Adept at ushering spice, flavor, and culinary diversity to Westchester’s food and beverage scene, restaurateur and global-eats enthusiast Jeevan Pullan (VEGA, Hartsdale; TAKO, Yonkers and Harrison; NH44, Hartsdale; Jaipore Xpress, Briarcliff Manor/ Ridgefield) noticed something missing: Malaysian cuisine.
Determined to remedy that, Pullan transformed a former deli in downtown Scarsdale into LEMAK Malaysian, which opened in January. “Lemak means ‘coconut cream’ and coconut is a staple of Malaysian cooking,” he says. Other quintessential ingredients have been hard to come by, so Chef Balaraman Swaminathan (who helmed eateries in his native Malaysia but has been cooking in the US for two decades) relies on care packages from his relatives.
Pullan strives to “keep it simple” while proffering an array of authentic small plates paired with stir-fried rice and noodle dishes, and curry-like stews. Fresh mango salad or a soup of featherlight house-made wontons lead into mountainous nasi lemak, a delicacy of coconut rice, aromatic herbs, zippy sambal sauce, hard-boiled egg, cucumber, and chicken, beef, or shrimp. Coconut-milk porridge, sweet, shaved ice, or frothy teh tarik (pulled tea) are meal-ending musts.
With fewer than 20 seats, LEMAK is intimate, but the décor is as vibrant as the food. Lush Malaysian fabrics, hung dishware, and bamboo play off a stunning accent wall that serves as a bold, new flavor of eye-candy from every angle.
LEMAK Malaysian
62 Garth Rd, Scarsdale; 914.574.5280; lemakmalaysian.com
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