Ange and John Branca invested heavily into the idea of Saté Kampar, the brand new überauthentic Malaysian street food restaurant opening this Wednesday, February 10, at 1837 East Passyunk Avenue. Saté Kampar isn't Malaysian-inspired, nor is it a southeast Asian fusion — it's Malaysian through and through, from menu ingredients to the restaurant's stylings:
In the front window, the Brancas set up a small lounge area (perfect for "kopitiam") with banana leaf-shaped coffee tables dressed with deceivingly comfortable, very traditional Malaysian rope chairs, while the dining room's custom tables are topped with Malaysian Ipoh marble ("I may be biased, but I think Malaysian marble is the best in the world," says Ange), decked with traditional Malaysian school chairs. A mural by the neighborhood's famed muralist, Jared Bader, gets adorned with Malaysian window frames peeking onto a painted Jalan Alor food scene.
Despite being BYOB, Saté Kampar rocks a 10-seat bar meant for enjoying Malaysian coffee drinks, teas, sodas, and straw-pierced fresh coconuts. Around the bar, decorative antiques and tchotchkes are Malaysian-born, and the tableware is specific. Ask Ange, a wealth knowledge when it comes to Malay food culture, and she'll tell you all about how the plateware, with all of its distinguishing colors and emblems, came to fruition in Malaysia's street markets.
