Lunch & Dinner Feasts
In a sea of high-ticket lunch and dinner choices downtown, Malaysia Kopitiam is an island of affordability. Dishes are meant to be shared, and low prices make this subterranean hideaway, with its decorative Buddhas and tiki roofs, popular with office groups.
Sharable picks on the big menu include spicy tamarind beef with okra ($13.95), lotus root stuffed with chicken and shrimp ($10.95), and roti canai ($4.50)—a lush chicken curry with flatbread for dipping. Affable owner Leslie Phoon is usually on hand to help put together a bargain feast.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
