Straits - San Francisco, CA Review

My partner and I have been looking all over SF for Malaysian food. New Zealand is teeming with great Malaysian places, so we got used to eating Malaysian food once or twice a week back home. Here, though, Malaysian food has eluded us. Finding that right in the City's Westfield Mall is a fantastic Malaysian restaurant called Straits really made our day.

The decor of Straits is funky/intimate: dim lighting, a mix of small tables with cushy chairs, and plush booths and ottomans. One wall is exposed brick with huge screens covering large windows facing out on SF's 5th street, and keeping the intimate atmosphere from being intruded on by outside light.

The menu is classic Malaysian, with some Thai/Singapore fusion. Everything is fresh-as-can-be: lovely seafood, the best satay, peanut sauce I've ever had, Nasi Goreng teeming with fresh veggies, chicken, and coconut cream jasmine rice. There's a great cocktail menu, too. I recommend the pomegranate martini. Yum!

One of the greatest things about this place is the service. Our waiter took our extensive order (we ordered lots of little plates to share) without even taking out a pen. He remembered every single item, and asked how we wanted our food served: all at once, or a few dishes at a time. We opted for having one or two dishes at a time. Not only did the waiter and kitchen staff time everything perfectly, but we got new plates and silverwear with each new dish. Great service, and great attention to detail.

For those of you not familiar with Malaysian food, it's similar to Singapore Chinese and Thai food - lovely fried rice and noodle dishes, with lots of shrimp and calamari and chicken. Coconut milk is used as a base for many dishes. Unlike Thai food, which I love, but which can be too spicy for me, Malaysian food is mild. You don't miss any of the flavor on account of struggling with with a burning tongue.

Straits is perfect for Westfield Mall's collection of upscale restaurants - great food, wonderful service, nice atmosphere, and a nice array of cocktails.