A note on the words: satay here is grilled chicken with peanut sauce, otak-otak is spiced fish paste cooked in a banana leaf, and murtabak is a savory pancake filled with ground chicken; all three appear in the appetizer assortment. Sambal is the chili condiment inside the fresh spring rolls. Malay Chan sauce is the restaurant’s house sauce, tried here with pea shoots, and roti is the flatbread ordered alongside the fish head curry. Kinmedai means splendid alfonsino, while madai means red sea bream: the difference is the source of the curry’s menu mix-up in this account. Tempeh, listed in the dry curry and fried spring rolls, is fermented soybean cake.
Malay Chan on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Fellow drinkers, thanks for waiting. It’s Hangover Meshi time (meshi means meal)!
This time I visited Malay Chan, an intriguing Malaysian restaurant near Rikkyo University on the west side of Ikebukuro Station. I had passed it during the day, and the sign really caught my eye. I wondered whether it was open, and thought it looked fun, so I kept it in mind. When an occasion to go out for a meal came up, I decided to try it.
Inside, there were maybe four tables? It was a compact space. There was a second floor too, but it looked as though it could fit only one group. I was looking forward to the Malaysian food!
First, a drink.
They have quite a few imported beers, so trying different ones could be fun!
Six small portions on a rectangular plate lined with a banana leaf. The satay, Malaysian-style grilled chicken skewers, comes with plenty of chunky peanut sauce. The chicken is tender, with sweetness followed by a roasted nuttiness. The otak-otak is seasoned fish paste wrapped in a banana leaf and grilled. It is much softer than Japanese tsumire fish balls, with fragrant spices and savory fish flavor coming through together. The murtabak is described as a Malaysian version of okonomiyaki, a savory Japanese pancake. The wrapper is chewy, and the ground chicken filling is light. The fresh spring rolls contain shrimp, vegetables, and sambal, a chili condiment; the chili sauce on the side changes the flavor. The shrimp crackers are light and crisp. The Malay pickles are vegetables pickled with several spices.
An appetizer assortment with heat, sweetness, sourness, and roasted flavors all together.
Choosing unfamiliar dishes can be tricky, so I appreciate having them together in a set!
I ordered water spinach, but they said they were out and offered pea shoots instead, so I went with those.
I mainly wanted to find out what Malay Chan sauce tasted like anyway, so that was fine by me.
The shrimp aroma comes first. Then something like lemongrass, and heat from chili, perhaps? It is salty, rich in savory shrimp flavor, and spicy too. It feels like an all-purpose sauce. Delicious!
The chicken is fried in a thin coating, sliced on the diagonal, and coated with a thick, sweet-and-sour lemon sauce, then topped with white sesame seeds and lemon slices. The acidity is gentle, adding flavor without a sharp edge. Tasty.
The menu showed a photo of kinmedai with the words “Packed with kinmedai flavor!”
That’s what the menu said, anyway…
But that’s madai, red sea bream, isn’t it!
The English menu just says “Red Bream,” so maybe madai was never a mistake on their side after all.
They told me to break everything up and mix it before eating, so I did. They also strongly recommended the roti flatbread as a side, saying it was good, so we split one order of roti (two pieces) between us.
Two pieces each would fill you right up!
A fish curry with plenty of spice. It felt quite powdery too, though perhaps that just means there are that many spices in it. The madai (sea bream) has a mild flavor. There were quite a few bones, which made it a bit of work to eat, but it was delicious.
It was still a little disappointing that the fish turned out to be madai rather than the kinmedai the menu promised, but Malaysian food is not something I come across often. If it interests you, why not give it a try?
Here’s hoping for something delicious today!
Malay Chan (Ikebukuro) menu
Curry
The heart of the menu, with both coconut-based and tangy curries.
Simmered with tangy assam, herbs, and curry powder for fish. The price includes one serving of rice.
Two curries on one plate: coconut curry and green curry. Comes with a mini naan.
Bright, spicy flavors of lemongrass and ginger.
Sides for curry: naan 440 yen, coconut rice 450 yen, rice 350 yen, roti (2 pieces) 550 yen
Rice dishes
Malaysian fried rice with fragrant Malay Chan sauce.
A large serving is an extra 200 yen.
Appetizers
Fresh spring rolls, otak-otak, Malay pickles, satay, murtabak, and shrimp crackers.
Malaysian grilled chicken skewers. Extra skewers are 280 yen each.
Spiced fish paste wrapped in a banana leaf and steam-grilled.
A Malaysian savory pancake filled with ground chicken.
Shrimp and fish crackers to snack on with drinks.
Seafood
Tilapia with a sweet-and-sour sauce.
Kuruma shrimp stir-fried with tamarind, for a bright flavor with a little heat.
Salads and vegetables
Warm vegetables, thick fried tofu, and boiled eggs with peanut sauce.
1,180 yen per serving. A “sold out” sign was posted when I visited.
Chicken and beef
A traditional Malay dish of beef simmered in coconut gravy.
For those who prefer less heat: a mild coconut milk stew.
A sign said roast duck was “temporarily unavailable” when I visited.
Tofu and eggs
Topped with a thick sauce with grilled shrimp.
Soup
Choose chicken or tom yum soup.
Set menus
Reservations required; for two or more people.
All prices are per person. All-you-can-drink options with the set menus are 2,750 yen (90 minutes) or 3,520 yen (120 minutes).
Drinks
Now for the drinks, the part I’ve been waiting for.
Goblet 550 yen; mug 670 yen.
Bottled beers including Tiger, Singha, Bintang, San Miguel, Tsingtao, and Heineken are 720 yen; Guinness and Corona are 770 yen.
Orange, black currant, tomato, or mango.
Whiskey on the rocks or with water is 600 yen.
A nonalcoholic beer-flavored drink.
From the restaurant’s menu at my August 2026 visit. Prices may change; please check at the restaurant for the latest prices.
Malay Chan (Southeast Asian / Ikebukuro Station, Kanamecho Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.2
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
