I wrote about Roti King a couple of years ago, when it was on the Charing Cross Road. I only went once, and I am a total fool. It was so convenient to my office, and I only went once! Those were the days when word hadn't quite got out yet about Mr Roti King, and you could swan on in there, have a sit and eat some freaking delicious roti.
Not so now.
Admittedly, we did visit on a Friday night, right at prime time, and we did go as a group of 5 when the restaurant sits 30 at most. We queued for at least an hour, watching the guy slap his rotis out, folding them up and cooking them on a hot flat griddle next to him. The result? All our clothes absolutely honked. But no matter, as we had wine to slurp our way through (it's BYOB). The waitress, weaving in and out of everyone, delivering orders to the tables must have a patience of a saint.
The roti (opening pic) is so, so good. Cooked freshly to order, it's hot and flaky. We peeled off pieces to dip in both lamb and chicken curries. The murtabak (the roti is spread with egg, folded and cooked so it is stuffed) came with a dhal that was pleasantly spicier than expected too. Char kway teow had the appropriate smokiness from the wok, and enough prawns to please the table. I asked the chap on the table next to us how his Laksa was, and he looked pretty ambivalent about it. Further reports have been favourable though, so I'll just have to return. Soon.
Nasi lemak could have done with fresher coconut rice, but it was still pretty good. To be honest, we all had eyes for the roti and not much else.
Yup, that there is a roti cone, drizzled with chocolate syrup. A nice, sweet ending to proceedings, though the roti stuffed with banana is infinitely more satisfying.
(I have a recipe for banana roti, Thai style, drizzled with condensed milk in my book, Chinatown Kitchen... it's out on 2nd April plug plug plug)
At £15 per head, it's stupidly good value. I can't wait to return, already.
Roti King
40 Doric Way,
London NW1 1LH
The laksa is excellent. I love the kaya roti for dessert but I must try the banana.
ReplyDeleteI also really liked the Roti and it's pretty close to the ones you can get in Malaysia.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I wasn't that sold on the Char Kway Teow and the Laksa. The Char Kway Teow was ok but didn't have as much wok hei (smell of the wok) as it should do and the noodles were a little mushy and didn't have sufficient bounce to them. I wonder if they par cook them and then finish them off for serving. The laksa was ok but had quite heavy amounts of MSG. I didn't try to Nasi Lemak - hopefully next time!
Oh yes - and the Teh Tarik was nice.
BTW... the cone thing is a Roti Tissu.
Harry
Knit - oooh i must try the kaya!
ReplyDeleteHarry - interesting, i thought the CKT was pretty great, though not as good as actually in Malaysia. Roti tissu - thanks!