three and a half stars
Situated along the busy Kentish Town Road is Café Bintang, a small South East Asian café-restaurant that is indeed proud of its Far East traditions, and this partly comes across in its interior, decorated predominately in warm wooden tones, with plenty of strategically positioned artefacts, adding a touch of authenticity. A combination of Malaysian, Indonesian and Thai cuisines and low prices make this a popular place to dine in, so whilst your neighbours enjoy Thai prawn torpedoes, you could be feasting on crispy tofu bites in native BBQ wadai sauce or Burmese style vegetable pakoras served with dips. The nonya chicken demonstrates a nice balance of lemongrass, galangal, basil and pandan leaf flavours, while the lamb dish, bayas rendang is cooked south Thai way with potatoes, fresh herbs, spices and coconut milk. Situated along the busy Kentish Town Road is Café Bintang, a small South East Asian café-restaurant that is indeed proud of its Far East traditions, and this partly comes across in its interior, decorated predominately in warm wooden tones, with plenty of strategically positioned artefacts, adding a touch of authenticity. A combination of Malaysian, Indonesian and Thai cuisines and low prices make this a popular place to dine in, so whilst your neighbours enjoy Thai prawn torpedoes, you could be feasting on crispy tofu bites in native BBQ wadai sauce or Burmese style vegetable pakoras served with dips. The nonya chicken demonstrates a nice balance of lemongrass, galangal, basil and pandan leaf flavours, while the lamb dish, bayas rendang is cooked south Thai way with potatoes, fresh herbs, spices and coconut milk. The Bintang platter has a slight degree of elaboration featuring chicken satay, prawn toast, lumpia, seaweed and tuna wrap, ideal for those who'd like to taste a little bit of everything.