San Francisco Vacation: Melaka Restaurant in San Bruno
This buffet is unplanned … honest … cross my heart and hope to die!
We were staying in San Bruno, thereabouts. Each day driving between our hotel and the Caltrain station we can’t help but notice a restaurant called Melaka Restaurant. That word could only mean one thing in the world … it’s the name of one of the oldest city in Malaysia … and that means that it’s a Malaysian restaurant. We simply gotta check it out.
We found out that it’s a buffet place. And what really made us stay for dinner is the irresistable price … it’s only about $8 or so per person. I can spot a Malaysian anywhere … from the way they dress, their hair style and especially the way they speak.
You know … Malaysians have their own unique English … pretty much a mix of English, Malay and Chinese … we call it Manglish. I have loaded such a song on youtube here — it is not exactly a Manglish song but more Singlish but it’s close.
I so miss the humble noodles. The mussels were just so-so.
The deep fried prawns was also so-so.
The boys enjoyed the sushi.
The calamari, the hainanese chicken and the fried chicken wings were so-so too.
I think this one is chicken … am not sure.
The soup was so-so.
The pastries selection was also so-so.
Green tea ice-cream … certainly not Malaysia.
The food overall are not great but they were comfort food for us. We enjoyed the evening. The total came up to only $35 including tips. Not bad.
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Categorized Under: Buffets • Malaysian • San Francisco 2007
I grew up in San Bruno and my family still lives there. This used to be a Lyons restaurant when I was younger. In my 20s we’d go out to clubs then eat here at 2am. Haven’t been back since I reopened. Looks like Chinese buffet to me though.
Thanks so much for telling (warning) us about the “so-so” restaurant. :) Can’t wait for tomorrow’s blog. Keep ‘em coming. I’m still waiting to see if you guys made it to Napa Valley. Am in suspense!!!!! : )
People have told me that there’s a decent number of Malaysian restaurants in the SF Bay Area, but most of them are only so-so. That’s still better than what we have in Orange County. =/
It used to serve Malaysian food when it first opened in 2002-2003-ish, can’t remember. Used to live up on Pacifica not too far from San Bruno. Unfortunately, the Malaysian food business failed and it turned into a buffer place soon after. By the way, it wasn’t good when it was Malaysian food. :P
Great blog! I live in San Bruno and work at YouTube. Did you know that our office is just about 3 blocks up the hill from that restaurant you ate at? We don’t have tours though. Sorry. Actually, I haven’t eaten at Malaka yet, but heard about the same from my friends that have. Just so-so. I may post a video later if I go and eat there for nostalgic effect.