Rasarumah
Running restaurants is hard. Rasarumah, though, makes it look easy. The result of a team-up between the always-expanding group behind spots like Found Oyster, Barra Santos, and Queen St., and the chef who ran Pearl River Deli, Rasarumah feels like it’s been open for years. There’s a palpable energy in the room, with a birthday celebration (commemorated with a shoutout on the letterboard over the bar) in one corner, dates at the bar sharing natural wine, and a big group of friends shouting about the Dodgers in another corner. Service is smooth and friendly, you can get a table a couple of days ahead, and just generally enjoy a night out that feels effortless.
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
The relatively small Chinese Malaysian menu compliments this easygoing vibe. Crispy wings, charred satay, and chewy noodles are all tasty and well-executed. It’s 2025, so of course there’s a little gem salad, but here it’s inspired by Indonesian gado gado. Similarly, the rich beef rendang gets amped up further with wagyu cheek and the pork satay is done with fatty jowl. None of it will distract you from the gossip at the table—it’s just that a plate of wonton mee happens to go very well with the detailed story about your best friend’s brother’s girlfriend’s disastrous trip to Florida.
Essentially, Rasarumah is the place to eat so many restaurants aspire to be: fun, delicious, and with enough interesting stuff going on that you’ll want to be back very soon.
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
After sitting down, a plate of shrimp chips and three extremely different sambals will arrive on the house. They work just as well for a chip and dip situation as they do to bring out spice and depth in the other dishes. You’ll probably end up ordering more.
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
There are two satays on the menu, and while both are great, we tend toward the juicy chicken thigh over the fattier pork jowl. Even with fresh pineapple adding a sweet pop to the traditional peanut sauce, the jowl ends up a little too heavy.
These crispy behemoths are in a league of their own, balancing shattering salty skin and moist meat underneath with a sweet chili sauce that comes on the side for dipping.
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
These days, we’re surprised when a restaurant doesn’t have a little gem salad on the menu. But Rasarumah expands the genre, transforming it into a take on the Indonesian staple with peanut dressing, crispy tofu, and shrimp chips. This salad can be slightly inconsistent—somtimes transcendent, sometimes in need of oomph—but we’ll still order it every time.
Among the handful of noodle dishes on the menu, the simplicity of these egg noodles with char siu pork jowl and wontons stands out. If you were a Pearl River Deli devotee, this is how you get your fix of their excellent char siu—and note that the famous hainan chicken does occasionally pop up as a special, too.
You’re not going to be walloped in the face with spice at Rasarumah, but this tender piece of fish has a funky zing unlike much else on the menu thanks to the dried-shrimp-heavy sambal tumis spooned on top.
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
A showstopper that you’ll see on most tables (alongside the chicken wings) for good reason—it’sit’s fantastic. The rich coconut-laced curry is deepened with makrut lime, and the beef falls apart at the slightest touch. Order an extra side of the roti.
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
This (dairy-free) coconut ice cream sundae is the lone dessert at Rasarumah. You’re going to get it. And it will not be a mistake.
