This past Friday, I decided to introduce one of my favorite little Malaysian food restaurants, Redang Island Asia Cafe, to some new members of the Friday Night Dinner Club (FNDC), a dining club that meets on Fridays (when time permits) for dinner. It’s a chance for all of us to head out and try some exciting new restaurants in Shenzhen.Redang Island is a little mom and pop place located very close to the Fumin metro station. It’s nothing fancy in terms of its looks; it’s very simple inside. It almost looks and feels like a little diner.

Alex Wong, the owner and Chef de Cuisine works with one Malaysian partner in the kitchen, and his wife Way helps manage the restaurant and takes food orders. They’ve been in Shenzhen for five years, but have cooked up delicious Asian fusion food at Redang for the past four years.

Way quickly welcomed us when our little group arrived and helped us choose some food. This restaurant was introduced to me by my good friend a couple of years ago and is a popular place to eat among the teachers working in the area as well as locals living nearby. It’s well known for being delicious, having good portions and being pretty inexpensive.

This week’s particularly smaller crowd came with big stomachs and with the goal of putting Redang Island to the test. We ordered a sampler platter that included four Spring Rolls, four Beef Satay, a Curry Puff, and some sauteed veggies (all for 36RMB). All of it was pretty tasty.

Another appetizer we ordered were Samosas (18RMB). They were a little smaller than I’m used to getting, but they were crispy and had a good flavor. For entrees we had the Beef Ren-dang (28RMB), the Curry Chicken Ren-dang (25RMB), Prawn Sam-Bal Fried Rice (17RMB), the Sweet and Sour Pork with Rice (23RMB), and Penang Fried Kiew-Tiew noodles (23RMB). The Beef Ren-dang was a little spicy with pieces of onion and beef chunks, which was very nice. I preferred it over the Curry Chicken Ren-dang, but both were good. The Prawn Sam-Bal Fried Rice was flavorful with lots of small shrimp. I’d definitely order it again. The Sweet and Sour Pork was not very flavorful in terms of the meat, and the sauce received mixed reviews; I thought it was authentic, but a friend thought it was a bit watered-down.

The Penang Fried Kiew-Tiew noodles were great, and very similar to the Chinese dish called He Fen. There was a fair amount of small shrimp, bamboo shoots, and rice noodles. I barely left any for anyone else.

We all tried their fruit juice drinks which were sweet and enjoyable. I highly recommend the Passion fruit-Mango (10RMB a glass).

Redang Island continues to be a favorite of mine, and a few others have put it on their lists too. It’s relatively low-cost, tastes great, and has friendly owners.

You can get address and map information on Redang Island Asia Cafe here.

(Note: If you’re interested in trying new Shenzhen restaurants with Jeff and the Friday Night Dinner Club, you can contact him at [email protected].)