With Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month now here, it’s the perfect time to celebrate the rich and diverse Southeast Asian cultures that have shaped America. While New York City is already well-known for its Thai and Vietnamese restaurants, it’s also home to other Southeast Asian cuisines that are similarly incredible but often overshadowed. Here are five restaurants near campus that speak to the rich, multicultural flavors of Malaysian food, the sweet and savory traditions of Filipino food, the earthy and tangy dishes of Burmese cuisine and more.
FishMarket II | $$
171 Ave. A
Don’t let the interior of FishMarket II fool you. What looks like a typical sports bar complete with beer on tap, sports games on the big screen and college flags lining the walls, is actually home to some of the best Malaysian food in the city — served alongside a second menu of classic American bar food. Because Malaysia is a melting pot of many Asian cultures, the restaurant’s food takes influences from Indonesia and Thailand in dishes like satays and coconut-based dishes. FishMarket II’s satay — though not offered on the physical menu — is a standout, grilled to perfection with a sweet char and topped with a rich peanut satay sauce.
FishMarket II also serves various noodle dishes like its $21 chow kueh teow, which is a stir-fry noodle dish made with fish cake and shrimp. The restaurant also serves a Malaysian favorite: $27 curry laksa, a spicy coconut curry-based noodle soup, filled to the brim with fish balls and fried beancurd. If noodles aren’t your thing you can also get the $20 nasi lemak, a coconut rice dish served with a flavorful and spicy coconut chicken curry with a side of peanuts, dried anchovies and sambal, a sweet chili-based sauce giving the dish a nice kick.
Little Myanmar | $
150 E. Second St.
Little Myanmar is a family-run restaurant offering a wide-ranging menu of dishes, from tea leaf salads and rich curries to numbing mala skewers. Its small interior is cozy with a few tables along brick-lined walls, with only a curtain separating the dining room from the kitchen behind. Like its neighboring Southeast Asian countries, Burmese cuisine features lots of bold flavors and spices, often fusing Indian, Chinese and Thai food all into one dish.
To start off your meal, you can have a classic Burmese tea leaf salad, which consists of fermented tea leaves and other vegetables, nuts, dried shrimp and more. You can choose to try its $16 original tea leaf salad, or you can also add ingredients like rice and egg, anchovies or fermented ginger. They also serve grilled mala skewers, which are offered with either meat, seafood or vegetables seasoned with a sweet but numbing mala spice. For your entree, indulge in one of their many signature Burmese-style curries which are packed full of spices to create a hearty dish that warms your soul.
Kalye | $$
251 Broome St.
Filipino cuisine is finally getting its long-overdue moment in New York City’s food scene, and Kalye is helping lead the charge. Kalye, which translates to “street” in Tagalog, is a cozy space of exposed brick walls, colorful neon lights and a lively street-side patio where Filipino street food’s comforting, punchy flavors come alive. Their food reflects the Philippines’ rich history with Indigenous, Spanish, Chinese and American influences that combine to create soulful, endlessly flavorful sharing dishes.
Popular dishes include the restaurant’s crispy, flavorful pork sisig for $26 and its aromatic $33 pancit palabok, a rice noodle dish topped with boiled eggs, shrimp and chicharron. But the star of the show is the Club 85, an $85 hands-on platter made for groups to share and sample Filipino favorites like longganisa, pork barbecue skewers, lumpia, mango salad, vegetables, inasal and steamed rice.
End with the restaurant’s ube desserts, like its halo-halo, a refreshing Filipino dessert with shaved ice, ice cream and various toppings, or ube siopao, buns filled with ube and topped with coconut. Stop in during happy hour for drinks and small bites — you can make your way through the menu at a great price.
Wayan | $$$
20 Spring St.
Wayan in Nolita is the go-to for an upscale dining experience dedicated to Indonesian food. Opened by Cédric Vongerichten — yes, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s son — and his Indonesian wife Ochi Latjuba Vongerichten, Wayan reimagines Indonesian cuisine through a modern, French-trained lens — without losing its soul. The space is intimate and sleek, with warm wood tones, lush plants and flickering candlelight that set the mood for a relaxed meal packed with flavors.
In its intricate spice blends and bold flavors, Indonesian cuisine honors Indigenous traditions while drawing from China, India, the Middle East and the Netherlands. The $20 cucumber mango salad was bright and refreshing, balancing crisp textures with tropical sweetness. Pulling from French cuisine, the escargot rendang for $19 stood out: true to the slow-cooked, spice-laden richness of traditional rendang, this escargot was as tender and flavorful as it gets. One of the biggest highlights, however, was the $38 lobster noodle — silky housemade noodles tossed in a rich sauce and topped with succulent chunks of lobster. Pair it with a side of the $18 nasi goreng or the $15 corn fritters that proved addictingly crispy. And if you still have room, the $17 banana sundae — creamy and caramelized without being too heavy — is the perfect sweet ending to a vibrant meal.
Pig & Khao | $$$
68 Clinton St.
Pig & Khao in the Lower East Side, run by Top Chef alum Leah Cohen, takes the best of Filipino and Thai food and combines them to create innovative dishes. While the vibe is casual — with an open kitchen concept and a loud atmosphere — the food is quite the opposite. The menu is packed with heavy hitters like $49 Hainanese duck, a fusion take on a pan-fried duck, and a whole fried sea bream for $37, deep-fried to a glistening crisp and served over a decadent coconut Thai chu chee curry. Some Filipino classics include the $18 sizzling sisig — pork head served atop a sizzling hot plate — $18 fried shrimp sinigang and its tender slow-cooked pork adobo for $17. After your meal, be sure to get dessert, whether it be halo-halo or their light and airy $13 ricotta donuts.
Contact Ryan Lin and Sydney Poser at [email protected].
