Okay, this isn't a review of their regular market stand but instead of Mandy's Sambal Shiok takeover of the Newman Arms kitchen on Saturdays for the next 5 weeks. There's only one thing on the menu and it isn't the Malaysian burger. Instead it's prawn curry laksa. Laksa is a spicy curry soup with noodles and a protein, in this case prawns. There are only 2 seatings per night and we went to the later of the two on the first night. Now I was expecting trouble, most times you head to a pop up with assigned seating times, if you're not in the first seating, it's not going to go well. But I was surprised, okay there was a little delay, but it was for about 10 minutes, nothing like the 45 I've had to endure at other places. Instead we were kept informed, and got some drinks in the pub (really charming - see my review later). Mandy greeted each one of us and we headed upstairs to the small dining room, where tables were laid out with name cards so that you knew which table you were assigned to.
The menu was short and sweet, your ticket got you your bowl of Laksa, and you could get separately starters of prawn satay and pandan ice cream. My parents - big fans of the cuisine - were happy.
Satay turned up and... it was beautiful, nothing like the skewers of chicken we were expecting. Nicely plated we didn't know what to make of it, until we put it in our mouths. Despite all of the deconstruction, the additional plating garnishes, once it was there, you had the unmistakable flavour of chicken satay. Unbelievable.
The Laksa itself was spicy, with two different types of noodles and way more prawns than I was expecting. The noisy room quickly turned quiet with only the sounds of slurping to break the silence.
Wines were ordered and served by one man who knew the history of each one he was serving. He partners with the pub quite frequently and was able to talk to us about the standard menu.
Noodles were finished and our pandan ice cream was served. I am not a fan of pandan, It's a leaf whose juice is used to flavour cakes and the like. For me, it's okay, but given the choice I would go for something else. I had no choice here... But it's a good ice cream and definitely homemade.
All in all, our meal was £60 including wine and extras. Not a bad evening. And I've now been back to have a go at the rendang burger from their stand. Really good! read more