Where to go for the best Malaysian food in Manchester

A blink-and-you’ll-miss-it spot in Hazel Grove in Stockport, Bunga Raya has a hand-painted sign out front, grandma-style floral tablecloths and the sort of incredibly specific opening hours which make it feel as if you are truly in an authentic, family-run joint. Warm and comforting seafood dishes take centre stage, like their udang rendang curry or crispy sweet and sour fish. There’s also an array of veggie and duck dishes, which you can supplement with delightful snacks like fried tofu with peanuts and chilli, and chicken dumplings. Be sure to check out opening times before hand to avoid a disappointing trip, they tend to just open between 6pm and 10pm. 

Word on the street is that if you are in pursuit of great food in Oldham, you ought to get yourself down to Gossip. Serving up a combination of Malaysian and Thai cuisine, Gossip are all about authentic recipes domed high on your plate, home-cooking style. While they might not score points for neat execution, it’s the flavours that really do the talking. The menu is weighted equally between the two neighbouring cuisines, but if it’s specifically Malaysian dishes you desire, you’re in luck – there are salads, noodle dishes and vegan options galore. We’d recommend starting off with the murtabak, which is spiced mince in a roti parcel, or a comforting chicken broth loaded with fresh choi sum. There’s even a comprehensive Malaysian burger menu featuring the benjo, which is served with a fried egg and a traditional chilli sauce. 

Until the summer of 2023, Chinatown didn’t have a traditional Malaysian restaurant. Kaya came along and changed all that. Owned by Juliet Moo, who recently moved to Manchester from Malaysia, the menu is full of classics like nasi lemak, prawn laksa, and char kuey teow fried rice noodles as well as their must-try speciality – flaky curry puff pastries. Food is served in the sort of minimal, canteen-like surroundings that ensure you’re in for a special experience. The name Kaya refers to a kind of green coconut jam that is traditional in Malaysia, you can get this jam on a thickly buttered sandwich too, best enjoyed washed down with a pot of Kopi tea. An top-tier addition to Chinatown’s new guard, along with the likes of Noodle Alley and Pho Cue.

If you try to research Sambal online, one of the things you will be immediately struck by is that the food is quite hot. Hot enough for actual Malaysians to be pleasantly surprised about. Sambal is, fittingly, a chilli paste used extensively in Malaysian cooking, so they aren’t shy or retiring about the heat – you have been warned. Seek this place out (it’s nestled between a newsagents and a Chinese takeaway on an unassuming stretch of Chorlton’s Barlow Moor Road) for crispy and tender satay, perfectly flaky roti, a punchy fish fry and all sorts of variations on Malaysia’s national dish, nasi lemak – coconut rice layered with a curry of your choice, fried anchovies and peanuts and topped with a fried egg. A word to the wise: there’s no shame in asking for a milder heat if that’s your preference. They won’t mind a bit.

This colourful Didsbury spot serves mainly Filipino food, but there are tonnes of Malaysian flavours in the mix too. Founded by Zos Fulwell and Yen Tham, Yes Lah is a bright and relaxed cafe which celebrates an array of Asian dishes both sweet and sour, their neon green pandan cheesecake and bright purple ube cream cake being joyous examples of such. On the savoury front, you can tuck into bao, rice bowls and fusion dishes served on mix-matched vintage crockery for full kitsch-factor. We challenge you to not come away smiling.

While the sign may read ‘Authentic Thai Chinese Kitchen’, you can find flavours from all across South East Asia in this long-standing Prestwich spot. So you’re as likely to find a Thai green curry or a sweet and sour chicken as you are a panang-style lychee curry or a pla sam rod, which is fish fried in an intriguing ‘three flavour sauce’. If you’re open to more adventurous flavours but are dining with people who like to stick to the classics (or vice versa), Tuk Tuk is one to try immediately. Of course, the nasi goreng is absolutely spot on.