Rasarumah

Rasarumah Review: Spicy Chicken Wings Run the Show at This Sleek Los Angeles Malaysian Joint  | Eater LA

"A modern Malaysian jewel in Historic Filipinotown, this latest restaurant from Pearl River Deli chef Johnny Lee (with Last Word Hospitality) delivers punchy, sour, and peppery flavors in a midcentury modern–meets–Art Deco space with muted colors and orb lights. Make a reservation and expect attentive service, a small but mighty wine list, and snacky starters like shrimp chips and ayam berempah (Malaysian-style fried chicken wings swathed in a sweet chile sauce); for fried chicken fanatics, the chile-spiked wings are the star—crispy, spicy, tangy, and sour from dried chiles, tamarind, sesame, ginger, and pickled serranos. Mix and match tangy solo skewers of chicken, pork jowl, and red radish, with a $30 sampler (two of each) that makes sharing easier, then finish with the shrimp-chip-pocked gado gado and whatever fried fish graces the menu (previously whole fried snapper, now you might find a fried yellowtail collar). The menu also includes banana leaf–steamed black cod with sambal, herbs, jasmine rice, and crispy shallots; chicken and pork jowl satay; and wagyu beef cheek rendang with roti bread. The small bar works for pairs, while larger groups should try for the cavelike banquettes to the right when you walk in, and a custom backlit sign changes its message regularly; street parking can be tight, but after 5 p.m. the small lot next door is fair game." - Nicole Fellah