Nyonya
“You can't go wrong with the Roti Canai, Chow Kueh Teow, Hainanese Chicken With Rice (white meat please) or Crispy Golden Fried Squids.”
“Also, if you're interested, be sure to check out their coconut rice, which is pretty awesome as well.”
“Get Nasi Lemak, Laksa, Hainanese Chicken rice, Mie Siam, Kwetiau Goreng, and of course..”
Nyonya
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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This place is super cheap, so we decided to just order a bunch of their dishes to try it out. Asked the waiter if the roti would be enough for us, but they recommended we get more orders so we opted to get the roti telur also.
The roti is paper thin and I thought was plenty for 3 people to try. The roti telur was much more filling and a lot thicker than the roti. It reminds me of green onion pancake with egg Taiwanese breakfast. The beef redang was very tender and the best dish of the night. The chicken broth rice is as delicious as it sounds and worth a try. The other two dishes that we ordered, hainese chicken and mango shrimp were pretty average.
I thought service here was quite slow and was unhappy that they recommended more appetizer even when we had 3 entrees and 1 appetizer to split among 3 people. The beef redang, chicken broth rice, and the roti were the highlights of the meal.
I can't believe I haven't reviewed this restaurant! I've been coming to Nyonya since I came to NY in the late 90s. Before this I used to come here with my friends from school. I introduced Malaysian food to some of my American and International friends. I must say that "Char Keow Teow" is people's favorite. So order this dish when you come to Nyonya. It's listed under stir-fry noodle dishes. Most of the servers here have been working at this restaurant for many years and I know some of them by name. They're friendly, fast and equipped. I introduced this restaurant to hubby after we got married because he likes Asian food and doesn't mind trying some spicy dishes. So we had crabs, spicy and aromatic, satay, boiled squid appetizer, roni canai (great choice), nasi lemak, hainanese chicken rice, char keow teow (excellent!), shrimp dish, vegetable dish and a lot more. So yes, I suggest this restaurant for authenticity. Take note: CASH only! Hubby and I try to come here a few times a year. The price is reasonable and the food is great. I've tried many Malaysian restaurants around the city. We haven't found any better Malaysian restaurant that could beat this one in terms of price and authenticity. In the meantime this will be the place I come to indulge my Malaysian food craving. It's a big place and at the center of Little Italy. So we noticed that a lot of tourists stop in too, not just the locals. They would come here for food and settle with Ferrara next door for desserts. It works out well for those who are on diet! *:)
I've never eaten here sober. Is it fair that I'm reviewing this then? Yes, because I need to exercise my fingers besides the daily rub and tug-Ohh-war I face with my arch nemesis, The D. And by that, I don't mean Detroit.
The service here is pretty decent for a Chinatown spot. No yelling or deer in headlights looks due to their English proficiency. Yes, the food comes out so fast you wonder how long it was sitting there before they nuked it and sent it to your table. Sometimes, you need to stop overthinking it, put it in your mouth and eat. No pause.
The Roti Canai is smallish and the curry is rich and flavorful. You kind of have to, because who doesn't like dunking stuff into a rich brown sauce with a random piece of chicken swimming in it? I don't share this; sharing is stupid when it's this small and you're going to kill it in three to four bites. Don't let that overzealous server take the curry in her hurry, because you'll want to pour that over your girl, i mean, rice… later.
The crispy squid tentacles (not to be confused w/testicles) are a hot mess to look at, however those buggers are delicious. Salty and sweet with a crunch like chips, which is how you should treat them: eat the whole damn thing without remorse & accept your inner fat kid, Kenny.
The water spinach with shrimp paste is a yes. Not only is it delicious, you need something that's green at the table to make yourself feel better and so that 5 star from Wisconsin who's sitting at the next table will ask, "What's that?" Boom, instant ice breaker and you've now found your future ex (yes, this really happened, but not here & she was more like a solid 3).
That Hainanese Chicken that you see in all the pics is a staple. Juicy, moist, flavorful and served cool, I order it every time, but feel like that basic bitch who always orders Pad Thai and doesn't know why. The irony.
Beef Rendang? Yes. Just…yes. Period.
Singapore rice noodles. I sometimes come here with a drinking buddy of mine and he always orders this, which to me is just ok (I'm not a pasta/noodle fanboy, unless it's swimming in broth). Reasons why he orders this: 1) I eat a bite of it, and 2) I never want to take this home (via doggy bag). So, he's got another meal for the next day; don't we all have one of these kinds of douchey friends in our lives? He is also the type that will eat more then his share of the chicken, if you don't keep up with his eating pace. And he wonders why women can't stand him after a few dates. No, I'm not projecting.
The pineapple fried rice here is good, but the salted fish one is better. It's not too salty and has mucho flavor. I don't get ordering fried rice with heavy sauced dishes, though. If you already got the curry from the Rotti Canai and all the gravy from other dishes, why would you not just get white rice as the vehicle to enjoy that goodness? It's equivalent to ordering, say, mashed potatoes that have been seasoned with truffle oil and dried, unicorn blood, but then you pour gravy over it and ruin the dish which you just paid $12. Get the coconut (or just white rice), if you've got a lot of sauce you plan on sopping up later.
It's cash only, which pisses me off, because I get double points at restaurants on my card. The bathroom just might be one of the best in Chinatown; i'm talking at least 2nd world quality, easily. They aren't open late night, so the 3/4 a.m. late night crawl won't happen here. There aren't many options for Malaysian and although I'm no expert on the cuisine, it's got the one factor that's THE most important reason, in any cuisine…it taste good, Floecia.
For affordable, tasty Malaysian food, you can't go wrong with Nyonya. The restaurant is spacious, and the service attentive. As per recommendation, we started with the Roti Prata, which paired a light (almost fragile) pancake with a lamb curry dipping sauce. Delicious! We followed that up with some champagne ribs, half a garlic chicken, and some bok choy and coconut rice. All were solid, but the chicken really stood out. The sauce for the ribs was the perfect combination of sweet and tangy, but they were difficult to eat with chopsticks. The rice was…typical solid rice, and the bok choy was cooked just right (i.e., crisp, but not undercooked) with a garlic glaze. The chicken was so tasty because it balanced a juicy, garlic-infused interior with an addictively crispy and salty skin. It is a must order. Best of all, you can easily order a filling dinner for two for around $40, which is affordable considering the quality. Nyonya is not groundbreaking, but is nonetheless very satisfying, which certainly justifies a return visit for me.
Been here a couple times, but came back today with my husband since he's never really had good Malaysian/Chinese food. We got the pearl noodles, roti canai, hainanese chicken, and Malaysian spareribs. Everything was good, except the hainanese chicken doesn't compare to other hainanese chicken we had in a different country. I knocked off one star for the service as some of the waitresses provided little to no customer service. Other than that, food is good enough for you to stop in.
My first Malaysian food experience in NYC. It's very busy here even on a Monday night.
My friend and I arrived at around 8pm and we were seated right away. We got the prawnme, chicken satay and roti canai. The sauce for the chicken satay and the chicken itself was too sweet, but the prawnee broth and roti canai made up for that. Delicious prawnee broth and curry dipping for roti canai.
A lot of people here get the hainan chicken and some sort of stir-fry rice/noodles. Will def return for other dishes one day.
Ate here with some friends. 1 ordered the pad thai because I love it. However, the pad thai here was subpar at best. I asked for extra spicy and the hot sauce they use added way too much acidity and sourness. If it sounds gross, that's because it tasted kind of gross. And while 1 usually like lemons more than lime, time needs to come with my pad thai. Lemon just doesn't taste right.
Lastly, though this should've been first, the waiter's thumb was all up in my bean sprouts when he brought the food out. Blech.
Maybe this experience was a fluke compared to usual, but I expected something better for a restaurant with such good ratings.
I love Malaysian food, or Southeast Asian food in general. I set out in search of laksa, and ended up here. This dimly lit restaurant showed a lot of character. There is a large mural, probably of the streets of Malaysia, along the back walls. The scent of robust flavors was in the air. The menu has quite a selection, but is not quite as overwhelming as a typical Chinese restaurant with 100+ items.
Penang Asam Laksa – spicy & sour thick rice noodles in lemongrass broth with fish & vegetables:
I was hoping for curry laksa, but they only have asam laksa, which has a sour, usually tamarind-based broth. Since I had never had asam laksa before, I decided to give it a try. The broth definitely has a rich, tart flavor and there were meaty chunks of fish.
Roti Canai – The roti was very thin & soft, and tasted great with the curry dipping sauce. It had chicken and potato in it, but only piece of each, so that doesn't make it very share-able.
Beef Rendaang – The beef cubes were very tender & juicy, and also tasted great with the creamy, thick sauce.
Braised Duck w/ Lotus Seed – The duck leg was so tender that it came right off the bone. It was excellent in its sweet sauce. The lotus seeds tasted like roasted chestnuts, which makes the even heartier.
Watercress w/ Bean Curd Sauce – We figured we needed a vegetable, and the watercress was a great option. It was sweet and crunchy, and a little stringy, as watercress tends to be.
Coconut Rice – Rice goes with everything, but there wasn't much of a coconut flavor. Still, I needed rice to sop up all the leftover sauces and curries from the other dishes we ordered.
There are so many amazing dishes on the menu. I'd definitely return to try more deliciousness. Even though there is no curry laksa on the menu, it seems like several noodle dishes are very similar to the spicy, coconut milk, curry noodle soup that I am always in the mood for.
The one thing I have to complain about – they are cash-only. When I saw the sign, I nearly rolled my eyes. No card payment, are you kidding me? The prices are reasonable, but not cheap. If they could set up a credit card terminal, I'd pay a return visit sooner rather than later.