Blink and you might miss it. In order to get to Normah’s, visitors are forced to navigate through the warrens of the insalubrious Queensway Market, an eclectic mix of clothes shops, food stores and restaurants. Tucked away in the south west corner (next to a doorway somewhat dubiously offering ‘Russian films’) is Normah’s. Founded in 2015 by the eponymous Normah Abd Hamid, her restaurant in an authentic insight into Malaysian cuisine, located in London W2.
Given the restaurant’s location and its total absence of natural light, you could - for a moment - imagine being in Malaysia. The smell of rendang (stewed meat simmered in spiced coconut milk) pervades. The furnishings are basic – wooden tables and chairs, few adornments on walls painted pale blue and drinks served from plastic cups – allowing the cooking to speak for itself. The most notable decoration on the wall to my mind was a framed poster with a line from Normah’s pen, which asserts that “cooking is like love; it should be entered into with complete devotion or not at all.” This sums up the ethos of the restaurant. The approach Normah takes is as if she were cooking for an extended family rather than paying customers. Each customer is greeted by Normah herself and many seemed to be regulars, we observed, on our recent midweek evening visit.
The menu is mercifully brief comprising just half a dozen mains as well as a couple of starters and desserts. At least it makes choosing simple. We began with a plate of garlic chicken wings to share, which were tender and pleasingly ungreasy. The main event, however, were the mains: a prawn laksa curry for me and beef rendang for my comrade. My dish was a visual delight (per the picture) and comprised a combination of egg noodles, tofu and prawn cooked in coconut with a homemade spice paste. The heat intensity was on the high side (admittedly I had asked for it hot), but remained harmonious. My boiled egg was also pitch perfect at just very slightly firm, although I felt somewhat short-changed with only three prawns in the dish. Portion sizing was generally an issue with my comrade’s dish being substantially smaller than mine, while I also left feeling somewhat hungry. At less £20/head, it’s hard to feel too disappointed though. Normah’s is certainly a good introduction to Malaysian cooking and we both left the venue wondering why there were not more examples of this style of cuisine in London. One final word to the wise: Normah’s serves no alcohol and nor does it allow bring your own options.