I ordered the curry laksa and coconut rice for dinner after a windy and rainy day roaming around…read morethe city. The reviews I saw were relatively good so decided to give them a try. The laksa flavor was decent but it didn't seem as authentic as the Borneo restaurant I had back home in the States. There were only a few pieces of chicken, and fish balls sliced from maybe 2 whole pieces, mostly tofu and egg. At the end, when I paid with cash, I was surprised by a 15% service charge. So far in the restaurants I have been to across NZ, there hasn't been a surcharge stated on the receipt. I did not expect it and a NZ$30 meal came to NZ$35. I don't recall seeing the 15% surcharge written anywhere in the menu. I would appreciate a notice in advance so I am prepared to pay more. Anyway, NZ$35 for mediocre Malaysian food. Maybe it was an off day since business is slow. You can take a chance on them if you feel adventurous.

We are still fans of this venerable Indo Malaysian restaurant in the Courtenay Place entertainment…read more/ restaurant district of NZ's capital. We usually stop by when in Wellington. Now celebrating their 25th Anniversary, Istana Malaysia continues to put out very tasty authentic NON dumbed down meals. Chili levels were exactly as ordered, no surprises, and spices were PUNGENT strong and balanced. A couple of classics; a Nasi goreng and coconut based chicken curry acccompanied by their ALWAYS yummy FRESH made to order flatbreads (garlic) satisfied. As friendly as remembered, staff were lovely: prompt; water for the table, ordering process, food to table all GOOD. Unhurried, we enjoyed a leisurely meal, free street parking all day Sunday a bonus. Clean and tidy venue, spacious seating. Prices have crept up over the years, but QUALITY is still right UP THERE, & for those interested, a BYO wine policy allows for a relatively affordable evening out. Recommended, and we'll be back on our next trip. solid 4 stars in the Asian restaurant class. pics to follow in due course

Last stop in Welly before heading off to Queenstown. Lots of Malaysian food here so we took the…read moreopportunity for a last Malaysian brunch. We had been wanting to eat here over the last two days but it was closed. So bows our chance! We tried the Kuey Teow Thng (fish ball noodle soup) and roti canai with chicken curry kapitan. Both were very tasty! It was nice to have soup on this cold and blistery morning. But we could not help trying the Teh Tarik Ais. No doubt cold for a regular cold day in Welly! It was worth it! I'd certainly recommend coming here as the food was authentic and the service great!

Authentic Malaysian food We really enjoyed our dinner here -…read morewe tried the mango kerabu salad, roti with chicken kapitan curry, and claypot rice and it was excellent. The desserts were special too - we loved the pandan cake and the pandan sticky rice kuih! The flavours were authentic and the prices were almost Malaysian too. We're so thrilled to be able to eat decent Malaysian food in Wellington! We're only here for 3 nights but we will definitely be going back for more!

Yes, a 5. South Indian/Malaysian food…read moreThis place is not in Wellington city but is so worth the effort. It is a short hop from the highway if you a driving up or down the island. Warning though, if you blink, you will miss it. If you are coming from Wellington it is just over the roundabout past the library, if you are coming from Porirua and go over the roundabout after the shops. you have gone too far. It has a bright yellow sign and there is parking out the back in the New World car park. More advice- book. We go mainly on the weekend for brunch and get there just before 12pm, after that it fills up. Eating early works well. Me- For brunch at the weekend they do my death row dinner, the last meal I would chose if I had to- Masala Dosa. It is perfect and fresh. At the moment it costs a whole $7.50. I had it just today for lunch and loved every bit, every mouthful. I used a fresh roti to mop up any bits I had missed, my plate looked clean. Miss Muffin has her old faithful, mee goreng and eats a good fill. Mr Muffin- has chicken biryani, hot. This comes with raita and popadoms. It is the proper version, not the quick one you cook at home and full of extraordinary flavour. They also have the topping of dried fruits, cherries and cashews. Each bite is different. One day I will resist the dosa and order this. We also have the above mentioned fresh roti, I think they are $1.50 at lunch. Both the plain and garlic are stonking. I have been here in the evening and at lunch. I favour the lunch, not sure why.

Go here. The chef, she is a wizard. Mind popping delicious spices and unknowns, obviously freshly…read moreground, sliced, mixed creating delicious curries. Ive never eaten the equal in New Zealand. We always get the laksa and the goat bone-in. Highly recommend.

We were driving through Raumati Beach and we happened to come upon this place. Malaysian food in…read morethis small beach town just past Kapiti! Wow. Just our luck as we were getting hungry for lunch. The service was very friendly with Manikam as the manager on duty. We ordered their Nasi Minyak or as we would call it Nasi Biryani. It came with chicken, cucumber achar and papadum. I had the Nasi Lemak with the crispy chicken. It had sambal, anchovies, peanuts and cucumbers. The coconut rice was just right. Both plates were of generous portions, yet because it was so good we ate it all! If you are passing through don't miss having a meal here. It's truly authentically Malayam style.

Early dinner for two 5 pm Saturday was a tasty experience…read more Over the years, Little Penang's been on my rota when I'm in NZs capital city. Mom n pop shop, so to speak, limited hours, all prep in house no central commissary keeps to their basics hasn't changed much in 15 + years in my experiences. Maybe more employees and fewer family members on site than in days gone by? Dependable for authentic Chinese Malaysian cuisine, no frills, right price, quality at the price point = no complaints. May have slipped slightly from a 5 to a 4.2, new chef, someone retired, even an ownership change ? Still better than average; our two dishes: nasi goreng & seafood pork bones soup with rice noodles (daily special)accompanying a shared pot of Chinese tea@ 34 bucks = value in this market. Queued, ordered, paid, find own seating model, food and beverages follow in a short time. No personal attention. Self Serve water. Carry teapot to counter ask for boiling top up. Reasonable standard of cleanliness / comfort. Staff attitude is okay, no idle chitchat, just the facts mam, not a place to hang about; eat n go type o experience. Overall a 3.6 rounded up to 4 stars for authenticity/ value. Suggest y'all try several menu items as I've never been disappointed. Recommended.

Are you tired of the same old bland food? Do you crave something that will make your taste buds…read moredance ? Look no further than Rasa, the Malaysian gem of Wellington. Also, one of the only places that are open later in the night.. This tiny restaurant is a hidden treasure that you don't want to miss. We were fortunate enough to grab a table without waiting for hours. The service was impeccable, and the staff were very friendly. Now, let's talk about the star of the show: the curry Laksa. The Laksa was perfectly seasoned and just to the level of spice that I wanted. . The broth was so flavorful that I wanted to lick the bowl. Great find!

Their lunch special was a hard deal to beat. It's a small, cozy restaurant right off Cuba street…read moreand it's pretty unassuming. We were immediately seated and looking at the menu, I think they were more of a Southern Indian than Malaysian restaurant in my opinion. I got the Ayam Panggang, which tasted nice, but the peanut sauce accompanying the dish was gritty. Quick service for a cheap meal though, so we were glad we ducked in for a nice lunch!

This is a franchise chain for Malaysian food owned by A Malaysian started in 2006. It now has…read morebranches in Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, China, South Korea and even in the USA. So can a franchise chain have good Malaysian food? Well this one is not bad for a franchise business. We tried their Hainan Chicken Rice, the Nasi Biryani Special with fried chicken, roti bom (sweet version for desert) and prawn Mee soup. All were very tasty except that the Penang Prawn Mee soup was somewhat watered down. As we would say... the taste was too adjusted for the western palette. Needed more "heako" or prawn paste! The unfortunate thing was that when I picked up our order, I did not check to package and found that I had taken Bill's take out order! Called the restaurant and they apologized for the mix up and remade my order at no extra charge. That left us with Bill's dinner choices as extra! He ordered the roti with chicken tandoori, seafood curry Mee or laksa noodle soup and paparich special Nasi Lemak. Wow! We were set with Malaysian food all the way through the next day. Food was just great! Thanks Paparich!

Although I would give the food a 3-4 * the customer service past the front manager, with the…read moreyounger employees was so disrespectful that I am wondering why I did not leave before eating my food! Knowing that the restaurant closes at nine we arrived at 8. No mention or any feeling of rush by the possible manager of the facility. Afterward it all started! As we hand over the list of the food request this employee tells us the dessert i.e. ice cream will be in with your food as the kitchen closes at 8:30. Okay we agreed. Desert comes in within 5 minutes (after two back to back inquiries of the ice cream flavor). We finish the desert. 10 minutes into it food is still not on the table but the bill has been sitting there! The other employee goes after our food when he sees the empty dish... Food comes in finally, satay was not the best but the chicken curry was okay... not a great experience even tho the employee who noticed the mix up of the order tried to be apologetic! Next time I'll need to observe negative reviews on Yelp!

Very good Indian food. They had fried cauliflower which I've…read morenever had before and it was outstandingly delicious. Cannot wait till I find such a delicious thing again

One of the best Indian restaurants we've been in in a long time. The chicken dosa was fantastic…read more Lovely classy atmosphere. Highly recommended!!!!!!!