This might be the first time I’ve ever had Malaysian food and I cannot wait to explore more of their cuisine.

A friend recommended this spot in Pleasanton called Curry Leaves Bistro and since he’s a fellow foodie, I wholeheartedly trust his judgement. It’s a fast casual joint with a concise menu but since we didn’t know what the majority of the dishes were, it took us some time to decide what to get. Of course we looked at pictures online and based on what looked popular, we picked a few dishes.

Inside Curry Leaves Bistro.

Nasi Lemak (8.5/10).

Supposedly nasi lemak is considered Malaysia’s national dish and was my favorite dish that we ordered. The white rice is steamed with coconut milk which perfumed the rice with a slight sweet and floral aroma. The chicken was stewed in some sort of curry but the real show stopper were the aromatics that are always served with this dish. The spicy sambal sauce (dark red sauce next to the rice) was perfectly balanced and the crispy anchovy peanut mixture was insanely good. It really was an explosion of flavors that harmonized all together.

Mee Goreng (8/10).

Mee goreng is a popular stir fried wheat noodle dish seasoned with soy sauce, onions, and garlic. Their version had pieces of shrimp, squid, and chicken and was finished with a sprinkling of scallions.

Roti Canai (8/10).

The last item we ordered was the plain roti served with lentil curry. The vegetarian lentil curry lacked a little flavor but the buttery roti made up for that.

We were both pleasantly surprised with the food at Curry Leaves Bistro and it’s always exciting to try something new and different so my rating is an 8/10.