The term "comfort food" gets tossed around a lot nowadays, particularly on the covers of food mags during the wintertime. Though the phrase invokes a universal appeal, the food it calls to mind is highly subjective.
My mom is hands-down the gutsiest eater I know, and her palate can put most to whimpering shame. While I may never develop her appetite for water beetles, durian, or rice worms, she and I do tend to agree on what constitutes comfort food.
Hainanese Chicken Rice (above) definitely makes it into our Top Ten Comfort Food contenders.
I'd heard about Skyway while searching for Malaysian food on Chowhound--it's a small place just stumbling distance from the Chinatown bus (which is GREAT news, 'cause there's nothing like tasty, cheap eats to make you forget the white-knuckled ride from Philly or DC).
Hainanese Chicken Rice is to Chinese, Malaysian and Singaporean people what Arroz con Pollo is to Cuban people. A gently poached chicken is hacked to tender pieces and laid atop a bed of rice, which is cooked with the gelatin-rich chicken broth rather than water. They generally give you a sweet-salty soy based sauce and a mild chili sauce for chicken-dunking, maybe a slice or two of cucumber.
(I got it as take-out, but I'm hoping that when you eat-in, they give you a bowl of the chicken broth as well.)
No frills, just chicken and rice, but it's among the most satisfying things I can think of to eat (when it's done properly), and a shining example of the virtues of chicken tasting like chicken.
And if you don't like it, you're only out about $4, so no harm done.
Malaysian food enthusiasts tend to use roti canai to gauge the quality of the kitchen--though I'm not nearly as versed as other Chowhounders, I found the roti canai at Skyway to be more than serviceable. The flatbread itself was flaky yet pliant, the perfect sopper for the accompanying just-spicy-enough coconut chicken curry dip.
I was also pleased with their Kang Kung Belacan: Stir-fried water spinach with dried, fermented shrimp paste. Salty, crunchy, and a little funky, this aggressive veggie dish offers a great textural contrast to the mellow, savory chicken rice.
The extensive menu offers a range that includes everything from straight-up Malaysian dishes to Cantonese standbys, so it'll keep the most and least adventurous eaters happy (particularly when they get the check--the average entree is less than $10).
I'll definitely be back. Maybe I'll even bring my Mom when she comes to visit.
Next on the hit list: Achat (pickled veggies with sesame seeds and turmeric), Beef Rendang, Prawn Mee, Kari Ikan Kepala Casserole.
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Skyway Malaysian Restaurant
11 Allen St (at Canal)
New York, NY
(212) 625-1163
Ugh, that looks soo good! Is it wrong to have cravings for this kind of stuff at 9:30 a.m.?
Posted by: Jon Sperry | November 29, 2007 at 12:32 PM
No, sir! Malaysians love a spunky brekky!
http://my.opera.com/opera%20MY/blog/2007/08/29/breakfast-malaysian-style
http://www.treklens.com/gallery/Asia/Malaysia/photo18547.htm
http://www.smh.com.au/news/good-living/sydneys-best-laksa/2006/07/24/1153593261201.html
Posted by: EF | November 29, 2007 at 01:07 PM