Head to Jalan, Hong Kong’s newest Malaysian restaurant, for the vibe, the drinks and the authentic entrees, but perhaps give the mains the miss.
Malaysian food – to not love it is to not love life in all its delightful inclinations. The product of three bold culinary traditions lumped together through the indifference of colonialism, Malaysian cuisine is an ever-evolving symphony of flavours and textures in which the timeless and the avant-garde can coexist in harmony.
Now, Malaysian cuisine can be a prickly topic in my house; my significantly-better-half is Malaysian and like many of her compatriots, is rarely satisfied with home-style fare served anywhere other than…well, home. That’s a little tricky in Hong Kong, one of the most expensive cities in the world. Were restaurants here to serve the likes of Asam laksa at Kuala Lumpur prices, they’d go out of business before Happy Hour had even finished.
So, it’s with no small measure of trepidation that the Mrs and I head to Jalan, the newest Malaysian restaurant to open on Hong Kong Island – will her appetite for the flavours of home be sated, or will Jalan join the ranks of restaurants that are only mentioned in an eye-rolling curse-ridden mutter when she gets a hankering for real roti and rendang.

First impressions are promising; Peel Street has had a bit of a renaissance of late, in part due to bars like The Shady Acres, the patrons of which prefer to spill out onto the steeply inclined street than stay indoors (and with this weather why not?).
Jalan, the latest creation of Meraki Hospitality Group (they of nearby Uma Nota, which I’ll admit I’ve always found to be as douchey as dads in fedoras), is packed to the rafters, its long communal table a hive of conversation and interaction under an explosion of house ferns, its bar top abuzz with diners and cocktail shaking bartenders, while 80s Bahasa pop lingers in the background.
The restaurant doesn’t take reservations, but it’s not long until a couple of perches at the bar become available and we quickly snap them up and order a round of tongue looseners – an Aurora, a fun take on a tequila sunrise with Olmeca Blanco tequila, olive and rosemary syrup, lime, pineapple juice and a dash of red wine; and a Kir Royale, a classic libation of prosecco and creme de cassis elevated with lavender syrup and pear puree. The drinks are perfectly balanced, quickly made, and worthy of a visit even if you’re not famished.
Fortunately, we are. Jalan is all about Malaysian street food so, as you can imagine, the menu is heavy with small plates, rounded off with a handful of mains and sides. We kick off with beef rendang samosas; charred hamachi with green sambal, and, because we couldn’t pick one, both the LFC – Laksa Fried Chicken – and Jalan “satay” style chicken with peanut, coriander and housemade pickled cucumber.

The samosas (HK$90) are piping hot and pleasantly spicy, the beef rich but not to the point of being overbearing, the crisp pastry just thick enough to hold the triangle snack’s shape. While the tamarind dipping sauce offers a nice touch of sweetness, the samosas don’t really need a sidekick and are winners right off the bat. My Malaysian isn’t a beef lover but even these little parcels of bovine goodness get the old mouth-full-two-thumbs-up approval.
The hamachi is another clear winner, the thinly cut fish, doused in a sweet marinade of green sambal and kokum, literally melts in the mouth and while I might be hesitant to order this from a roadside shack in Penang or Malacca, it’s a great little bite here in SoHo.
The LFC (HK4135) is the perfect bar snack, the boneless chicken dusted with a spiced flour mix and cooked to perfection, with the crust offers a little crunch before revealing soft tender chicken within. Again, the laksa gravy on the side isn’t really needed, especially as it’s a little watery and sedate to serve any real purpose. It’s the same case with the satay; the meat is cooked perfectly (although we did feel the portion was a little small for the price point of HK$85) but the dipping sauce on the side is much closer to a dollop of Skippy’s than to the spicy complexity of a real satay sauce.

In terms of mains, things take a weird little detour, with the menu offering coconut prawn curry and fried flat noodles lumped beside a pork belly salad and, on the night of our visit, a special of fried rice with pork belly and pineapple. With the prospect of the menu mains not really grabbing us, we decide to go with the special, pleasing the hostess who obviously has a competition with the other staff to see who could sell the most portions.
While the dish is passable as a corner filler, it’s drenched in oil and lacks the inherent earthy smokiness you get from fried rice fresh from a hot wok. It’s also, I’m reliably informed’ not strictly Malaysian ‘street food’. Instead of reaching for the menu again, we return to the tried and tested, with more samosas and LFC, and another round of well-made drinks.
Jalan is a great spot, there’s no doubt, and while it might not be the kitchen Malaysian purists were hoping for, it still offers a playful approach to the spices and textures that make Malaysian cuisine such a crowd-pleaser. This, coupled with a great ambience, attentive and intuitive service, and a reasonable price point mean we’re likely to be back, if not for the odd mains, then definitely for the real Malaysian street soul entrees.
Note: This review resulted from a fully-paid meal without the restaurant’s knowledge.
For more Wining & Dining inspiration click here.