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The hanging tin lanterns cast a sultry light on the bamboo covering the bar and open kitchen, but that's as far as this Malaysian restaurant goes in recreating a languid tropical ambience. Instead, the place hums with energy: chatter from the local families and teenagers at the packed tables, a constant din from the kitchen, and waitresses coming and going, delivering rotis, pan-fried noodles and rich coconut-milk curries at a startlingly fast clip. Among the brisk openers are the roti canai, a thin, crisp-edged pancake with a chicken curry dipping sauce, and the Nyonya Rojak, a salad of mango, pineapple, cucumber and jicama dressed with a pungent-smelling shrimp-paste sauce. (The menu warns "please ask your server for advice before ordering," but, like stinky cheeses, its bark is worse than its bite.) Shrimp paste also sparks up the kang kung belacan, leafy greens with hollow stems, stir fried with garlic and chilies. Meat dishes are vibrant as well, among them a beef rendang that's simmered until its coconut curry sauce is reduced to a sweet, spicy paste and the chunks of beef are supremely tender. Simple desserts include a peanut pancake, a roti-style crepe, wrapped around a pleasant filling that tastes like salty, pulverized peanut brittle. — Sarah Breckenridge

Nyonya Rojak, $4.75; beef rendang, $9.95; kang kung belacan, $8.95; peanut pancake, $3.95