Awana

I visited Awana via a Groupon deal which claimed that I would get a £50 set menu for £19 – the offer was very tempting and I had enjoyed the food there a few years back. From the moment I stepped into Awana, I was extremely disappointed – it seemed to be crammed full of other Groupon customers and we were being treated as a converyor belt scenario. The food was very disappointing and way too overpriced – would not have paid £50 for a meal which lacked in quality and taste. When I complained to the waitress, I was told to stop complaining as I had purchased a ‘deal’ – was shocked by the attitude. But the worst thing to happen was when the bill arrived, we were told to pay service charge of 12.5% on the full amount!!! It was one of the worst places I have ever been to – overpriced, total lack of customer service, disappointing food and complete lack of atmosphere. I will not be going back there again!

I have been visiting Awana for the last 3 years or so, having this firmly as my favourite Malaysian in London. It is a little pricey, but worth a trip to once in a while.

Upon arriving the first time, I was not so sure what the fuss was about as the interior is what you would expect – wooden, sleek, minimal, not too dark, not too light… but once you are seated and begin your slow journey through the delicious menu and the place fills up with local regulars and new-comers, its like magic.

My only niggle is that recently when I have been to Awana, the food didnt seem to live up to its normal standards. But fingers crossed that the next time it is back to what nostalgia dictates!

I love Malaysian food and I live on this side of town, but I am not sure why it took me so long to visit Awana. I finally made it there last night for a special occasion with 8 other ladies and the bar was packed, the football was on and so we shimmied into the dining room and sat down. The room was empty initially and being a Monday, I thought it was fair enough. Within 15 minutes the dining room was packed out and full to the brim with loud parties making conversation rather difficult and inaudible. The football was also being shown in the dining room, which made me quite uncomfortable.

The menu itself was generous in content, but I found the repetitive statement of “This dish is not included as part of any promotion” tedious and frustrating. A clever ploy to avoid giving 50% discount on certain dishes, should be stipulated at time of booking as it certainly didn't just apply to one or two dishes, but indeed several.
This aside, it has to be said that the food was delicious and I honestly wasn't disappointed with anything we ordered and we had ordered A LOT of food. Delicious assorted Satay skewers of chicken, lamb and prawn, crab and pomelo salad, spicy chicken parcels, deep-fried soft shell crab, salt and pepper prawns were just some of the starters we chose. Main courses were also fantastic with whole seabass with lemongrass, chilli and coriander, classic beef rendang, seafood rice noodles and of course the infamous Malaysian Roti Canai breads, which although delicious was priced at an eye-watering £6.50 per portion!

Cocktails were also really good, but we did have to send a couple back as we found some ‘unexpected visitors’ floating in the drinks, which were then immediately replaced. There were also few hiccups with ordering and also speed of service, which although they were incredibly busy, is still frustrating. The volume levels were so loud as the party of 25 or so next to us became increasingly drunk and this did affect the accuracy of our orders and toward the end of the evening, the enjoyment of our group. It did feel like being in a very loud pub, which for Chelsea Cloisters, is not what I would expect and I wasn't overly pleased.

I decided to attempt what we Brits cannot ever seem to do and make a complaint. I had a quiet word with the manager about my feelings and he immediately apologised and made a very kind gesture on our bill for the problems incurred. THIS IS THE MARK OF A GOOD ESTABLISHMENT! This is actually what redeemed the restaurant for me again and I thought I would make a special mention because of it.

If only more restaurants actually gave a damn about their customers and really looked after them, restaurant trade would always be consistent and on the up instead of struggling. Problems do arise in restaurants, it is very common and if the food is great and the staff are really very nice but the problems aren't correctly dealt with, would you go back there? I know I wouldn't. However on this occasion, Awana did the right thing by acknowledging my concerns and making a suitable gesture to compensate us and so I will definitely be going back and further more, I will be recommending Awana to other people too!

Awana is the best place in London for Malaysian cuisine. Expensive yes, but you do not leave feeling unsatisfied or ripped off.

The wonton and chicken wings for starters were beautifully prepared and tasted delicious. The mini-ribs were also melt in the mouth gorgeous.

A large selection of main courses made it hard to choose what to have, but the stir fried beef (Daging goreng halia) was lovely and the corn-fed chicken (Sambal ayam) likewise. Desserts are well presented and just big enough to finish you off for the evening! A special mention should go to the great cocktail list with the classics executed well and some more exotic drinks giving the daring something to try.

Service is attentive but not over the top and the decor, including the live video feed of the chef preparing the food, all help in setting the ambience. They have another restaurant in Beijing so maybe I'll have to see if it lives up to Sloane Street's high standards!

Wow. My mouth starts watering when I think about the tastes at Awana. All dishes we ordered possessed a fine balance between the fragrant lemongrass, the spicy chillie and the sour lime. I am far from being knowledgeable on Malaysian food, but one should know when something tastes special. Here the food is special and I want to go back to try most things on the menu – the only thing I was looking for and could not find was Prawn Laksa soup, which I love but I guess that's a very casual dish or, maybe to my horror, europeanized. We first started with a couple of Hibiscus cocktails which tasted of aromatic exotic flowers and then shared some malaysian bread (prawn murtabak) and seafood satay. Our main meal (on our waiters recommendation) included sea bass with lemongrass, chillie, garlic & lime, beef with ginger & garlic and a delicious stir fried lobster & prawn dish with rice noodles & greens with a little dark soya sauce and fragrant herbs and spices. Just writing this makes me hungry again – the taste combinations are just so complete in this type of food: the sour, sweet, hot and salty are all so perfectly amalgamated that it leads to new and overwhelming taste sensations. Yum.

The food is outstanding. Disappointingly the restaurant was far from busy therefore lacked atmosphere however on the plus side, the service was friendly and efficient and everything we ordered was cooked to perfection. I shall definitely be returning and can strongly recommend.