Awana: Malaysia’s pride

People tell me a job as a food critic would get boring. Good food, VIP treatment and food babies (don’t pretend like you don’t know what I mean) – it’s a hard life, isn’t it?

Walking down towards Sloane Avenue, you bypass the size 0 mannequins adorned with Chanel handbags, Ferragamo coats and Jimmy Choo heels. No you haven’t misread this as the Fashion section. But it isn’t exactly my regular stroll up to my next dinner location either. I’m hunting for the highly acclaimed Awana, Malaysian restaurant of the year, in Brompton. You get a feeling that this is not your average Kiasu (student friendly Malaysian in Bayswater), with 19” LCD screens dotted around the restaurant showing the view at the Satay Grill, where apart from the satay, the chef also prepares the roti canai and roti tissue which guest star in this review later. The choice is vast, with a special menu paying homage to the chilli crab festival that occurs every September-December period. The satay is a must. There is nothing skimpy about it – just big lumps of corn-fed chicken that are freshly prepared at the Satay Bar and brought over within minutes, so no chance of food poisoning. Best not mention those hellish words in conjunction with a restaurant I’m trying my best to portray positively... The satay comes with red curry or dal curry sauce; two small pots of pleasure.

The beef rendang is Awana’s proud baby, winner of the Malaysian Curry Fest, hosted by Malaysian Kitchen earlier in August. With it, there was also the butterfish, a much lighter option compared to the rendang, wrapped in banana leaf and grilled with chilli ribbons and lemongrass sauce. The complementary coconut rice was definitely not the standard sludgy, almost porridge-like coconut rice I have been served before, so fear not, it’s safe to order.

But the star of the show was definitely the roti tissue. For those not familiar with this type of ‘tissue’, it’s safe to say there is no Kleenex in sight, and it is perfectly edible. It uses the same ingredients as roti canai, but the dough is spun out so incredibly thin that it is quite simply a 1mm thin pancake, about 2 feet in diameter; almost as big as our fish eyes gawking at the sheer size.

I believe a plug is due, and I’m here to tell you that Awana is offering a 3-course lunch for £15 every day of the week so no need to feel sore

Awana 85 Sloane Avenue, Chelsea SW3 3DX. Nearest tube: South Kensington 020 7584 8880