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Neighborhood: Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Go for: the tasty paratha, which is somehow airy despite holding red lentil dhal, straciatella, herb salad, and sambal oil
New York City has been enjoying a wave of great Southeast Asian restaurant openings—places that grab the region’s punchy flavors, and present them in that perfect kind of setting; where the vibes are casual enough for a weekday dinner but the food is crave-worthy enough for your birthday. Kelang, with its jade-green walls, fringed red latterns, and open kitchen, hopes to fill the Malaysia-sized hole in a scene ripe with Vietnamese and Thai food.
The best dishes here are some of the more unassuming, and ones I’d come back for again and again. The seemingly simple paratha ($18), topping every table, is a starburst of flavor thanks to a well-done dhal and herb salad, which are balanced by sambal oil and straciatella. The charred caraflex cabbage ($19), dressed in achat butter, chili, and cashew cream, features sweet gusher-like gems of pineapple and is impossible to stop eating. But the larger format plates, like the umami-rich rendang (smoked oxtail with lime leaf, kerisik, and nasi djon djon ulam; $34) and the comforting kway teow stir-fried wide rice noodles ($27) tossed with clams and an egg yolk, were also massive hits at our table.
It’s been a little over six months since Kelang opened, and the kinks to smooth out are minor—they were out of a few dishes (including a highlighted special), even for our 5:30pm early-bird reservation. And, if you have spent time eating these dishes in Malaysia, yes, this is expensive in comparison, as many a social media commenter or Redditor will tell you. But for New York, the flavor-to-dollar ratio is pretty darn high, and the space is one you want to spend an evening in—and bring friends to. —Megan Spurrell
