Angie's Malaysian

My visit to Angie's Malaysian out on Edmonds was inevitable.  Well, naturally it was gonna happen since I love the cuisine.  Rather, so many of my friends (mostly from Brunei) either know the owners personally and/or have already been there, I was being recommended frequently.  So when Big D suggested we head there for lunch one day, it happened sooner than later.  Once inside the little eatery, we were warmly greeted by people who really seemed to care about their customers.

We started things off with an order of the Roti Canai.  When it hit the table, we were a little concerned with the lack of colour and blistering on the exterior of the roti.  Indeed our concerns were realized when we found the roti to be on the doughier side without the classic contrast in textures.  On the other hand, the curry dip was good being flavourful with a definite kick and background sweetness.  Next up, the Curry Laksa was pretty good.  We found the broth to have a balanced amount of coconut milk which ensured a certain level of aroma.  With a squeeze of lime, there was also an appealing acidity accented by just enough heat and sweetness.  One thing we would've liked to see was some shrimp and some more dried shrimp flavour in the broth. 

Our last dish, the Mee Goreng, also happened to be our favourite.  It was subjected to a good amount of stir-frying where there was carameliztion of flavours.  We liked how there was a restrained amount of sweetness from the ketjap manis which enabled the spiciness to come to the forefront.  With the good amount fried shallots, there was an extra layer of aromatics and crunch. The slippery noodles were toothsome while the ample amount of bbq pork added body to the dish.  Of course, this was not enough food to get a sense of the place, so Big and I returned along with Slick for more dishes, including the Pulot Panggang which was sticky rice filled with sambal, dried shrimp and coconut.  A touch dry, the sticky rice was definitely aromatic from the coconut milk, but was lacking in filling which resulted in a muted briny saltiness.

Next up, we tried the Hainanese Chicken featuring de-boned chicken thigh meat.  Being such, the meat was soft and super moist.  It was flavourful on its own with a mild soy essence.  The skin was buttery while underneath lay a small amount of gelatin.  One thing that could've been better was the rice as it wasn't particularly tasty on its own (despite the soy on the bottom of the plate). With a brief intermission from rice dishes, we had the Seria Kolomee with fish cake, BBQ pork, ground pork and fried shallots.  We enjoyed the aromatic shallots as well as a hint of sesame oil.  The noodles were slippery while still toothsome.  We felt there was enough impact without being reliant on salt.  I'm sure it would've been even better if we added the side of pickled peppers.

Putting Big D in charge of ordering means more food, so we also had the "national dish" of Malaysia - Nasi Lemak.  Sadly, this was the weakest dish of the bunch.  The rice was not particularly fragrant, in fact, it was rather dry.  Furthermore, they ran out of chicken leg and substituted it with a chicken wing (they did inform us of this).  Whatever the case, we thought they should've added another wing.  The side of sambal sauce was a somewhat mild, but still aromatic.  I wish there was more of it though. Moving onto a more fulfilling dish, the Curry Chicken was much better.  This was a fairly large portion featuring tender nuggets of chicken bathed in an aromatic and mildly spicy curry.  Overall, we enjoyed our 2 visits to Angie's.  There is room for improvement, but considering the price point, Angie's is definitely an option for those seeking Malaysian (with Brunei influences) cuisine in the area.

The Good:
- Nice family-run operation
- Reasonably-priced
- Some pretty good dishes

The Bad:
- Some dishes are small in portion size
- Further refinement is needed