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Sneak Peek East Passyunk's Next Malaysian Food Destination

A first look at the menu highlights to be served.

Saté Kampar, East Passyunk's impending Malaysian BYOB, is opening for dinner service come January. Eater recently caught up with owners Ange and John Branca to create a menu preview. Why? Because many of the items they'll serve are not common in Philadelphia, and it's possible that a lot of these dishes will be delicious. While the bible-long menus in Chinatown's Malaysian restaurants have done a great job of introducing the cuisine to this city, Saté Kampar will delve deep into the age-old recipes, with only a small menu of saté (bamboo-skewered marinated meat grilled over coconut shell charcoal) and lauk (family style dishes meant to share) prepared and served like they would be in a Malaysian household: on imported Malay tableware, set with a fork and spoon, as is tradition.

Here now, a preview and primer of what's to come:

Nasi Lemak Bungkus

nasi bungkus

A banana leaf pyramid that unfolds to a steamy mogul of rice, anchovies, sambal, peanuts and a hard boiled egg is a table mainstay, meant to be picked at throughout your meal.

Beef Rendang

beef rendang

Beef rendang, a staple in many of South Philly's Indonesian kitchens, is prepared a bit differently in the Malay cuisine. Silkier and almost stew-like, Branca's Malaysian rendang is slowly simmered for six hours with turmeric, ginger, and galangal.

Nasi Ulam

nasi ulam

Nasi Ulam is virtually a rice salad, its herbaceous zing serving as a quick palate cleanser between bites of bigger flavors. Blue rice, made with blue-pea flower grown for the restaurant (or in its absence, turmeric rice), is plated with a mix of fresh herbs and bean sprouts, dried fish, a puffed fish cracker, and a coconut cream-based sambal to bring it all home. The term "sambal" basically translates to sauce — anything that dresses, spices, or tops something else.

Sarawak Laksa

sarawak laksa

Japan has ramen, Vietnam has phở, and Malaysia has laksa. Saté Kampar will offer a laksa from the Sarawak region of Borneo, where only two families in Malaysia know the recipe to its curry paste. Branca will be recreating the curry paste, mixing it with a coconut milk broth, stirring in thin vermicelli, bean sprouts, shrimp, omelette strips, and fresh herbs.

Kopitiam - "Coffee House"

kopitiam

There's a method to a Malaysian coffee house's madness. A certain vernacular is used when ordering. Saté Kampar will offer the many preparations of coffee and tea, from kopi-c-ais (coffee, evaporated milk, ice), to kopi-o (coffee, black). In addition, expect pulled teas (tea poured from a distance for some sweet frothiness), house sodas made with Ribena, a black current cordial, and even Milo, a chocolate drink masquerading in Malaysia as a nutritional energy drink, but more akin to something like a Yoohoo.

Saté Kampar

1837 East Passyunk Avenue, , PA 19148 (267) 324-3860 Visit Website