Spice trader from Malaysia(2)

Assam-style fish is a regional favorite. Photo provided to China Daily

So was the well-marinated meat in an appetizer of savory chicken morsels wrapped in pandan (screwpine) leaves. After the chicken is allowed to sit and absorb flavors including white pepper and plenty of ginger, the chef wraps each piece tightly with a leaf, stabbing the package with a toothpick to keep it together. Then the batch gets deep-fried until golden brown.

To keep the feast from being totally carnivorous, we ordered another Malaysian classic, sambal long beans. Sambal belacan is prawn paste, a popular condiment in this cuisine that's also perfect for stir fries with vegetables like asparagus or these bright-green long beans. The resulting aroma is so rich that it's pure pleasure to simply inhale－it's almost a shame to eat those beans and make that sensory delight go away.

Raya's extensive menu includes many other Malaysian favorites, such as salted egg-yolk sotong, sambal ladies fingers, crab in spicy chili sauce, pan-fried fish in sambal sauce, nyonya fried rice and laksa, a spicy soup with roots in Chinese and Malay cuisines. In fact, the word laksa may have been derived from the Cantonese la tsa or "spicy sand", due to the ground dried prawns that give the sauce a gritty texture.

"We also have Penang prawn noodles, lemon chicken, honey pork-ribs－typical Singapore/Malaysian dishes as well as a new yam stick dessert you really should try," says Tan.

"Raya conjures up a sense of happiness and festivity. It also refers to our national flower (hibiscus)," he says of the name of the restaurant, which has walls adorned with wayang kulit puppets.

Tan has recently opened a second location at Oriental Plaza in Beijing's Wangfujing area, and he plans to broaden the restaurant menu soon, adding not only more Malaysian dishes but also other favorites from across Southeast Asia, hoping to appeal to more walk-in customers in the busy shopping areas that surround both restaurants.

It's not intentional, perhaps, but it means more Silk Road flavors to come in this charming little restaurant.

If you go

Raya

10 am-10 pm daily. World City Block E (next to The Place, opposite Parkview Green), Dongdaqiao Lu, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 182-0161-3345.