Kedai Makan

Amazing!!! From the net bread, to the «chili» and «ribs» it was all delicious!!! When in Seattle this place is worth waiting in line!

I’m Malaysian and have feasted on Malaysian food all my life. So how does Kedai Makan fare for a Malaysian?
The roti jala + lamb curry was excellent. The texture of the roti jala was perfect, and the curry was done well. Portion was also decent.
The chilli pan mee however was somewhat disappointing. Kedai Makan is generous with the meat, which is good, but overall it was too wet, there weren’t enough crunchy anchovies and the taste was overpowered by too much soggy fried onion.
I’ve eaten the original chilli pan mee in Malaysia at the restaurant who created/​invented the dish itself! So maybe I’m spoiled having enjoyed the best of pan mee dishes around Malaysia, but honestly, the quality is just average. In Malaysia, Kedai Makan’s would be slightly below average even. Still, good attempt on recreating this dish here. The accompanying soup/​broth, if authentic, should be a sweet shoot egg drop soup.
The nasi biryani had very generous portions of fried chicken. Normally in Malaysia you get only one to two pieces of chicken, not four. So that’s good. They got the spices right on the chicken too, but would do better with slightly lesser flour. The rice was alright — it’s not the common biryani you usually get in Malaysia which is the Indian style. Kedai Makan’s nasi biryani lends from both Peranakan (baba nyonya) and Penang instead. And again, it was good except that it had too much fried onion, which overpowered the entire dish again.
Overall, it’s a Malaysian-​inspired place that has been adjusted to fit the local tastes. It’s not authentically Malaysian, and the menu is just a tiny fraction of what Malaysian cuisine is. Service was good, the décor obviously had a hipster vibe, and portions are good value. I really wanted to love this place, but honestly, I’d had expected more because of all the rave reviews here.
Tip to Kedai Makan: Lay off the liberal fried onion, you’re ruining perfectly good dishes!

So Good.
Roti jala was good, spicy frog legs were reminiscent of szechuan exploded chicken really enjoyable. Squid & cabbage salad was nice and crunchy. Highlights were the whole mackerel with rempah & «Malaysian style» biryani. Service was friendly, don’t leave without trying the black rice pudding with coconut ice cream.

My fiancé and I are going to Malaysia for our honeymoon in August, so we thought it would be fun to get a taste of some of the food we might expect. We were promptly seated and our waitress was pretty attentive.
I ordered the Chili Pan Mee. The waitress explained how I should go about eating the dish. It was perfect! The homemade noodles were so yummy. I wasn’t sure about the anchovies, but I really enjoyed them.
I felt like the food was fairly priced, although the beer was overpriced.
All in all, had a wonderful meal and I left full!

As a Malaysian, how can I miss Kedai Makan in states! I ordered Nasi biryani & my husband ordered braised duck noodles and spicy frog leg. I felt my Nasi Briyani already change to a lot of United States style instead, because the fried chicken more than the rice (?) sorry! Haha because in Malaysia we always big bowl of rice with one piece of chicken.
Braised duck noodles and frog leg is awesome!

O. M. G.
First time here, and had heard lots of really good things from other people. Their opinions didn’t let me down! The service and food was exceptional. It was nice to try some really different food as well which you cannot generally find around town.

Tried Malaysian food for the first time here and I was definitely a fan!!! This place serves up a huge plate of food and I was definitely impressed. Would definitely visit again :)

Went here in a spur of the moment– craving something asiatic –moment and boy! We’re our expectations exceeded! The atmosphere of the restaurant was very inviting, and right off the bat, we could tell we were in for some good food based on the crowd waiting to get in on a Wednesday night. We sat at the last two available seats at the bar and ordered a turmeric raider and a cucumber soda to start. They’re drinks unlike any you’ve tasted. They were refreshing and healthy-​tasting. Upon recommendation, we ordered the roti with lamb curry for an appetizer and decided within the first bite that we’d found our new favorite spot in Seattle! It was delicious! For dinner, we ordered the biryani with fried chicken and poured the side of daal curry over the rice… Basically, we devoured the entire thing within minutes. It was amazing.
I love going to restaurants where, despite having never been, everything you’re recommended is delicious! Furthermore, our food was brought out really quickly despite the crowd and without skimping on quality.
Definitely returning!

First time here. Heard lots of good things. Did not disappoint. Portions are big. Service was great. Food is spicy and they made sure our water glasses were full. Food is full of flavor.
We ordered the roti jala with lamb curry, chili pan me, nasi goreng kambing & Malaysian style nasi biryani ayam. I highly recommend them all. Will definitely be back.

I don’t know who they paid off to review them after they moved but it is crap. crap! I’m glad I ate as much as I did from the old location because I miss it.
So say hello to the Cheese Cake Factory of Malaysian food. What do I mean by that? The CCF has approximately 9838 dishes but basically 8763 of them have butter and shallots as the base of the meal. So all the dishes taste the same and the noodle /​rice dishes at kedai makan have followed suit. You can tell they setup the menu so that all the food is built off of the same basic prep so that they could produce everything quickly.
Oh and the dishes are so bland you’d think we were in ohio. I’ve never had such nothing tasting noodles in my life. Been back three times since they have moved hoping to see improvement, but
If I had one nice thing to say, the space looks really nice. It’s not cookie cutter trendy. Someone actually put some thought into creating an evocative warm space.

This restaurant had never been on my radar, but after my friend from Malaysia recommended the food I knew I had to give it a try. I was unsure what to expect from a Malaysian restaurant (having never had Malaysian food before) but ended up loving the blend of Indian and Chinese flavors.
First let me warn, Kedai Makan does not accept reservations and will not seat anyone in your party without having the whole party there. We ended up meeting a friend at the bar and getting seated rather quickly, but there was a considerable crowd gathering outside.
The food was very unique and well priced for the level of quality. I ordered the fried chicken which came on a generous bed of flavorful yellow rice (saffron?) and was complimented with sides of curry, pickled veggies, a flavorful white dressing, and papadum. All the flavors were exceptional, especially when paired with each other. This followed a shared appetizer of seasoned crepes dipped in curry sauce and a round of pandan vodka lemonades that were unusual but delightfully refreshing. We ended the meal with the black rice pudding with coconut ice cream. The portions were so large nobody could finish their dish.
The food was not only exceptional, we all walked away feeling like our money went a long way. Each person had a well-​poured cocktail and a generous entrée, and the table split an appetizer and dessert. The total came to around $ 30 per person with tip.

Not for impatient people or those who can’t handle spice! I tried this place on a Friday evening with some friends who have raved about the place since it was just a walk up window. We knew there would be a wait (hostess told us it would be about an hour and would text us) but it was actually two hours. It’s a good idea to hang out near the restaurant to wait. We left to get coffee and came back and decided to check with the hostess. After giving some intense stares at a party that was just chatting after they had paid their bill for about 20 minutes, we were able to get seated. The reason why I think you should wait around instead of rely on the text is because we got a text AND phone call from the hostess when we were halfway through our meal. Apparently they did not track that we were seated.
Food is definitely spicy! I consider myself to be able to handle medium spiciness but it was tough being able to eat everything simply because of the spice. The roti jala (net bread) is very unique and delicious with the lamb curry. It really is a net but the bread is so soft, it’s like a cloud that you just smother in the curry. The vegetarian one was okay — I preferred the strong lamb flavor. I recommend you just get one order for 4 people. The entrees are HUGE.
For my entrée, I got the nasi goreng kambing which is fried rice with lamb and an egg. This is SO delicious and enough to last two meals. It felt quite heavy to me though. Very salty, very sweet, very spicy, oily… a lot is going on at once. The flavor is very unique and unlike anything I’ve had. The lamb is not overpowering and there is a good amount of vegetable too, I also like the runny egg. I would recommend asking if you can get it less spicy.
Overall — great food, I would love to come back and try more but I can see it being better if you just order take out. It’s quite small and service is as good as a mediocre restaurant, but not stellar, so trying the food outside the restaurant may be your cup of tea. Prices are really reasonable for what you get.

Bottom Line — The restaurant is small, so there may be a wait, but it’s worth it. The pork belly is my favourite dish. The roti jala with net bread is also A+. Make plans to eat here!
My friends and I came for dinner, and were told there was about a 30 minute wait. No prob! It ended up being an hour wait, but the food made up for the longer than expected wait.
We ordered:
Roti jala (net bread) — This was really really good. The bread was more similar to an Ethiopian bread than the normal roti Indian bread that you would imagine. It was very good. I wished there was twice the amount of the bread, though.
Clay pot Tau Yew Bak — I ordered this pork belly dish; it was cooked in a sweet soy sauce, with an egg and fried tofu. Rice and yu choy were on the side. There was a really good amount of pork belly in this dish. I really want to eat it again as I type this a week later. Yum!!!
Singapore tofu curry noodles — My friend ordered this, but I don’t think it was what he was expecting. The only Asian food he’s used to is Thai, other than that, he only likes Mexican and pizza, so I wouldn’t trust his judgment too much ;) The dish looked really good to me, though!
Malaysian style nasi biryani ayam — My friend ordered this fried chicken on top of basmati rice. He said it was one of the best fried chicken he’s ever had. It looked really good, and I saw several tables eating this dish.
Overall, this was an A+ experience both service and food. I am trying to gather a few friends so I can come back!

I had heard great reviews of Kedai Makan’s relatively new sit-​down location, from friends and various Seattle food blogs. The buzz is apparent, as there was a half hour wait even on a stormy Sunday evening around 8. They have a text/​app system where you can put your number down and track your progress in line for a table. I was a little put off when I first arrived, as the host at the door didn’t seem friendly and really just seemed overwhelmed by the number of people that were hovering by the door waiting. There seemed to be a little bit of attitude — «Ugh, here are MORE people coming to our restaurant. Exhausting.» It’s not their fault that their restaurant is busy on a Sunday night, but the lack of friendly service was definitely noticed. Luckily, there were seats at the bar that opened up about 5 minutes after we got there.
I hesitated between 3 and 4 stars for this restaurant, because the food is definitely tasty. There are just a few kinks that still need to get ironed out. We ordered the malay roasted peanuts, and the roti jala with dhal curry to start. The food here exemplifies the best of Southeast Asian cooking; very savory and highlighted by spices. While I have had roti bread before, I had never tried the Malaysian roti jala, or «net bread». The portion size was huge, and looked pretty cool in a lacy pattern over the plate. I was surprised that the bread was doughy and soft. It went well with the dhal curry as a dip.
For my entrée, I ordered the chili pan mee, which is a noodle dish with broth on the side. The poached egg in this dish was a perfect texture, and the flavor was extremely well developed with elements from the ingredients (ground pork and anchovies, to name a few) along with the savory broth. I was worried this dish would be overly salty. It definitely wasn’t, and I enjoyed this dish a lot. It almost reminded me of a Burmese tea leaf salad, with many ingredients that are mixed together to form a harmonious and flavorful whole.
Overall, I think Kedai Makan brings a unique cuisine to the Seattle dining scene, and I was glad to have the opportunity to try it. However, I think it’s slightly over-​hyped right now, which definitely has an adverse effect on service and wait times.
I also agree with Chris M’s review below — where the heck is the phone number for this place? I knew this place would be busy, so I wanted to call in advance and see how long the wait might be or to see if we could make a reservation. No such luck, and it’s probably the first restaurant I’ve ever encountered that literally doesn’t have a number listed.

I love this place!!! People here are terrific. It’s usually pretty busy so expect a wait. But you can leave your phone # at the front and they’ll call you back so you can wander around Cap Hill.
The dishes I tried:
Chili pan mee — the menu says it’s wheat noodles with meat and chili sauce etc. but it really should be meat with wheat noodles since this is significantly more meat than your typical noodle dish. Really savory and absolutely lovely. Don’t worry about the heat since you can add the spice as you go. The chili pan mee also comes with a sipping broth that is a nice refresher.
Roti Jala — Net bread with curry. This is a really fun appetizer to try. The net bread is like the lovechild of a crêpe and funnel cake. The lamb curry that goes with this is delicious on it’s own merit, with appreciable chunks of lamb.
Kerabu timun nanas — cucumber salad with pineapple and fish sauce — its refreshing, sweet, and savory. A really nice bite between mouthfuls of curry and noodles.
Nasi ayam — roast chicken. Simple but perfectly executed. The chicken was juicy and tender with smoky flavors from the roasting. The accompanying chicken broth was simply chicken broth — 1000x better than anything you’d get from the supermarket. Comparable to something you might make if you made your own chicken stock. It also came with rice on the side, which I found a little salty since the chicken was already delicious on it’s own. But it was terrific.
The nasi goreng was certainly delicious, but I didn’t find it too exciting. If you looove fried rice, you won’t be disappointed, but it’s not too exciting.

I had a positive experience Sunday night at Kedai Makan. This was my first time trying Malaysian food, so I can’t exactly tell how authentic the cuisine is. I can say that the food is pretty delicious and reminds me of a lot of my mom’s southeast Asian cooking.
Sunday night’s wait time wasn’t too long. I was meeting a friend there and the wait for a table for two was no longer than 10 – 15 minutes. I was able to try the roti jala (lamb curry opt), chili pan mee (stir noodles with ground pork and dried anchovies) and nasi goreng kedai (Malay fried rice with the tofu opt). All the dishes were oh so flavorful! The chili pan mee had a subtle sweetness to it for me and it definitely for peeps who don’t mind the taste of dried fish. Its also a great dish for those who aren’t too into spicy –They put the chili paste on the side, so you can decide how spicy you want. The nasi goreng kedai was also really tasty! Its like an ooey gooey fried rice. But I’d have to say that I was wowed by the roti jala. The curry was at a right level of spiciness and had chunks of tender lamb. –I don’t even like lamb, but I’d definitely come back solely for the lamb curry!
The service was great. I had two different servers and both were very friendly. They didn’t rush us out even though the place gets slightly packed and one of them even noticed that I left without the leftovers and reminded me before heading out the door.

Kedai Makan is a Malaysian restaurant that has superb food and a lovely atmosphere.
The four of us met here for dinner. My friend that picked the place had been to a food stand they had, but not the restaurant. She raved about the food, so we were all excited.
The menu is short with 5 appetizers, and there are just two desserts, a coconut shake and bubur hitam, the rice pudding. The nonalcoholic menu is really short, but they serve two flavors of San Pellegrino — hooray.
I ordered the Nasi Ayam which is chicken and rice. My boyfriend ordered Singapore Tofu Curry Noodles which is Cantonese, two stars spicy and comes with a fried egg. My two friends ordered the Seafood Curry Mee which is a seafood soup and also net bread that came with curry with half of a hardboiled egg and lamb to share.
My boyfriend loved his dish and asked me a couple times to try it because he liked it so much. He was full halfway through the entrée and took the rest home and scarfed it down for breakfast the next day. He told me a few times throughout the night how good the food had been and how good he felt from it.
My friends loved the soup, going on and on about it. The bread came with some kind of sauce that one said was like a tzatziki. The soup was huge and they were glad to be sharing it. I don’t know how one person could have finished it!
The chicken and rice came out to me on two plates. The waitress asked if I’d had it before, and when I said no, she explained to me what everything was. The chicken comes out still on the bone in this lovely sauce and is like a BBQ chicken. The cold cucumber slices that are with it match great. The other dish has rice with a cleansing broth that had slices of green onion and felt really good. The fresh ginger and soy were great with the rice. I didn’t try the chili sauce; not a fan of hot and spicy.
We weren’t checked on once during the entire service after the food was served. My boyfriend flagged someone down to refill his beverage, and then we never saw another employee until the check arrived. The server who did the refill wasn’t happy and didn’t say a word. Our waitress was pleasant but didn’t introduce herself or do anything to make it a memorable experience on her part.
This is a small to medium sized restaurant. The host stand is slammed against the kitchen, right next to the front door were people are huddled, waiting to be seated. Expect a long wait. A party of four who arrived after we did were told it was an hour wait. It’s noisy, but the food is worth it. The walls are painted green with party lights strewn around the room with dark wood tables and chairs.
Reservations aren’t accepted. Note that you must have all of your party present to be seated, but not to put your name down to wait for a table. Two of us were early and then two were late, so we missed our first table but the hostess let us in for the next table available for our party size. She will take your cell number and text you when the table is ready.
Some logistics to be aware of here. They are closed on Tuesdays. Parking is terrible in this neighborhood. You’ll be driving around for a long time to find a spot on the street somewhere within a 5 block radius or just drive up to the parking garage on Harvard & Pine and hoof it over to here. Also, the front door of Kedai Makan swings open 4 feet into the host stand and people will not move out of the way so move slowly and repeat 20 times «excuse me» so they will get a clue and move so they aren’t knocked in the head by the door and you can walk in.
Food: 5
Service: 2.5
Parking: 1
Ambiance: 4

This place has been on my bookmark for a while, had to work late, was in the area and decided to grab some dinner on the way home. I wasn’t sure if I wanted Indian, Thai or Chinese for dinner… then I thought I’d check this place out as it seemed like a perfect mix of all three.
I just did take out because I preferred to eat in my pajamas that night.
Friendly greetings as I walked in, nice gentleman was helpful with explaining the menu etc. Nice looking place, a small bar area, an average amount of tables that I could see and the wonderful smell of delicious food that was cooking.
I ordered the Roti Jala (net bread) with lamb curry for dipping. Oh my! This was really good! The roti was crêpe like, thin, kinda looked like a bunch of noodles stuck together. Grab a piece, dip it in the curry! Lamb curry was flavorful, spicy, perfect accompaniment and just very tasty.
Also, I ordered the Nasi Goreng Kedai: it’s Malaysian fried rice. It had a good amount of tofu chunks, some bean sprouts, some caramelized onion bits, with a fried egg on top. Very flavorful, a good sized portion, and I liked they put fresh cucumber on the side as well. Would definitely get this again!
Can’t wait to come back and try more of their dishes. Staff was great, if you do take-​out, they will take your number down and text you when ready. Prices were great, didn’t seem overly expensive. Overall, the food was tasty and glad I came by.

Kedai Makan is possibly the only Malaysian restaurant in Seattle (if you don’t count the one in Redmond.)
They have a weird seating rule here. 1. They don’t take reservations. 2. They don’t allow you to sit at a table unless your ENTIRE party is here.
I was having a family christmas eve dinner but I wasn’t allowed to sit at a table because of one guest missing. I tried to ask the hostess to allow it but she said she couldn’t because the restaurant had to cater to other guests who would maximize the seating capacity and she wasn’t sure if my guest was going to flake or not. The restaurant was barely full and more than half the tables were available. I ended up eating half my meal at the bar.
The food tastes pretty authentic. Some were pretty good and some were so — so.
Tripe satay — Could be passed, satay tastes better with chicken or lamb as the choice of meat. The curry was tasteful though.
Roti Jala — One of the most unique roti I’ve ever had. It was weaved like a basket and quite fun to eat. The sauce was a kicker, very true to Malaysian cuisine.
Kerabu Taugeh — Least favorite starter, plus this dish is not Malaysian at all.
Roast Pork Noodles — The noodles were my least favorite. It was way too much noodles and too little pork belly. The pork belly tastes like the crispy pork belly from Cantonese cuisine. Same for the noodles, they tasted more like lo mein or spaghetti.
Singapore Tofu Curry Noodles — Another dish that should be passed, flavors weren’t exciting and again the noodles leaned toward spaghetti.
Nasi Lemak — The shrimp and the curry is the main spotlight in the dish, probably my favorite entrée out of everything I tried.
Ayam Panggang — The chicken was a little dry and it could be a bit more spicy.
P. S. This was the first Malaysian restaurant I’ve been to that’s not own by Malaysians. I read about the restaurant owners and turns out they’re a couple of chefs who wanted to cook Malaysian cuisine, they did some research on trip to Malaysia for inspiration.
This place is kind of hipster, the atmosphere feels trendy and the food is gentrified Malaysian street eats.

Finally got to try the sit down restaurant since they opened. I continue to love this place! It’s one of my favorite food spots in Seattle. Although I loved everything we ordered this last time I went I have to say I am so bummed that they don’t offer the crispy, flaky roti like they used to with their dhal :(it was one of my favorite things! However you must try their Dahl it is a solid win!
My friend and I ordered the Roti Jala which was something new to me. I like the «net like» bread interesting texture and great for dipping into the delicious Dahl.
Next we ordered the Singapore tofu noodles and Duck Noodle soup. SOOO GOOD. Great flavor on the noodles and also big enough portion for sharing. Duck noodle soup was perfect for a cold winter night. Shoot I would eat it in 80 degree weather too! It’s like comfort food. Deep, rich flavor and delicious duck meat. I recommend this for sure
To finish coconut milkshake! I got it to «share» but I basically drank the whole thing haha — so FYI it’s a «get your own» delicious! ;)
Love the décor and ambiance and the owners and staff are great!
Hope the rambler burger comes back!

After years of hearing about the food at Kendai Makan I had to try the new sit down restaurant. I hate lines and waiting, but the hour wait was worth it. You can put your name down and go get a drink at a nearby bar and they’ll text you when your seat is ready. Even though the restaurant is new, it has the charm and feel of a restaurant that’s been there for years. With the décor and smell you really feel like you’re in Asia.
The two standout dishes of the meal where the Chili Pan Mee, delicious noodles with ground pork, egg, chili sauce and sipping broth. Outstanding flavors! Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng Belacan — I don’t know how to pronounce it, but it’s incredible. Coconut rice with sambal, peanuts, crispy anchovies, fried egg and the best fried chicken in Seattle. Seriously, the fried chicken blows away Ezell’s, Heaven Sent, etc. It’s unbelievably crispy, but still juicy inside.
Also had the roti with lamb curry which was also very good. The roti was a bit different than I’ve had before with the texture being closer to a crêpe.
The service was great. Being my first time, the waiter took time explaining the dishes and how to eat them properly. Prices are very reasonable. I had a great time here and looking forward to returning soon!

I have never had Malaysian food before, but Kedai Makan was a fantastic introduction. The food had great flavors and spices. I would call it a mix between Indian and Thai food. It’s definitely unique and worth trying.
My favorite dish was the Nasi Goreng Kampung (fried rice with fried mackerel). It had this delicious flavor from the fish and I thought it was well seasoned. The fried egg on top just brought everything together. I had high hopes for the Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng Belacan. The description said coconut/​pandan rice. I thought it just tasted like regular jasmine rice. I expected it to be thicker and creamier with a nice warm coconut flavor. There were 3 pieces of fried chicken, which were good, but I wish there was just a little more or larger pieces. The Chili Pan Mee soup was very good. The broth had a wonderful light flavor and the hand cut noodles were wide and thick, which made it a very filling meal. This would be perfect on a cold Seattle day. The salads were nothing special, but the lamb curry roti was delicious! I wish I could have a big bowl of that savory curry.
Many of the reviews I read have said something along the lines of «they’ve moved into a much larger space». While it is true that this space is much larger than their previous establishment, which was a food stand, it is still small when comparing restaurant sizes. You are snug and there is only 1 large table for groups.
The food was reasonably priced, which was a bit surprising due to their location. I would assume the prices to be a bit higher since it’s in Cap Hill. I think it’s perfectly priced for the quality and portion of the food, but someone has to pay the rent.
I had a fantastic time trying out this new place and trying a new cuisine. I love that Seattle keeps expanding it’s diversity with food and I can see Kedai Makan doing very well.