Mambow

After stints at Spitalfields and Peckham, chef Abby Lee’s Malaysian concept went permanent on Lower Clapton Road, and it’s some of the best Malaysian food in London. The room is small and loud, open kitchen, metal tables, colourful plates, a thumping soundtrack, with the strapline “Malaysian Heat + Juicy Wines” summing it up nicely. Lee grew up in Singapore working in family bakeries before cooking her way through Malaysia and Italy, and the menu reflects that layered Chinese and Indo-Malay influence. Don’t miss the lor bak (crispy pork and prawn roll with a killer chilli vinegar jam) and the otak-otak prawn toast wrapped in betel leaf, plus a rotating cast of curries, a black pepper chicken from Lee’s family recipe in Perak, or a pineapple curry topped with garlic chive dumplings. Wash it down with natural wine or a milk tea.