C & R Restaurant, Bayswater

C & R Restaurant, is a Malaysian restaurant located in Bayswater. They also have a little cafe version in China Town. Me, D & M have been to C & R before, this is our local Malaysian food spot. Their food is spicy so be warned.

We ordered Singapore Laksa, Hainanese Chicken Rice and Nasi Lemak. For those who are unfamiliar with Malaysian food, nasi lemak is a good classic to go for. Nasi lemak is a rice dish cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaves. At C & R they serve their nasi lemak with sambal chilli, anchovies, archar, chicken curry, half a boiled egg and peanuts. The sambal chilli is onion and chilli based, almost like a chutney, slightly sweet, spicy and thick. Archar is a pickle, which is sweet and sour, C & R's archar has pineapple giving it sweetness and sesame seeds giving it a nuttiness. The dish as a whole is good, with a wide variety of tastes and textures.

Singapore laksa is a spicy noodle soup dish served in a massive bowl. This was delicious. Very spicy with intense flavour. It comes with fish cake, fish ball, prawns and fried tofu. The fried tofu soaks up the spicy soup so when you bite into it, it bursts full of spicy soupy goodness.

Hainanese chicken rice is boiled chicken, which has been boiled in chicken stock ensuring the chicken is not over cooked and tender and soaks in as much chicken flavour as possible. The rice served in Hainese chicken rice is also cooked in chicken stock. It has a slight sheen from the natural chicken oil and an intense chicken taste. The sambal served with the chicken rice is for me the star of the show bringing everything together. The sambal (not the same as the one served with nasi lemak) is spicy from the chilli but also fresh and zesty from the addition of lime juice. This brings together the mellow chicken and rice to life.    

The food at C&R will be spicy for some but there are other things on the menu on offer. However don't go here for the roti canai (Malaysian flatbread) as this comes out of a packet and there are other places in London serving freshly made roti canai. The decor of the restaurant is a little dated and could definitely do with livening up!!