Melur

samantha_tan

Melur Redeems Itself with New £7.95 3-Course offer 18th March 2009

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Four months ago, I ate at Melur and absolutely hated it (see older review below). So much so that the first thing I did when I got home was come straight here to trustedplaces to type a scathing write-up! So imagine my surprise when last week, out of the blue, Melur proprietor Sam Wong sends me a message saying they have made some changes, introduced a new Chef's Special 3-course menu, and whether I and a friend would like to come and sample it for free.

I was a little taken aback by this. On one hand, I was impressed that she was ballsy enough to try and change the mind of someone who had nothing nice to say the first time round. That must mean they've really upped their game right? On the other hand, what if her confidence was misplaced and I still hated it? Surely I couldn't bring myself to eat for free and then write another damning review!

Well thankfully, I don't have to. As expected the service we received was exceptional given that all the staff knew they had to be nice to us, but it is the improvement in the flavour of the food that was most remarkable.

First off, A++ for the frothy teh tarik (sweet milky pulled tea) which my partner rates as one of the best he's tasted in London. As for the food, the new Chef's Special deal deserves 5-stars in my book simply because £7.95 for 3 courses (including full-size mains that already cost between £6.50-£7.80 on their own) is unbelievable value-for-money. I have no idea if their ala carte menu would rate as highly, but from what I could tell that too had been expanded to include more dishes so it looks promising.

From the 6 choices of starters we chose Popiah Goreng (fried spring rolls) and Ayam Goreng Berempah (spiced fried chicken), both of which were served piping hot with a sweet chilli dip. Delicious! The portion of two spring rolls had a nice crunch and were not too oily/stodgy, and props especially to the chef for keeping the strips of chicken breast moist in a light and crispy spiced batter.

For mains, the Nasi Lemak (coconut rice) came suitably fragrant, with all the typical accompaniments present and correct as well as achar (pickled vegetables) and a tasty piece of fried mackerel. This time round the waitress even offered to bring us extra sambal without us asking! (see my old review below for my previous experience requesting sambal. Dreadful). Strangely enough she came back with a dish of orangey chilli paste which was not the same sambal we had on the plate, but it still tasted good so no complaints there.

Char Kuay Teow (fried flat noodles) however, whilst tasty in its own right, was less of a hit with us. To be fair, it was spot-on if what you were after was a Malay style Kuay Teow Goreng (more moist and sweet), and is also much better than what Melur USED to serve, but most people who order Char Kuay Teow expect the Chinese hawker version which is typically dry and fiery with a smoky charred flavour (as perfectly demonstrated by Sedap restaurant (non-halal) on Old Street). Malaysians will know that despite both versions translating to mean "fried flat noodles", there are subtle differences which set them apart! Upon questioning, Sam explained that she has both a Malay and a Chinese chef in the kitchen who each cook it their own way, so the version you get depends largely on which chef makes it. Apparently "Jack is the Chinese cook" so ask for him if you are adamant about having the Chinese variety.

Also, a minor quibble about the garnish. I suppose it's down to personal taste, but a big pile of curly carrots (see picture) is truly a strange choice no? Perhaps a sprinkling of fried shallots or fresh spring onions would have worked better.

We were quite full by this point but decided to have dessert anyway. Pisang Goreng (banana fritters) and mango sorbet were our choices; both came pretty generic. Unlike the variety of starters and mains on offer, there were only 3 choices of desserts, the third being Kueh Dadar (coconut stuffed pancake) which was the only more adventurous attempt at presenting a classic Malay sweetmeat. Kudos for putting it there, but this being the Chef's Special menu, we would have liked to see other famous and uniquely Malaysian desserts such as ice kacang, sago gula melaka and cendol.

Nonetheless, despite my gripes about weird garnishes and unremarkable desserts, 3 courses for the crunch-busting price of £7.95 is still a fantastic bargain, especially given that the flavours now seem more authentic and no other Malaysian restaurant has yet come up with an offer to compete with this. What's more, the promotion applies all day Mon-Wed, and lunchtime every other day INCLUDING weekends!

Whilst I am sure my experience was heightened by the fact that I was a non-paying invited guest, it is evident that the people behind Melur have worked very hard in the past few months to fight the backlash and improve their offerings in a way that will please not just the unknowing foreigner but the critical Malaysian foodie too. For a restaurateur to swallow their pride, accept stinging criticism and revamp their menu entirely takes serious guts and humility, and for this I applaud Sam and her team.

There are improvements to be made still, but Melur is definitely on the right track to establishing themselves as a halal eatery worthy of Malaysian patronage. Well done and may you keep up the good work!

bellaphon at 18/03/09

Totally enjoyable write up. Despite 'why', the carrots do look sweet though! I expected Sam to be ballsy, she's a lawyer.

Looking forward to reading more reviews from you.;-)

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samantha_tan

Terrible. AVOID at all costs! 26th November 2008

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*This review is based on my first visit in Nov 2008 which was awful and was originally given only 1 star. My visit in March 2009 (above) was a vast improvement and trustedplaces has automatically upped my rating*

As a proud Malaysian foodie, I apologise to all Londoners for the embarrassing representation of Malaysian cuisine that Melur gives. Any Malaysian will tell you it isn't authentic by a long shot, and I BEG you to please try Malaysia Kopitiam on Charing Cross Rd or Kiasu in Queensway instead for proper versions!!

The char kuay teow (fried flat rice noodles) was a dismal pale beige, tasting NOTHING like it should and with no sign of the characteristic dark charred edges, bits of egg and hot fiery flavour that show it has been properly fried by an expert hand over a flaming wok. We asked for chilli oil or sambal hoping to spice it up, but believe it or not the waiter had never heard of either! He came back with some chilli dip which was all they had... a Malaysian kitchen with NO CHILLI OIL or SAMBAL?? We knew we were doomed.

The Singapore Laksa was even worse, a big bowl of bland watery soup instead of a creamy rich spicy coconut broth. Strangely topped with bits of lettuce and chunks of white beancurd (instead of deep fried beancurd puffs or "tau foo pok").

Nasi Goreng Nonya (Nonya Fried Rice) was the only passable dish of the night, and the Rendang Daging (Beef Rendang) would have been okay had it not been over-salted.

To top it all off, service was slow even though the place was half-empty, and considering the 12.5% service charge the sullen Chinese man at the counter could have at least looked up when we left! There is NOTHING Malaysian about this place, not even the decor (which consists mainly of red walls and LED lights) and DEFINITELY not the food.

Don't believe the claims on the Melur website, passion and excitement were non-existent in the dishes we had tonight. Even with our Time Out 2-for-1 voucher, we felt like we had wasted time and money here!

bickley26

Cool Place 27th October 2008

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Staying at the Hilton Metropole we decided we would go out and find somewhere to eat.
After walking up and down Edgeware Rd and finding that most restaurants are of middle eastern flavour we decided to eat at Melur.
The waitress who greeted us was very friendly and sat us down at a table of our own choice and was only too helpful to let us know what drinks were on offer.
There was only probably about another 14 people in the restaurant which wasn't too bad for a Monday evening.
The Decor was very modern and the ambience provided a romantic backdrop.
We started with the satay meat skewers and spring rolls complimented with a glass each of Broken Rock Chenin Blanc which was very nice.
For mains we had the Char Kway teow and the the Chilli Chicken.
The Char Kway teow was filling with heaps of different meats and the chilli Chicken was served with a a generous serving of chilli which was hot but certainly wasn't burning hot.
All in all it was a good night and I highly recommend it.

Hibiscusw2020

Never mind! 18th October 2008

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As there are not too many Malaysian restaurants around London therefore it was like big news to us when Melur has finally opened its arms. We went there on a Friday night, not surprisingly the restaurant was rather full.
A friendly waitress led us in and sat us down. We were then told that it might take up to 30 minutes for the main course to be served as the kitchen was busy. Anyway, drinks were served within 7 minutes which was not too bad at all.
After 45 minutes of waiting, we approached one of the waiters and he promised to check the orders but he never got back to us. Later, the restaurant manager sent us two complimentary drinks with an apology. He also promised that our orders were on its way. However, it took another 25 minutes for us to have our Seafood Char Koay Teow. To think they called it as seafood Char Koay Teow that came with just two prawns and four small slices of squid. Yet again another 10 minutes for the Nasi Goreng Nyonya to turn up. How ridiculous! Is it what they called course by course even though they were orders from the same table at the same time? However, this was not only happened to us but to most of the customers as well. Should I call it as a fair treatment to make myself felt better?
You would probably expect the food to be as much delicious as it took such a long processed. Well, to be honest with you guys, they were tasteless, overcooked and in fact was slightly burnt for both dishes. Frankly, I think they were overpriced for such a shoddy food quality.
Obviously, there was lack of communication between the floor staff and the kitchen staff. The restaurant manager was stood behind the bar counter but not aware what was going wrong and did not take any appropriate action to ease the situation. I thought he supposed to ensure the smooth running of the restaurant!
Overall experience for this visit was disappointing and I would not recommend to anyone who likes Malaysian or Southeast Asian food. Melur is definitely the worst restaurant I have ever visited by far.

bellaphon at 18/10/08

On the account of your review alone, I prompted myself to have an early supper at Melur tonight. To have two reviews with alarming discrepancies can only insult the writers no end. If a new place opens, a second chance is always deserved regardless of whether the first visit was a failure or success. We all know that all new joints need time to bed in and establish themselves. Melur is just under a month old FGS! Did you tell the manager about the poor cooking? Give them feedback, everyone needs feedback. And don't tell me you paid for the 12.5% gratuity as well, I wouldn't if the manager did sod all. The problem with us diners in Britain is we only rant about the dining experience after we've exited the restaurant. It's all too common to hear when a waiting staff asks how was your dinner, and the reply is quite often 'lovely'; when in fact you know damn well it was crap.

My dinner of Nasi Lemak tonight was good and the Beef Rendang that came with it was pretty much spot on. The only niggle I have with Melur is the dishes err on the small side.

I for one do not have any connections with Melur and I sincerely hope that you don't too with a rival outfit.

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bellaphon

Looking good... 9th October 2008

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I know it’s early days yet, but this new Malaysian restaurant located in a basement on Edgware Road what has been Mawar, a Malaysian canteen of great repute is showing great promise. The basement ambience is modern and comfortably lit; unlike the predecessor the dingy character and dampness have all but disappeared. The Singapore Laksa and Mee Hoon Goreng (Fried Vermicelli) were delicious and obviously concocted passionately to retain a high degree of authenticity. When visiting try the de facto Malaysian drink of Teh tarik- this sweet combo of tea and condensed milk (a colonial influence I suppose) goes well with the food.

Like all new places of this ilk I sincerely hope that complacency does not fall prey on the quality of the cooking and superb service. In the meantime, welcome Melur.


26/12/08
Food quality and quantity demoted due to the much superior Malaysia Kopi Tiam in Soho.

Niamheen at 10/10/08

Welcome Melur indeed! One to try - thanks bellaphon.

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