Take the Circle line to Kuala Lumpur

If your holiday plans this year don't include a trip to Kuala Lumpur, then do the next best thing and jump on the Circle Line for a true taste of Malaysia.

Only the absence of sticky rice cakes from a platter of chicken, pork and beef satay served with a perky peanut dipping sauce prevented me being transported back to a hawker stall in a KL night market.

Buttery, flaky roti pratha is the sexier cousin of the Indian flat bread paratha. Served with a creamy Malaysian-style curry sauce and the chilli-based sambal condiment, this traditional breakfast dish made for a dangerously addictive starter.

Char kway teow should have a certain chain of noodle bars quaking in their open kitchens - a mountain of broad, flat noodles wok fried with fat prawns, Chinese sausage, egg and bean sprouts flavoured with soy was both comforting and delicious.

Meltingly tender beef rendang - a cross between a French daube and a curry - came in a spicy coconut gravy with the sort of bottomless depths of flavour that only careful slow cooking can produce.

With its blue snakeskin-effect banquettes, bistro-style chairs and wood panelling, the dining room isn't going to win any awards for design. But the warmly welcoming and caring service from Malaysian-born manager Irene and her young team might.

Why Malaysian cuisine isn't as popular as Thai food in London is a puzzle. Kiasu might just solve it.

Kiasu
Queensway, London, W2 3RY