The large number of carbon-copy sub-continental restaurants that line both sides of lower Sukhumvit can force genuine curry-seekers into something of a tailspin. Adding to the confusion is the fact that they seem to have been cut from the same cloth: Most boast exhaustive menus, cloth napkins and smooth-talking managers-doormen. Which is why Malaysia Auntie’s, a modest open-air eatery frequented by guidebook-toting foreigners that offered genuine smiles and prices substantially lower than elsewhere in this part of town, was such a refreshing change. So the news that the effervescent Auntie had moved on came as a shock. Fortunately the amiable new proprietors of her old premises have at least struck something of a compromise between the low-key style of yore and their more expensive Sukhumvit neighbors. The backpackers have moved on, and recently a wall of windows was added to enclose the two shophouse-wide space in air conditioning. The menu is a bit more upscale than its predecessor, with the meat-veg balance shifted in favor of meat. If you like your curries on the heavy side, rich and loaded with herbs and spices, this is the place. However, at times the quality of the meat—seafood, especially—is not worthy of the skill that has gone into the sauce. For example, a spicy mutton korma is delicious, but what little meat that can be pried from the bone is chewy. To begin, fried starters such as papdi chaat, crispy bite-sized puri chips smothered in hot mint chutney, dark sweet chutney and fresh home-made yoghurt, and keema samosa, stuffed with an enticing mixture of fresh spices and minced lamb, are fantastic with ice-cold beer (large Tiger). A pedestrian-sounding fish fry is actually tender chunks of white fish meat coated in a thick layer of herbed batter and deep-fried, a nice preparation that unfortunately can’t disguise less-than-fresh fish. For main courses, there is a wide range of tandoori items (chicken, mutton, fish, paneer, etc.) and breads and a wider range of thick, delectable curries. Their creamy and spicy chicken vindaloo and daal makani (made with black lentils) are excellent; paneer butter masala (cheese in masala curry) is almost as good but on the sweet side. The selection of bread is more impressive than the rice dishes (saffron rice. With such dense curries you’ll want to skip the tasty but greasy potato naan and poodina parantha; a healthier and cheaper choice is tandoori roti. Namuskaar is located down a tiny soi just a few meters into Soi 8 on your left.
