Kancil

Last night, my friends and I wanted to have a slightly adventurous experience for a Friday night, so we went to a Malaysian restaurant called Kancil. The food was all really delicious, and the DIY cocktails were a fun and refreshing experience. My recommendation is the whiskey-based one with lemongrass and cilantro leaves. One downside was that we wanted to try the pork shanks, but they weren’t available that day. 😞 Still, everything we had was tasty, and I definitely want to go back and try more dishes!

A must-try Malaysian gem!🇲🇾 The cocktails were so fun and delicious! We each picked 2–3 elements from the cutest vintage box + our choice of liquor to create a drink tailored to our vibe!🍹⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ As for the food, I loved the Cucur Udang, crispy, flavorful, and that shrimp & chive combo was everything. The squid dish was also a standout, it even made me enjoy veggies I usually avoid!⁣⁣ p.s. the service was amazing! - @GoerToEat

Had a wondering dining experience here at Kancil. Everything was super good. Was here for the restaurant week deal, which included the appetizer, entree, dessert and alcoholic drink of your choice for $60. This was my first time trying Malaysian food so I was quite impressed with the flavors. The service was top notch. The waiter and waitress were super attentive. I will definitely be returning. I highly recommend it.

Food was okay, nothing really stood out to me besides the pork shank. It was very crispy and juice, the sauces it came with paired really well. All the other dishes we got were pretty mediocre in terms of taste and texture. Really was not wowed unfortunately. Used inKind gift cards bought at Costco, otherwise it’s a little too pricey for what it is.

The interior hasn't changed much from the prior restaurant experience, but the menu has. In some ways, the offerings increased in quality, but so have the price. The restaurant was eerily quiet/ empty for our visit - not even a bartender in sight. The spice is strong across the board and we found ourselves scraping the last bits of the dish

Have been craving Malaysian food and so happy there’s a location near me to get my laksa fix! Such a unique cocktail concept and a beautiful space! Perfect for a date, family dinner, or a girls night out! Can’t wait to come back soon!

The cutest restaurant on the UWS. I got the lamb shank and the fried rice without anchovies. The shrimp fritters were amazing. The waiters were also so kind. I will definitely recommend this spot to everyone I know.

First of all WOW I’ve never had Malaysian food and this place completely knocked it out the park for me! All of the food sounded unfamiliar to me and it felt like I was basically picking with a blindfold on but babyyyy let me tell you everything from appetizer to dessert was delishh😩

4 words. You.Have.To.Go. Love the ambiance. Love the music. Love the service. AND THE FOOD. The experience started with a box of spices. Pick one, and they'll customize a cocktail based on your preferences. Fun. Thoughtful. We ordered a bunch of things, and we loved all of them. Here are my favorites: Appetizer: Pulut Paggang--Grilled sticky rice with dried shrimp, wrapped in banana leaves. I can't stop thinking about the texture of the rice--it was spot on, which is harder to get right than you'd think. The dried shrimp were the perfect amount, adding flavor without taking over the rice's aroma. Entree: LaLa Bee Hoon (Vermicelli soup with clams)--LaLa means clams in Malaysia, and Bee Hoon means vermicelli. Generous amount of clams! The broth is very Malaysian. So flavorful! Dessert: Apang Balik--Malaysian pancake with peanut filing. Beautifully browned and not too sweet. Off-menu goodness: Try your luck and ask if they have the "fried quail." Think KFC, but elevated. Juicy, tender, and crispy! And it's topped with a delicious Malaysian relish. Sooo good! Restaurants like Kancil make NYC a magical place. Thank you for crafting these dishes with so much love and flavor! Can't wait to come back and try more menu items.

WOW (or WAU! haha), I am shocked by how good Kancil, and I'm Malaysian American. I went today for Lunar New Year dinner today and was thinking "no way they'll have yu sheng" but low and behold they had a special for it that day. This place skillfully refines traditional Malaysian flavors, imo making it more accessible to a wider audience. The Sarawak Laksa was great, with the perfect amount of heat for spice lovers like me. However, a friendly warning about the dish's spiciness would probably be appreciated for others. I enjoyed the Moon Light Hor Fun too, although it's below the laksa for me. I would've appreciated more wok-hei flavor, but that may be personal preference as my partner loved it as is. The side chili soy sauce made the dish more whole for me as it adds another layer of complexity (and heat!). For dessert, the Apam Balik was pretty good, albeit missing the traditional creamed corn I'm accustomed to, but I can't complain. I'm so grateful that there's a solid Malaysian option in the UWS. Can't wait to return and try everything else!

My meal was just fine, and kind of unmemorable. I had high hopes since this spot replaced WAU, which was one of my favorite restaurants, and is run by the same restaurant group. Unfortunately, I felt it didn't quite deliver. A friend and I shared the thunder tea salad and crispy tofu. The tofu was fine, with a creamy but very simple satay-type sauce and crispy texture, with tart pickled turnips on the side as a palate cleanser. The salad was somewhat disappointing, with the dressing a bit too light. The abacus beads were also just fine, almost like a taro gnocchi with some mushrooms and truffle oil dropped over top at the table. The portion felt a bit small, closer to the appetizer section in size. Overall, it was a savory dish with little else going on. My friend had the sung har yee mee, which he really didn't like (I didn't try this one). He mentioned the prawns were quite difficult to eat, and the flavors were mostly a miss. He also wasn't expecting the noodles to be in a broth, the menu doesn't make that clear. Finally, we shared the apam balik for dessert. This was tasty, with a nutty and chocolatey filling inside a fluffy pancake. The meal worked out to $60 per person, which is a bit overpriced, but somewhat comparable to the other higher end options in the neighborhood. I would have liked to see more vegetarian options and dishes with stronger flavors to justify the price tag.

I was pretty excited to try this spot after seeing it on Instagram, but I thought the food was kind of meh. Tea leaf salad - Really bitter, which was maybe the fault of the tea leaves themselves, but I felt that the dressing didn't do much to cut the bitterness Pulut panggang - Looked cool, and I thought it had interesting texture and solid flavor, but not mind blowing + really small Roti canai - This was def not what I was expecting when we ordered this (it's not your traditional flaky roti). I thought it was an interesting aesthetic they were going for, but the problem was that because of its shape with all the holes, there wasn't much bread... and the sauce to bread ratio was very high Laksa - I thought this was the best dish we had here. It was flavorful and didn't feel too heavy

Side note: This restaurant just opened a month or two ago with the first 400+ reviews for this spot being for Wau, their previous place with a different chef. I'm not sure why they did this (possibly to keep the high average) but whatever. Also outside of scarce toppings, the best dish by a mile here is the Sarawak Laksa. Solid are the Abacus Beads, ,Roti Jala, Pea Shoots, and Ayam Percik. Anyway, I went with a group pretty recently to this spot. The service was friendly and the food was alright with a couple notable good dishes, a couple dishes that were flavorful but worth the price, and a couple dishes I disliked. The price point is a bit high here even for an Upper West Side spot and in general if you're looking for a pricier Malaysian spot, I would recommend Rasa instead with also some cheap places just having better food also. We started with two appetizers. The better of the two definitely was the Roti Jala for $14 with lacy turmeric crepes and a curried vegetables dip. The crepes were as expected for the dish but the highlight was definitely the dip which was a slightly sour and somewhat spicy dip which had some eggplant and string beans I believe inside. The Pulut Panggang for $9 with grilled sticky rice (colored with butterfly pea flower) stuffed with dried shrimp in banana leaves was alright. I preferred the heavier shrimp flavor from other spots such as Kopitiam and this was tiny (but expected.) The best of the main dishes by a mile was the aforementioned Sarawak Laksa for $26 with shrimp, chicken, omelet, rice vermicelli, and spiced coconut broth. They could have given more shrimp but there was surprisingly also some type of fish cake in there (I didn't try as usually the cheaper stuff is made with cuttlefish.) There was otherwise a bit of chicken and shredded egg as well as a lot of noodles. The broth base which was easily my favorite part was this style entirely having much less coconut and was more on the shrimpy side. It was also quite spicy being above most of the table's heat tolerance but definitely not me and I found it delicious. I hope they don't tone it down as this was the one dish even with the faults which was better than Rasa among other spots. The popular Abacus Beads (or seeds) for $23 with taro root and pumpkin dumplings, mushroom duxelles, and kulim oil was different but tasty. The menu lists the unique oil as having a shiitake, truffle and garlic flavor and this was apparent with good umami. The taro dumplings (said abacus beads) had a very chewy fun texture. I would recommend this for sharing as it would probably be a bit too much as a solo dish. We also got Pea Shoots for $16 simply wok fried with vegetarian oyster sauce which was very tasty. The pea shoots were well flavored with a good texture and I would recommend them. The Ayam Percik for $35 with BBQ half Green Circle chicken, wilted Swiss Chard, and a turmeric lemongrass sauce was good. The chicken was cooked well and was pretty large for it only being half. The sauce had some good flavor from the lemongrass and the color was nice from the turmeric. The Climbing Tree Farm Pork Shank for $34 with lettuce and tortillas, Cinchalok chili, culantro chimichurri, and braising broth with rice ziti was fine. The presentation wasn't what I expected with there basically being a plain large pork shank that was mostly deboned though I got a tiny piece. I don't remember any "rice ziti" and the sauces were pretty tasty with the former being light and refreshing and the broth having a pleasant sour flavor. The Moon Light Hor Fun for $28 with shrimp, pork belly, cabbage, rice pappardelle, egg, and dark soy wasn't good mostly because of the noodles. There was entirely a lack of wok hei which was unfortunate as this was the primary ingredient as again, there weren't many shrimp. This reminded me in a bad way of their other spot Laut (I guess avoid any noodles at either place.) The Chai Boey or braised mustard greens in tamarind, chili, pork bone for $11 was OK. It consisted of maybe eight large pieces of mustard grains with the pieces further up having less and less of the excellent sauce. It had a lightly spicy kick and some sourness from the tamarind. Finally, there was the Nasi Ulam or steamed rice with a thousand herbs for $6 which was a small portion but well flavored rice. For the price point, I would need better quality to recommend this spot. I liked some dishes and the service was friendly but I would go back again for the laksa only which doesn't really bode well. Upper 2.

We had a very enjoyable dinner this week at Kancil. The fritters appetizer was flavorful (Cucur Udang). We loved the Sarawak Laksa (shrimp and chicken noodle soup). While it was spicier than what I'd normally eat, it was so delicious that I didn't mind. I also really liked the wok fried pea shoots in oyster sauce. It was a bright and fresh side dish. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the braised mustard greens side dish. It had a very strong flavor that was not appealing to me.

Had a great experience here & was able to walk in for a weekend lunch. Really enjoyed the Roti Canai, Satay with amazing peanut sauce, and the Nasi Padang which had a nice kick. The food was so good and service was attentive as well. Highly recommend this spot for Malaysian food!

Another great meal at Wau. We started with the tropical salad and added shrimp. It wasn't worth adding the shrimp since all they do is give you 3 pieces of shrimp on the side. We loved the dressing! The mangos weren't very ripe. I ordered the Singapore Laksa. I wanted to try this after seeing my friend order it the last time we were here. It had a nice spice level. A good assortment of seafood. Overall I enjoyed! I sat in the outdoor patio this time. It's nicely heated and decorated so you don't really feel like you're outside. The service was still okay. When we sat down a waiter came over with a pitcher of water as if he was going to refill our glasses but we hadn't been given our glasses yet. They did a better job refilling them during dinner. The (non-alcoholic) drinks we ordered didn't come out until after our appetizer.

We've been so looking forward to coming to Wau but sadly it was not up to par to what we were hoping for. When we walked in, we have our little puppy with us, so we had to sit outside (or under a shack). We had to sit at a high table as the hostess refused to seat us at the table due to a "reservation" however the entire time we were there, the table sat empty ! I asked our server what she'd recommend, and took her recommendations. We ordered the chicken skewers, which were excellent and had a delicious peanut sauce. Followed by the beef rendang, which hubby loved and had a delightful spicy kick to it. And I ordered the black pepper prawns. Which left nothing to be desired. How can this dish be considered a Michelin Guide recommend?! It was terrible. It had a stiff coating over the prawns and the dark sauce was just so blah. I had to eat this with the sauce from the beef rendang. Otherwise I would not be able to eat it. Overall was very much looking forward to this but sadly left absolutely nothing to be desired. Unlikely we would return.

We visited for the Wau (floating) Noodles :) I saw a picture of the floating noodles online and instantly booked a reservation. While yes, I visited for the photo op, I stayed for the food. We ordered calamari and roti to start. Then we ordered the Wau Noodles with seafood and ended the meal with the mango sticky rice. There were great flavors all around. The highlight was the floating Wau noodle, which was fun to play with. Service was attentive and friendly. The restaurant is well decorated, too.

Perfect spot for lunch, especially with their $18 combo set! You get two sides - crispy kale dumplings (2) and a comforting light tofu shittake mushroom soup - and choose your entree. We had the Nasi Goreng - super flavorful and paired perfectly with the shrimp puffs and crispy fried egg - and the Krapow Basil - also fragrant from the Basil and was delicious with the soft jasmine rice. The bar looked impressive so I'm curious to try their cocktails at my next visit!

Found this hidden jam. Friendly staff and good food Visited on a Saturday post lunch hour, so wasn't very busy

Hits and misses here. Lovely restaurant, but half of the food we ordered was NOT good. Menu needs an overhaul- the salt and pepper tofu mad no sense another dish has the consistency of egg drop soup and 0 flavor. YIKES!

This was overall a good experience. Everything that we had, with maybe the exception of the pancake, was good. I especially liked the chicken and would love to try more meat appetizers next time!

Great meal of unique dishes, most that we had never had. We started with wontons in chili oil. Delish. Flavorful and not too spicy. Next was wonton soup with a tasty broth. Crispy Roti pancakes filled with chicken, peppers and egg dipped in a fantastic spicy coconut sauce was our next fabulous dish. The famous Wau noodles arrived, with noodles suspended from the chop sticks. Great toothsome noodles. Our last dish was the very spicy smashed fried chicken over rice. Loved it. It was spicy! We would certainly come back, but we found out they're changing the ENTIRE menu???? WHY??? Why fix it if it's not broken? Confusing.

Recently had an early dinner at this charming little restaurant in the Upper West Side and was pleasantly surprised with the impressive plating of some delicious Asian food, especially the Waau noodles plated by the chef at our table, the crispy noodles were standing with chopsticks atop the noodles as though an invisible hand was about to stir the noodles into the delicious broth that had just been poured into the bowl of vegetables and seafood! The Hainan chicken was served with a side of saffron rice and a bowl of broth.

WAU is from the same team behind Laut Singapura, one of my favorite restaurants in the city. Made a reservation for dinner on a Saturday and tried: + Lemongrass sour cocktail - great + Passionfruit cocktail - awesome + Smoked banana cocktail - great + Roti canai - awesome + Larb gai - great + Peranakan laksa - excellent, though the one at Singapura is better. It had the largest mussels ever!! + Nasi pedang - amazing, the rice was so fragrant + Taro tiramisu - perfect, maybe the highlight for me + Lychee creme brûlée - awesome Need to return for the WAU noodle - another table ordered it and it looked amazing. Awesome spot overall!

Good and drinks were amazing. Cons: bathroom needs a serious cleaning Pros: drinks were pretty and yummy Food was AMAZING.

The beau and I finally tried Wau after adding it to our list months ago. Upon arrival we were greeted by an exceptionally friendly and helpful hostess. She ushered us to our table and explained many of the nuances of the menu. I looked around and liked what I saw. The dining room and bar are dim and nicely appointed. A good vibe. The food was good, some things better than others. I enjoyed the larb salad which I needed to counteract the high level of spiciness in the dishes. Honestly the Wau noodles, which appear to be popular, are a bit gimmicky and not really worth ordering. The menu is interesting and many items sound great so perhaps we will go back to try new things.

2 of us got the Rendang beef and the laksa. I did appreciate that there's notable spice, which I didn't expect in the UWS. The beef had a heavy presence of some other spice (which I think comes from the pod, but I can't recall what it's called) - overall, the texture had fatty chunks while the others were a bit stringy. The laksa I liked more - I haven't had too many, but the seafood and tofu pockets soaked in the soup well, and there were interestingly both egg and rice noodles in the dish which actually worked well. I did think that the laksa could have had a deeper flavor, but I'm not an expert by any means in Malaysian food. I'd come here again to try the other dishes - it is a bit pricey for the portion size but we were definitively full.

This place was really good! Upscale Malaysian and Indonesian food. The ambiance is hip and the service is really good! Be prepared because the food is pretty spicy which is great! Everything is flavorful and delicious. Highly recommend this place !

What a delicious meal we had!! We opted to sit in the "outdoor" section - which was covered with heat lamps, and we enjoyed seeing all the hustle and bustle of UWS. The hostess/waitress was great with recommendations, and we enjoyed all her suggested dishes. For starters, I'd recommend getting both the salt and pepper coconut and calamari, then have them side by side - half of my dining party couldn't tell the difference The holiday special - Penang fish was so flavorful that we cleaned the whole plate by scooping the sauce over the Jasmin rice. We then got two noodle dishes to share; the party unanimously agreed that the laksa was a lot tastier than Waaau noodle, but one has to get it just for the presentation!! Don't leave without getting the tarp tiramisu, and the cream was so light and airy.

Everyone has to show up at Kancil and celebrate Chef Simpson Wong's latest culinary sensations. It is the only way to understand why he is the indispensable kitchen god in New York City whom every global epicurean seeks.

Very good food and accommodating service. The air conditioning was not working the night we were there and that did not make for the most comfortable environment but the food is very good. Just be careful some things are very spicy.

If you're in the neighborhood... They offer an $18 lunch special that includes mushroom soup (small and flavorful with straw mushrooms) and 2 fried kale dumplings (yummy)- all served at the same time as your main dish.The main dish was more than adequate. The dishes we had were okay. They didn't pack much flavor. I felt the Thai iced tea serving was too small. The decor is charming Peranakan. The servers were nice, but we did have to request attention, i.e., for water. There was nothing wrong with our lunch; it just wasn't worth the 20 block walk.

I've heard people have had good experiences here so I don't know what happened with our dish that night. We got a roti, and it was good, standard. And we got the Waaau noodle. What happened here I don't know. There was something weirdly sweet but also sour about the sauce. Like it was difficult to eat... I've never experienced this before, but it was pretty awful. Not sure if something went wrong, but we had a hard time finishing the dish. The tiramisu was good though.

Walked in on a friday night with a friend. We were seated right away. The rest of the place was full. Its a cute spot! Good for a meal with friends but also cute for a date. There's a little mirror at the entryway which is nice for checking yourself out as you finish your meal. We each got an entree. 4/5 Peranakan Laksa Noodle Soup - great flavor and a variety of veggies and protein in the soup. It was pretty much what i expected. It was filling enough for me though i could have had a little more even after finishing it. I felt it could have used a kick of something like some spiciness on the side but i dont know if that would still be authentic My friend got the farmer's krapow basil - ground chicken with fried egg. She seemed to enjoy it a lot though she only had half then packed the rest. My friend and I talked a lot through the meal. I didnt know she was done eating (since she had half her order left) and i guess neither did the servers because we sat and talked for quite awhile. I think we were in there for 2.5 hours. No one rushed us but they came by to refill our water a few times. Overall good experience. I originally heard about this place from an ig reel where someone said that this place encourages you to try new things. If you dont like it, its on them. I love this place concept, it pushes consumers to be more open minded and learn more about their culture. I will return to try other items :)

Wau has closed and has turned into a Malaysian restaurant head by Chef Simpson Wong of Cafe Asean, Wong, and Chomp Chomp. Look for homestyle dishes cooked with a modern lens, all inspired by Chef Wong's hometown of Kuala Lumpur.

My partner and I were able to walk in at 9pm for a weekend dinner. I'm pretty sure we were the last ones seated. Scan the barcode for the menu. Good luck picking something! Seriously. I'm pretty sure I'd be happy with any of the options. The Nasi Padang, while one of the pricier options, was very good. Filling, delicious, great textures. Bubble trouble cocktail had some of those exploding bubbles, which were very fun and tasty. The fresh, light, and easy gin cocktail also went down easy. The roti canai was a great appetizer and on the spicier side. Great for sharing. I'd probably skip the wontons in chili oil; I think I was expecting a thinner skin. Definitely get the tiramisu! It's unique and light and a great compliment to the spiciness of the rest of your meal.

Real nice place. Cool vibe. Lots of choices in the area. We started with the Larb salad. Best dish of the night. Seasoned beautifully. We shared the gravity defying noodles. It was cool to look at. But the dish lacked flavor. And the Red curry. That was very good. Service was pleasant and attentive. Prices were not insane. Worth a trip

Wow! What treat this place was. We hit up Wau before a concert at Beacon, and I must say, it was a great experience. If you're not familiar with Wau, it is a Malaysian restaurant located in UWS. We're not often in UWS for dinner, but I'd had this place bookmarked for a while. So, we decided to check it out for our pre-concert dinner. Everything was spot on at Wau--from the service to the food to the drinks. Below are some of the highlights from our experience. We started our meal with an appetizer--the Murtabak ($18), which was literally out-of-this-world and bursting with flavor. This app is actually a Malaysian-Indian pancake stuffed with minced chicken and veggies, and it is served with a curry dipping sauce. You'll want to lap up all the extra sauce because it is mouthwatering! Trust! As for entrées, I had the Nasi Mawut--a fried rice and noodle combo with spices, veggies, and chicken. And, yes, you read correctly; it was definitely carb on carb. But, it was tasty, and I highly recommend. [Note that you might ask for hot sauce if you like it spicier.] Tony ordered a noodle dish as well--the Farmers Krapow Basil--which featured rice, ground chicken, and egg. He was equally pleased with his selection. One dish we didn't try but had food envy each time it was delivered to a table was the signature Wau Noodle dish. Just look through the photos on Yelp, and you will see it. The dish features a giant block of fried noodles stacked high above a bowl of broth, veggies, and protein. I WILL be having this dish the next time I hit up Wai. Bottom line: Wau is fantastic! Check this place out if you are looking for a tasty and original meal in UWS. I'll certainly return to Wau... and sooner than later!

Rating: 4.5 stars I started dinner off with the mango sriracha cocktail (delish!), and then we shared the ridiculously amazing black pepper prawns, spicy roti canai, INSANELY good nasi goreng and capped off the meal with some of the best mango sticky rice that I've had in a very long time. The service was very very good. They had the right balance of attentiveness and were really wonderful with making sure we didn't order too much food. I also really loved the decor, there are a lot of Malaysian and Thai design elements scattered throughout the space. All in all, I was very very impressed. I cannot wait to return to try more of the incredible menu. I'm so glad my friend found this spot!

Delicious but I had a terrible, debilitating stomachache from their food. When I told the server about it, he just said that my stomach wasn't used to the spices. I am fully Vietnamese and eat plenty of spice. They didn't give me a discount or apologize or anything.

We tried the restaurant week dinner menu which was 3 courses + 1 drink for $60. We had reservations and were seated right away. They start with wet in a cute little mini bathtub. I got the ginger pineapple cocktail which was pretty strong and not too sweet. 5/5 For starter, I had the savory donut. It's chicken and shrimp mince, kaffir lime leaf, chili padi, oatmeal crust. It was crispy on the outside and reminded me of a milder and fried chicken larb. 5/5 My friend had the kale dumplings, they enjoyed it.5/5 For our main meal, we got the nasi padang- rendang beef, coconut rice, sambal, potato chips with anchovy and peanut, achar, egg, onion and cucumber. It came wrapped in banana leaf and the flavors were explosive. The rendang is everything I love in rendang- tender beef, warm spices, delicious with coconut rice. 5/5 Nasi goreng- Indonesian fried rice spiced with kecap manis, shallots, garlic, ground shrimp paste, tamarind and chilli. I liked this and thought the ground shrimp paste really brought it all together. 5/5 For dessert, we had TARO TIRAMISU- Taro, pandan essence, heavy cream and mascarpone. 5/5 LYCHEE ROSE CREME BRULEE- Custard infused with lychee nut crowned with caramelized jaggery sugar. 4/5 Enjoyed both desserts but liked the taro tiramisu better. I'm a bit of a crème brûlée purist when it comes to dessert. Overall, very delicious food with authentic flavors. I did see great reviews for the noodles, will have to come back to try that.

Came here on a Sunday for lunch. It was not crowded at all. First of all, big compliments on their services! We had a double stroller - 4 adults with 2 infants. The waitress working at the front did not want to seat us because of the stroller. But the waitress inside found us a private spaces that can fit everything. Now let's talk about food. Everything is over priced! No doubt! It is NYC. We knew it. But they charged $9 for a bottle of water?! ( we didn't order it...) We had 3 dishes for appetizers: the roti is good. The grilled beef was phenomenal! The chicken wing is great too. Then we made a mistake ordering another 4 entrees - that's too much... Our favorite is the crab fried rice. Absolutely phenomenal. The pad Thai was just okay. The rendang beef is good, but salty. The lobster noodle dish was fine - it was a different experience putting lobster with egg yolk. The noodle was like ramen. We spent over $200 on this meal with no drink.

Dinner here last night. It's tiny so recommend a reservation. Everything we tried was delicious. Will return.

I was brought here by a native Malaysian who approves of Wau enough that he selected it for a large group he was hosting (he did manage expectations and qualify that there is no Malaysian food in NYC that is good as it in Malaysia or Singapore). There were 15 of us (which is the max the restaurant was willing to accommodate) and given the small size of the restaurant, I was surprised they were even willing to do that. Cozy spot on the UWS with a variety of Thai, Singaporean and Malaysian food. We were advised to steer away from Thai, which was easy to do as I was deciding between either the Singaporean Chicken Rice and the Malaysian Nasi Lemak. Having lived in Singapore I'm always craving and looking for a good Chicken Rice dish in the states, but given that I've never been able to find it, decided not to risk it and went for the Nasi Lemak, which I knew would be good (as it was recommended by the host). It was a great assortment of items (Coconut rice, rendang chicken sambal shrimp, salted peanuts + anchovies, hard-boiled eggs, cucumber) with a lot of flavor and had a good kick / spice. Others who ordered it found it to be too spicy but I have a high tolerance and would rate it a 3-4 spice level on a scale of 1-10. I polished off the entire plate if that tells you anything. Solid 4 stars.

We walked-in to WAU on a Monday for lunch and the indoor and outdoor seating both are very inviting and looked comfortable. Their 4 person booths especially are very well placed - so if it's more than 2 people in your group, I'd recommend grabbing those! The place smells very "fishy" - a welcoming aroma for seafood lovers. We weren't sure of the portion sizes, but with a menu priced slightly on the expensive end (mains on an average cost $26), we decided to order mains directly and were glad we made that choice. We got the Murtabak ($18) and WAAAU Noodle with Tofu ($26) - both dishes were amazing - very flavorful and perfect level of spice. The presentation of WAAAU noodle was specifically waaauuu! Service was excellent - friendly staff, and food arrived within 20 minutes of ordering. Noise levels were on the lower side. Overall, great experience. Might visit again and will definitely recommend to friends and family craving some nice Malaysian food!

Wau is just so so, especially if you're well versed in SE Asian food. The menu here is a mix of Thai and Malaysian dishes geared more to the American palate than the OG dishes you might find in ethnic hubs in Queens. We ordered a fair amount of food here - crab fried rice, bone marrow fried rice, golden tofu, shrimp toast, satay and steamed fish with lime and garlic. Best dishes were the fried rice and the steamed fish. The rest were just average. Portion sizes are pretty small for what you pay ($26 for fried rice, $40 for fish - it's one filet) so value isn't the proposition here. Flavors are good but maybe toned down for the uninitiated. There's a lot of choices in the area if you're looking for Asian fare but this place is passable.

Reservation on a Saturday night. Sat in a cute booth for 3 people. Roti canai - perfect. never had such an amazing roti canai. it wasn't oily at all and the sauce had tons of flavor without being overly heavy or rich. singapore black pepper shrimp - sounded hype but it beat our expectations. the shrimp has a nice layer of batter and tons of flavor. definitely order this. Lobster Tail Salted Egg Hokkien Mee - lobster was a bit overcooked which was disappointing, salted egg yolk was not too heavy. fried chilean sea bass with sambal mentah - the citrus sauce compliments the fried sea bass. batter not too thick. waaau noodle with seafood - wooooow indeed. the presentation is A+. fermentation bean gives it a distinct familiar flavor. sauce was a bit heavier than I would like but still great.

Cute restaurant, nice ambiance and friendly staff. We liked the roti canai and beef rendang but the floating noodles and chicken dish were underwhelming and overpriced. We will not run back...

"A" found this place for our Friday night date. It is the cutest Indonesian restaurant on the UWS. They were still doing restaurant week so it was the 3 course meal. I don't remember which appetizer we got but I think the sampler was the only one on the menu. I don't remember what the sampler consists of to be honest. I think there was maybe a potato one in there somewhere and maybe a shrimp one, but honestly don't recall. Entree wise, I asked the waitress what their signature dish was and she said the signature dishes were the Ayam Gorem Kalaysan (which is fried chicken that is marinated and fried Indonesian style). So it is spicy. The other signature dish was the Peranakan Laksa (which is spicy noodle soup). A got the chicken and I got the laksa. The chicken was not very spicy but it was spicier if you dipped it into the sambal (which are homemade). A inhaled his chicken. The laksa had a dollop of sambal in it that made it spicier but I really liked it. You can taste the coconut curry in the broth and the other spices. If you haven't had laksa before, you're missing out. It's basically spicy noodles but the broth is unique. I 200% recommend the laksa. For dessert, we got the lychee crème brûlée. I was wondering how you can do it with lychee but it surprisingly is very good and it does have the lychee essence. So very good ending to the spicy entree. It wasn't too busy but I can see it being busy on a Friday and Saturday night for sure. Food is awesome and it's a small restaurant but it's great for families so do yourself a favor, be adventurous, and go try WAU.

Really good! Softest fried calamari I've ever had. The noodles were also delicious - actually full of umami and deep flavor, rather than the usual sugar and msg that you get at a lot of SE Asian restaurants in the city. I had zero expectations (I've never had a good one), but even the vegetarian kale dumplings were good. Friendly service as well. A bit loud with the music and people, but otherwise highly recommend for the food.

Yesterday I celebrated my birthday at Wau with my girlfriend. It is a Malaysian/Thai restaurant on the Upper West Side. We started with appetizers which were - Roti Canai - Malaysian Savory Pancake with coconut milk and curry Potato dipping - Savory Donuts - Chicken and Shrimp mince. Chile padi and oatmeal crust For drinks we both had: - Butterfly Lychee Lemonade For entrees, we had: - Rendang Beef - Beef curry with spices and coconut milk with Jasmine Rice - Nasi Lemak - Signature Malaysian dish with coconut rice, curry chicken, shrimp, anchovies, egg cucumber and peanuts Overall, an incredible meal!! Very unique dishes I haven't had too often if at all. They had some incredible flavor and spice to them. This place has a beautiful ambiance too. Check it out!!

Good flavors and large portions Friendly Pleasing setting. We are in porch area. Slightly warm. Slightly loud but comfortable enough.

immediately upon entering, there was a really great ambiance- super attentive and friendly waitstaff and nicely decorated interior. the food was pretty great too! it was my first time having roti and i was very pleasantly surprised. i'd definitely come back here just to try the other dishes!

When it comes to amazing Malaysian food in NYC, the gold standard is still Fishmarket (I and II) for me. Okay, the gold standard is what I had in Petaling, but you can't fly 9,300 miles every time you want nasi lamak, right? Most times when I get Malaysian food, I'm dining with Malaysian / Singaporean foodies who know their stuff. We had avoided this place for a while because it's from the same owners as Laut (which I think is vastly overrated), but one crisp fall day, we found ourselves in this neck of the UWS and decided to give it a shot. TL;DR: Good food, bad cocktail. The Murtabak was the best I've had outside of Malaysia and Singapore. A perfectly crisp pancake stuffed with minced chicken, egg, onions, bell peppers, jalapeño--this and its accompanying curry sauce were perfect. The Nasi Goreng was on point with its side of shrimp chips--probably the best rice dish of the batch. The Singapore Laksa was hearty and comforting, but I've had better. It was missing more seasoning and complexity Drink-wise, we decided to give the Kaya Killer a whirl as it was still early in the day and we had evening plans. Supposedly the cocktail is made with kaya spun with ten to one rum, coconut, pandan leaf, and flaming absinthe. I was skeptical that absinthe would pair well with the delicate flavor of kaya, and I was right. Nothing about this drink worked. Don't get it. Service was great, and it was easy to snag a walk-in table on a Sat afternoon.

Went there on my name day. Mie goreng is solid. Finished all of it. Beef redang was not too sweet, more on the spicy side. I mean... ok. Still finished it all. WAU noodles.... Nope. It's the most plain flavor in Asian food that is not pho. Still I would go bad because everyone there was so nice and the mie goreng is my favorite!

Still enjoy coming to Wau! Really enjoy their food and decor. Updating to include pictures.