Sambal Chef

Everything we tried was exquisite--totally worth the 40+ mile drive.Salted egg golden calamari--after it was all gone, I scrapped the sauce and mixed in my riceRoti Canai--just 2 per order? Okay 2 orders then...Water spinach with sambal sauce--not spicy at all and perfectly deliciousBeef Rendang--so tender and melt in your mouthCurry chicken--flavorfulWe cleaned our plates to help the dishwashers.

Sambal Chef never misses. The food is always so flavorful and tasty here. I always go for the roti as an appetizer and my favorites are any of the dishes with salted egg (salted egg soft shell crab and fried chicken wing)! The fried chicken wing is a MUST. My friends and I always finish all the dishes. The cooking truly feels homemade with love. So so happy to have this family business here in Pearland, truly a gem. Plenty of parking since it is in a plaza!

I came here after it was lunchtime on a weekend. There was no wait. The staff were friendly and checked up me pretty often. The food, I went for what was recommended. I especially liked the roti canai. I wanted to get more of the roti to dip in the delicious sauce. The salted egg calamari was prob not for me at first since it was a unique taste. As I ate more of it, I started to like the flavor. Unfortunately, some of the squid pieces weren't cooked through. The beef rendang had a good amount of spices and I liked the slices of cucumber on the side. It was refreshing and gave my tongue a break from the tender beef. It's a small restaurant but there are space enough for parties of probably 4-6 people at a table section. There is space in the middle to walk through.

My friend and I ordered the half Hainese Chicken Rice and the Beef Rendang Curry Noodle Soup. The Hainese Chicken Rice was great! The chicken was already flavorful on its own but when you dip it with the side sauces, it added lots of fragrance and flavor to the chicken. And when paired with some hot rice, it completes the dish.Although the chicken was great, the star of the show was the Beef Rendang. The beef was extremely tender and packed with flavor from the rich curry soup. I just love how this dish has so many toppings (bean sprouts, tofu skin, eggplant, fish cake, etc). Even when we finished eating the noodles and toppings, we took the curry soup home so we could put it on top of rice for the next day. As for the service, the server was super friendly. He always checked up on us and had a very kind/welcoming energy. Overall, I'm very pleased to find a Malaysian restaurant since there aren't that many in the area but this is a good one!

An absolute hidden gem for the best Malaysian food! The dishes we ordered were beyond amazing, and the service is wonderfully attentive. The house made chili oil is a game-changer, adding the perfect kick to the stir fry noodles. The chicken and beef satay was the best I've ever had. It had the perfect marinade combined with the perfect char to each bite. Their roti canal was light and fluffy even after we took the leftovers home and reheated the next day. A must-visit for any foodie.

The pineapple fried rice and the beef rengang were declious. We didn't really like the soup it was pretty sour. The calamari could use some kind of sauce but the calamari itself were yummy. Downsides there were a bunch of flies around our table. And service was slow I didn't get a refill on water or anything

Service was amazing, and our server was very nice. However I was not impressed by the food. The only notable mention for me was their roti canai, everything else was just ok.

4.5 edging to 4.Have been wanting to try Sambal Chef for a while. Stopped in for a Sunday dinner with the wife. The service was top notch. Pro Tip: ask for the Sambal hot sauce from the back. They really did not have Hot Sauce on the table. Ordered 3 dishes with the wife and we had enough to take home for another meal.Salted Egg Golden Calamari: large portion, the calamari had a nice crunchy batter and the Salted egg yolk gave it a bit of a sauce. This is a big enough plate to split between 4 people. If you like fried Calamari give this a try its a bit different in taste than most places. Beef Rendang: good sized portion of very tender beef in a sauce with lots of depth of flavor. It was not very spicy to me so I added extra hot sauce. You may want to have them spice it up a bit if you like it hot. Closer in flavor to an Indian Curry, so if you like that give this a try.Singapore Noodles: Good portion of noodles, if you are looking for a flavorful noodle dish give this a try. The vermicelli noodles give it a more subtle texter than you average lowmain. it was loaded with protein and vegetables. If you have never had Singapore Noodles before I think these are worth an orderAs for as the food goes I give them 5 stars, however the inside of the restaurant was a bit dirty and had some flies buzzing around. The place was not filthy but is was not the cleanest either. I suggest just getting your order to go if that bothers you. In general this is not a place you would take to impress a first date, But if you are looking for a good bite of nicely prepared food stop in. Hands down some of the best Asian food you can get in Pearland, I would recommend and return.

Sambal Chef gives me hope for the Malaysian food scene in Houston metropolitan area and has steadily grown their following by showcasing some legit SE Asian fare. Considering most of the Malaysian / Singaporean establishments have made their mark in the burbs, it's no surprise they've become one of the true gems of Pearland. Their interior is small and the seating is probably meant for 20 at best. The vibe is mom-and-pop with a casual feel, which is really ideal for the neighborhood. Takeout is big here, but I have always maintained their best output is during their dine-in service.I'm pleased to report the food has not been watered down to accommodate western palates. The sambal (chili shrimp paste) has a good amount of funk and the potency is serious enough to give so many of their dishes a very distinct flavor profile. I love starting things off with their roti canai, which is airy and fluffy, with just enough crispy edges that soaks into the curry sauce so wonderfully. Beef rendang is one of the motherland's most recognizable dishes and they do it well here: tender, flavorful, and a tad greasy for my liking. Their char kway teow is comfort food in the form of noodles and the mee goreng / nasi lemak are in similar company.I am a big fan of their sambal fish fillet, which is probably their top seafood item. All of the satays are winners, but especially the beef. Their kampung crispy chicken was recommended to me by the staff, which was good but I do wish there was more meat. Their hainan chicken is classic and the salted egg calamari is definitely worth trying. Folks who are on the hunt for Singapore chili crab can find it here. There is no denying this place is the real deal.Service has always been kind with me. While I think the prices are a tad high, I think that's the way it is with practically every place of quality at this point. Parking can be a challenge when the plaza is busy but I've found the easiest time to be here to be on weeknights. For fans of Malaysian fare, I suggest coming here and ordering a feast with a group of hungry diners (#1). It'll be the highlight of the week.__________(#1) And invite me. Please.

This place is such a hidden gem for Malaysian food without going to Bellaire. Kampung Crispy Chicken was a nice crispy chicken and they give you quite a bit of it. The skin was nice and crispy and it wasn't dry. It had a little bit too much of the Sriracha mayo sauce for me but the mangos really cut through it which was nice. Roti Canai is a favorite staple of mine when I go here because it just has so much flavor in the curry and the roti was nice and airy. The curry sauce you can use to dip other things when you're done with it.Char Koay Teow was great! Loved the big flat noodles in the dish. The flavors of the dish were amazing as well. Overall I would keep coming back to eat here and keep trying new and different things. Maybe I'll try the Singaporean chili crab next and hope it will taste like the one I had in Singapore!