiar. My sister enjoyed the Nasi Lemak: fried anchovies and chicken with coconut rice. Sounds odd but worked really well!