Kampong Ah Lee - top Malaysian restaurant in Edinburgh

A Newington staple

It’s with blush cheeks that I confess my first visit to Kampong Ah Lee, the acclaimed Malaysian restaurant that has quietly thrived in Newington for two decades. How it has eluded me until now is a mystery.

A Sri Lankan–German friend, when asked for the city’s best Malaysian spot, answers without hesitation: Kampong Ah Lee. She is right. Another antipodean pal comments that KAL is her 'go to' for Laska. The restaurant is small and narrow, its walls alive with colour, and on a frigid Edinburgh night it feels like a warm embrace.

I begin with Chicken Satay Skewers to take the edge off of my hunger. A generous portion arrives, accompanied by a satay sauce unlike any I’ve tasted — rich with warm spices, chopped peanuts, and the crunch of cucumber and red onion to the side.

When my dining partner Eleonora joins me, we share crisp Pork Wontons filled with juicy minced meat before moving to mains. My Chicken Curry, stewed to tenderness on the bone, is deeply flavoured, and made all the better by the use of halal meat sourced from nearby St Patrick Square butchers — a detail that adds depth and quality to every bite. Meanwhile, Eleonora’s Mee Goreng — sweet, spicy noodles with chicken, prawn, squid, and vegetables — transports us straight to Malaysia’s streets.

Service is swift, food arrives fresh from the stove, and the homely spirit envisioned by Mr Lee when he opened in 2007 is alive and well. There are so many dishes I want to taste not least the Roti and even the normally mundane Spring Rolls look like King spring rolls!

Kampong Ah Lee is not just popular — it’s essential. I’m already planning my next reservation

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Kampong Ah Lee: 28 Clerk Street, Edinburgh EH8 9HX. .

Opening Hours Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday noon-3pm, 5pm-10pm, Tuesday closed,