Rasarumah

A true gem for Southeast Asian flavors! We ordered the pork jowl satay, bergedil, char kway teow, and wagyu beef cheek rendang.The pork jowl satay came with two skewers and a side of pineapple sauce. The meat was incredibly tender and flavorful, and since we were hungry, these disappeared fast.The bergedil potato fritters were thicker than expected, with a soft, fluffy center. But the real standout? The curry. Rich, aromatic, and the perfect introduction to the beef rendang that followed.Speaking of which--the wagyu beef cheek rendang is an absolute must-order. The meat was melt-in-your-mouth tender, the sauce was deeply spiced and comforting, and the fresh, hot roti was the perfect vessel for scooping up all the flavors. The pickled veggies added just the right amount of contrast to balance the richness.We also had the char kway teow (shrimp noodles) - This one didn't quite hit the mark for me. Overall, RasaRumah is a spot that delivers on bold flavors, quality ingredients, and dishes that make you want to order more. Highly recommend!

A beautiful new spot serving up flavor-packed Malaysian dishes. Def lives up to the hype!! Some standouts include:- Gado Gado (8/10): A great starter. This light, refreshing salad has just the right balance of tanginess and sweetness.- Park Jowl Satay (10/10): My favorite dish of the night. The fatty pork is cooked very well, and the peanut pineapple sauce cuts through the richness, offering a well-balanced, flavorful bite. It's also fun to pair with each of their sambal sauces for a variety of tastes.- Wagyu Beef Cheek Rendang (9/10): The beef is incredibly tender and melts in your mouth Street parking is available around the neighborhood. It's a bit tough to do a walk-in bc of all the hype, so I highly recommend making a reservation in advance.

Wow, what a way to start 2025. As a longtime PRD devotee I was so excited to try another concept by Chef Johnny Lee and this one lives up to the hype. We were able to secure a walk in table by arriving right at 5 PM on a Saturday. The first thing I was struck by was how beautiful the small yet cozy space was. They did a great job with the TIs creating a sophisticated, moody feel. Now on to the food:We ordered the chicken satay (I really want to go back for the pork) which came with 2 skewers. The chicken was moist and had a great charcoaly flavor but the star was the satay sauce which was earthy, nutty, and just a touch sweet (4/5). The second dish we ordered was the Char Koay Kak, (5/5) which was griddled rice cakes served with bean sprouts and eggs. This dish was so good! I read in a few reviews that some people found it overly salty. I agree that it was very salty but I think that more worked for this dish, particularly when balanced out with the tangy notes of the achar accompaniments. We had the Gado Gado salad (5/5) which consisted of baby gem lettuce, fried tofu, and shrimp chips dressed in a peanut sauce. My goodness, the tofu was so good. It was the star of the salad. The peanut dressing was delicious. It was familiar tasting but differentiated from the satay peanut sauce. (3.5) The main we ordered was the beef rendang. This was the biggest let down unfortunately. While the beef was really well seasoned (again I could understand a salt complaint for this dish) it wasn't as tender as I would expect (I thought it would fall apart with a gentle touch of my spoon). While the texture wasn't 100% right the flavor was there. However, the flavor was overwhelmed by a pool of grease. I've had this dish elsewhere many times and while I expect a good pool of fat, this dish was swimming in grease. I wanted to clutch my chest while eating it. If the kitchen did one fat skim I think this dish would be taken up a notch. The roti bread the dish came with was faaaaantastic though!(5/5) cendol sundae. I should preface this by saying I'm a savory person. Give me a steak and potatoes any day of the week over dessert. That said, this dessert blew my socks off. The sundae was essentially coconut ice cream with pandan jelly red beans and a thick syrup. This dish reminded me so much of my favorite Filipino dessert halo halo. Stay away from this one if you're diabetic but man was this good. Can't wrap without mentioning how good all of the sambal were. I think I enjoyed the sour sambal the most but the sambal tumis was another sleeper (reminded me of Filipino bagaoong). Other notes: don't bother with valet. There's street parking if you keep your eyes peeled. Summary: food is excellent but some dishes need a little more thought (fat skim for rendang). I will 1000% be back to try other dishes. I was eyeing the okra dish and the wings. This place has potential to be a 5/5. For now, I'd rank it a 4.5/5.

How about a dinner spot with excellent flavor explosion. This spot hits. The Wagyu Beef Cheek Rendang is like make your own tacos with the delicious roti. The Gado Gado salad was a fresh take on a Gem salad. The pork jowl satay were little bites of tastiness. The Hokkien Mee was interesting with the two types of pasta but I do wish it was more exciting but still a solid dish. The only negative and I would say this would make it 4.5/5 is the extreme loudness of the restaurant. You are warned but still it was a bit off putting. Just decrease the decibel a little and it will be a 5 in my book.

Congrats to chef/owner Johnny Lee & partner Last Word Hospitality on the opening of Rasarumah ("flavor house" in Malay)! They've opened in the former Vaka Burger spot on the same block as the sadly shuttered Genever on Beverly Blvd in Historic Filipinotown. It's a gorgeous renovation, befitting the food on offer.Everything I had was excellent. For openers I had the ulam bendi (blanched okra & eggplant, sour sambal, dried shrimp). The sambal was an excellent accompaniment to the dish. I followed that with the ayam berempeh (Malaysian style fried chicken wings, sweet chili sauce), maybe the best wings I've had. The hokkien mee (Singaporean style, thick yellow noodles & rice vermicelli, pork & shrimp stock, roasted pork jowl, seared squid, lardon) was delicious. I had plenty of leftovers as I saved room for the cendol sundae (coconut pandan ice cream, pandan jelly noodles, red bean, gula melaka syrup, toasted buckwheat). Surprisingly the wings, with that sweet chili sauce, was my fave dish.The sambals are great! My fave was the sambal tumis, a savory sambal with dried shrimp and chilis. My impression of some of Johnny's previous restaurants was that there was a sense of DIY work ethic to the restaurant space. It's amazing to see this partnership with Last Word Hospitality, as it seems to provide him with the resources (restaurant design & build out, beverage expertise, reservation system and all of the staffing) to take on a more expansive, challenging menu for many more diners than any of his previous spots.I met Johnny after Jonathan Gold wrote about the incredible French fries he made at the original Spirit House in Monterey Park. Mr Gold later wrote about the fantastic Hainan chicken Johnny made at Side Chick. Given his attention to detail, it should be no surprise that Johnny continues to shine as a chef. If I may, I would like to think Mr Gold would continue to rave about the food Johnny makes for us -- now, on a larger, grander scale than ever before.

Rasarumah has a cozy vibe. The staff is super friendly, attentive and are super great at giving recommendations. My friend and I went amid the Lunar New Year and had the opportunity to try some of the specials. If Chef Johnny's steamed chicken (RIP PRD) is on the menu, it's a must. It is one of the best ones I've had. The other highlight of the evening was the ice cream sundae. It had the perfect blend of Asian desserts that were served in a classic style sundae. I'd come in just to get the ice cream tbh. Can't wait to go back!

Came here for dinner with my buddy on their second evening launch. Staff is friendly and welcoming! Dishes are Malaysian / Singaporean inspired flavors and it's done really well! Def try their Gado Gado salad it was my fave dish being a salad lover. So fresh and flavorful and that mint/basil, just cherry on top! Their sambal with shrimp chips is also such a fun and delightful appetizer. Staff here also really know their dishes. I was really impressed on how everyone knew the menu palette and notes. We were really welcomed and really enjoyed the staff energy and ambiance! Def give this spot a try if you love Asian flavors or is feeling adventurous (:

Disclaimer that this review does not attest to the authenticity of Malaysian food! That being said, this meal is one of my top restaurant experiences in LA. When we walked in, it felt like we were being transported to New York, dimly lit yet warm, kind of retro but with a modern flair. Since the restaurant seems to be relatively new, I didn't made a reservation for a weekday (Monday) night. MISTAKE. The small cozy space was already filled with bustling parties coming in and out by the time we got there around 6:30pm. Thankfully, they were able to squeeze us into the bar. We ordered: - Gado Gado (5/5): A MUST. My first time trying a salad like this and it did not disappoint. I was just asking myself what the hell they put in here. TEXTURES!!! My perfect bite was a little portion of the shrimp chip on top of golden fried tofu, cupped in a dressed little gem. YUMMM. Hefty portion for $16 too!! - Char Koay Kak (3.5/5): I've never had a dish like this, but out of the plates we ordered, this was my least favorite (though we still scraped it up clean!!). The rice cakes had a nice texture, bouncy but flavorless, probably to go with the saltysalty stir fry of bean sprouts and egg served with it. - Wagyu Beef Cheek Rendang (4.5/5): WOW such a generous portion of beef cheek, I was genuinely surprised that there wasn't a fat bone waiting inside. This plate comes with 2 roti and pickled vegetables on the side. The pickled veggies do well to cut the fattiness from some parts of the beef. And I guess that was my one gripe with the meat--the fatty bits that were texturally rubbery or too rich (MY OPINION). Other than that, the roti reminded me of Trader Joe's green onion pancake without the green onion. Not the MOST flaky but definitely delicious and came out piping hot. Wish there was more of it to soak up all the yummy curry!!! Amazing amazing amazing meal, awesome service, 10/10 vibes. Will be back 1000000%

We walked in on a friday right at opening time and got seated at the bar (didn't seem like tables were available). Overall dishes were interesting and maybe a good foray to Malaysian food created for a Western palette, but for anyone who loves the cuisine you might find it a bit too refined and lacking of the sharp punch of flavor. Combine that with above average prices for the neighborhood and you might leave less than satisfied.- Gado Gado (5/5): Texturally diverse and flavorful. I could eat this regularly. - Ulam Bendi (2/5): Imagine steamed/boiled veggies with the Sour Sambal. Not super exciting if you are accustomed to eating okra and eggplant. Maybe better if the sambal was more pungent. Veggies were a little on the mushy side. - Pork Jowl Satay (4/5): Well cooked and juicy. Wish there were more than 2 skewers! Peanut sauce was average. - Wagyu Beef Cheek Rendang (2/5): Really disappointing. Beef was cooked well but the whole dish was kinda bland especially for a rendang. It felt very sterile and lacked the characteristic flavor I am used to. - Extra Roti (3/5): Roti is fine. The rendang came with 2 pieces and we had to order 2 more pieces to finish the dish. Not the flakiest by any means -- just a carby alternative to paying $5 for a bowl of jasmine rice. - We got courtesy samplings of all the sambals and the Sambal Ijo (green one) was my favorite for the slight spiciness and fresh flavor.

It's a good sign when half the patrons here were Asian. Rasarumah is Malaysian inspired and the food is good. Though there were a few misses. The space is small, but charming; dark and romantic and, in general, a cool vibe. This is what we got for four people:Little Gems (16) - Calling Gado Gado "little gems" on the receipt is peak colonizing behavior (just an observation). It was good. Fresh, flavorful and good crispy texture. For the price, wanted a bigger portion.Hokkien Mee (30) - Oh, this was really bad. No flavor and just wet. Skip this entirely. It was all wrong and difficult to save even with the house made sambaals. The most bland thing we had.Hainan Chicken (32) - Good, but not $32 good. I've had a fair amount of hainan chicken and though, very delicious, it wasn't exponentially better. It's a great dish for people who've never had it to try. If you're gonna have it for the first time. Have this version.Steam Cod (36) - Good, but not memorable. Wagu Beef Rendang (44) - tender meat and good savory flavor. However it's missing the kick usually found in traditional Rendang. It's obvious that spices were minimized to appease folks who aren't used to the heat, but at least it still tasted great and cooked to perfection.Charging $5 for one piece of roti and bowl of rice will always be a crime in by book. But it was needed to complete the meal.Sundae (12) - Delicious and worth a try as highly recommended by our server. Not too sweet and a nice interpretation of south east Asian desserts.I think Rasarumah is great to try once especially when you've never had Malaysian-type food before, but save it for a special occasion. Note: There's a 4% healthy LA charge that they also tax. Remove this when you calculate your tip. You should tip on the cost of your food only.