Laut

Hanging signs with dish names throughout Laut make you feel like you’re eating in an alley somewhere in Southeast Asia, surrounded by food vendors. Colorful murals of birds, fish, and flowers look like street art, which only adds to that feeling. Everyone (including us) seems to like this Union Square restaurant that serves Singaporean, Malaysian, and Thai food, and that’s why it’s always crowded and loud. We always start with the nasi lemak, a painter’s palette of various funky, pickled, rich and crunchy things, and although the beef rendang could use more heat, it’s still packed with tons of oyster sauce-infused curry flavor. But our absolute favorite is the fried soft-shell chili crab. There are few things we’d rather spoon over rice than the salty-sweet tomato sauce in this dish. You just might order a second one to go.

photo credit: Emilio Pandika

photo credit: Emilio Pandika

photo credit: Emilio Pandika

photo credit: Emilio Pandika

photo credit: Emilio Pandika