Of meat on skewers

If all else fails, we eat - that seems to be the motto for our Malaysian Society. It really doesn't feel at all like it's been a year since the rather disappointing end-of-year dinner in Melur last year. This year, we opted for the safer option - a meal at the tried and tested Satay House.

Satay House
13 Sale Place
London W2 1PX

With the name of the place being Satay House, I suppose a trip to the restaurant would hardly be complete without a round of satay. While not quite like the ones served in my favourite satay place back home, the mutton and chicken meat skewers were still good enough to satisfy the deprived. Served as a starter, we quickly dug into the tender chunks of meat served with peanut sauce. If anything, the little teaser that we got that night has made me miss the smell of satay being cooked over an outdoor grill with a man staying over it, fanning the flames.

"What's lamb mysore?"
I brought this up with Anusha upon going through the proposed menu the day before the dinner as lamb mysore has always been one of those dishes that I see listed on menus so frequently but have never really been able to identify. I quite liked my first real introduction to lamb mysore, regardless of how accurate a depiction of the real thing it was. This one was mainly a tomato-based dish, slightly on the sweet side and with a good helping of spices.

Ayam masak cili api. I have to admit that despite our constant complaints of the greasy food we used to get back in college, one of my favourite combinations was that of ayam masak cili api and salted egg. I remember how the salted egg used to play off the creamy richness of the chicken so well. This was a throwback to those days, except without the salted egg and perhaps with a little less oil involved.

Sambal tumis udang dan petai. This was probably one of my favourites for the night. While most people found it a little too spicy, I enjoyed the kick it had but then again, I've always had a soft spot for anything involving sambal petai.

We capped the night off with banana fritters and ice cream - again, one of those things that just tease your tongue and leave you missing those huge bags of banana fritters sold at the side of the road back home.

Food is generally good in Satay House, with everything being a fair representation of the sort of food we can get back home. The only gripes I have though is that everything is on the slightly expensive side and that portions are rather small. I suppose Malaysia does spoil us when it comes to things like this as a meal out would almost always guarantee leaving one feeling too full to move.