I decided to write about Halia, no not the port town of Hermionis, in ancient Argolis at the mouth of the Argolic Gulf, but the freshest Malaysian restaurant in London.
The Halia restaurant was recommended to me by a friend. It only opened in April (2022), and is situated near to where I used to live in Westbourne Grove (near Notting Hill), some half a century ago. Halia, Incidentally, is the Malay word for ginger, and there are 160 species of ginger across Malaysia, which is one of the richest regions for ginger in South East Asia.
These are train-striking days in England. Journeys by train have become risky but, feeling excited about the prospect of sampling this fresh establishment I grabbed the proverbial train by the rail, navigated from my island hermitage, grabbed my Chinese Malaysian foodie partner who is currently studying in London (although I’m not quite sure who is Watson and who is Holmes) and rushed headlong to Bayswater.
There was no strain for the train to take travelling via Great Eastern rail, the London Underground, and following my hungry friend who in turn was following the ubiquitous Google Maps to Bayswater, London, which is anchored beside Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, the Peter Pan statue, Italian Gardens, and the Serpentine River et al.
Once we’d transversed the ‘Tube’ (the nearest ‘Tube’ or London Underground station is Bayswater, but Lancaster Gate is fairly near too) we, or should I really say that Google, found Halia at the rear of Whiteley’s shopping centre (circa 1911, with its La Scala staircase and beautiful glass dome). Halia is secreted away inside the Grand Plaza serviced apartments (which is, incidentally, part of ‘Felda’ or the Malaysian Federal Land Development Authority) and resides at Prince’s square, Bayswater.
And what a good idea that is, to build the prospective diner’s suspense and hone the building excitement of the Malaysian dining experience (that Halia certainly is) so that by the time the diner actually reaches the eatery, and are welcomed into a friendly dining hall reminiscent of the old, downstairs, Malaysia Hall, they are more than ready to dive into what is undoubtedly one of the best Malaysian food dining experiences in London.
There’s a fundamental challenge when opening a Malaysian restaurant outside of Malaysia, and that is in the representation of Malaysian food, of which there is a copious amount from the three major races (Chinese, Indian and Malay) as well as representations from tribal ethic communities.
It’s very difficult to have one restaurant covering such a rich diversity of truly authentic Chinese Malaysian food, alongside authentic Malay food because of the differing ethical/ religious stances. Malay Halal purity does not mix with Chinese cooking and the eating of pork products. This is why many Malaysian restaurants serve Halal compliant food (suitable for Muslims) and adjust their recipes (like Char Kuey Teow which traditionally is flavoured with pork fat) to the exclusion of the non-halal (haram). My favourite Char Kuey Teoh comes not with chicken, but duck egg beaten into the noodle dish, and kerang (cockles), but that’s a whole other story.
Many of London’s Malaysian restaurants serve the more traditional Malay beef soup, such as Sup Ekor (or oxtail soup). The best beef soup I've tasted was when I lived just outside the Malaysian bougainvillaea city of Ipoh. I had built a ‘bungalow’ in a small town called Malim Nawar and would travel in my old Rocsta ‘jeep’, in the evening, to Ipoh and its marvellous street market, with one stall specialising in beef soup. The trick was to get there just before the stall closed as the soup which had been, by then, boiling for several hours, became dense with taste.
My friend and I ordered Nasi Kandar (rice [nasi] with other dishes) and Wan Tan Hor seafood (rice noodles, mixed seafood and served in a thickened sauce). Well, what can I say? Both dishes were as authentic and any of its ilk that I’ve tasted in Malaysia, although in Malaysia you wouldn’t normally get scallops in the Wan Tan Hor (which is a variation on Mee Suah), nor would you get actual fish in the fish curry presented with the Nasi Kandar, so both were very good value in so doing.
As the restaurant is still ‘young’, there remains copious amounts of press interest still, and any day a prospective diner might be visiting may coincide with a videographer or random news hound turning up to spread the word. I’m glad. My only hope is that this restaurant may be able to maintain its current ambiance, and food excellence. It is fine just as it is, with its concentration on good food, served well, by staff who actually seem to enjoy being there.
As Arnold Schwarzenegger says in the 1984 science fiction film ‘The Terminator’, “I’ll be back”. There is so much more on the menu to taste.
