Rasarumah Is Defining Malaysian Food on Its Own Terms
Chef Johnny Lee would like to reintroduce himself. It’s been nine months since Pearl River Deli — Lee’s critically adored Cantonese restaurant in Chinatown, known for its radically old-school approach to Chinese cooking and a Hainan chicken with an insatiable cult following — shuttered. “We are closing, for real this time,” read the announcement Lee posted days before its final service. “The last year has been very challenging as a business and being a solo operator has made me realize it’s no longer worth it.”
Now, after a brief hiatus, Lee is back. And this time, he’s bringing backup. Meet Lee’s latest venture, Rasarumah, a sumptuous full-service restaurant in Historic Filipinotown that offers a wide array of dishes inspired by Malaysian hawker culture.
“When I went to Malaysia, I was like, ‘Wow, there’s so much fusion happening, naturally, that’s been going on for centuries,’” says Lee. “There are rules [with Malaysian cuisine], but you see people playing around with them, especially the younger generation of hawkers. That was really exciting.”
Rasarumah, or “house of flavor” in Malay, is a team project: Lee partnered with Last Word Hospitality, the restaurant group behind Found Oyster, Barra Santos, Shins Pizza, and Queen St., among others. It’s a match made in sambal-slathered heaven. “I was already a fan of their restaurants. Honestly, I don’t think I would have done Rasarumah with anyone else,” Lee says.
Lee and Last Word have transformed what was once a brassiere factory into a celebration of sweet chile sauce and griddled rice cakes. Intrigued? Here’s everything you need to know before you visit.
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So, what exactly is Malaysian food in this context?
Short answer: it’s complicated.
“Although we’re calling this restaurant ‘Malaysian,’ it also [exists within] the context of American cuisine,” explains Lee, carefully. “We’re never going to make food the way you’d have it at a hawker store in Malaysia. We’re taking elements of that and having fun with it, without getting too stuck in our heads about how it ‘should’ be.”
Malaysian cuisine is an ever-changing, edible document of the country’s political history and unique multi-ethnic population. It’s fusion food, one that pulls from Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Filipino, Arab, Thai, Portuguese, Dutch, and British influences, as well as native indigenous traditions.
At Rasarumah, you’ll find those flavors reflected in snacky bites like pork jowl satay: juicy meat skewers served Hainanese-style, with sides of peanut sauce and fresh pineapple. Or rojak, a savory fruit salad made with cucumber, jicama, sour mango, and mouth-puckering tamarind. In the mood for something heftier? Try one of the larger format dishes, like char kway teow, a classic stir-fried noodle dish laden with Chinese sausage and shrimp, or luxuriate in the tender, slow-simmered Wagyu beef cheek rendang.
The vibe is straight out of Penang.
Malaysian cafes are renowned for their effortless, natural charm — think earth tones, lovingly restored historic buildings, and lots of plants. Rasarumah’s intimate, softly lit 40-seat space on Beverly radiates the same aura: the 1920s-era building is outfitted with Roman clay walls, antique sconces, soaring wooden rafters, and vintage linoleum checkered floor tiles; lush foliage spills over into every corner.
The walls are lined with booth and banquette seating; cushions come in colors such as “yellow, like the fancy French butter” or “Los Angeles sunset orange when the air quality is slightly troubling.”
“That’s the benefit of being a part of this group. Everyone has an eye for design,” Lee explains. “I basically just sign off and say, ‘Yeah, that’s cool.’”
Rasarumah is covered in art — there are even a few Zoolander paintings, if one knows where to look. Lee’s own original photography is also in the mix, including his shot of a riverboat in Malacca.
The drinks cover a lot of ground, too.
Although Rasarumah is Lee’s first restaurant to serve alcohol, luckily, he has an ace by his side: Last Word Hospitality’s wine director, Evelyn Goreshnik, a seasoned pro who previously worked at Petit Trois, Alimento, and Scopa.
Goreshnik compiled a playful yet elegant collection of wines, sake, sochu, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages to match the restaurant’s spirit. Goreshnik rotates the selection often, but recent highlights included the crispy, tangy ‘Forca di Pero,’ a biodynamic white from France which translates from Corsican to “the fork of the pear tree.” And while most of Rasarumah’s white wines hail from France, the full wine list sources from Italy, Germany, and California.
Then there’s something called a “Phony Negroni,” a ruby-colored non-alcoholic cocktail developed by St. Agrestis, a family-owned distillery in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Silky and floral, laced with wisps of juniper, it contains a unique combination of 30 botanicals that range from citrus to bitter, sweetened with Caribbean cane sugar.
Don’t leave without trying the cendol.
Every meal at Rasarumah should end with this fluorescent-green dessert. Frosty and sweet, and served in retro-style sundae glass, there’s something chaotically beautiful about cendol: a mish-mash of squiggling, wriggling pandan jelly “worms,” layered atop mung beans and dairy-free coconut pandan ice cream. And in lieu of a cherry on top, Lee uses gula melaka (Malaysian dark palm sugar syrup) for a finishing flourish, along with toasted coconut buckwheat.
The cendol is something of a group effort among Lee and his food world pals: “626 Hospitality makes the coconut pandan ice cream for us. [Founder] Waldo Yan grew up in the same area as I did. And I just really want to support him — he’s genuinely one of the nicest people I know.” The toasted coconut buckwheat comes from another of Lee’s friends, Weichao Kong, who owns Stand Still Tea.
No, he’s not serving Hainan chicken. Yet.
Don’t expect to see Hainan chicken on the menu at Rasarumah any time soon. Arguably Pearl River Deli’s signature dish and the bane of his existence, Lee’s relationship with Hainan chicken is… well, complicated. He may be the reigning “prince of poultry,” but as he knows all too well, heavy is the head that wears the crown.
But the door isn’t shut completely. “It’s a consideration, seeing as how chicken and rice are such an integral part of Malaysian and Singaporean cuisine,” Lee says. “At some point, it will appear on the menu. But it won’t be a permanent item. It will never be a permanent item.” Then, quietly, he adds: “It will happen eventually. I just can’t say when.”
Kat Hong is a food writer living in Los Angeles. Follow her on Instagram or check out her very professional website. While you’re at it, follow Resy, too.
