This past Wednesday, I was in New York City with my colleague for meetings and an authentic Malaysian lunch with our friends at Tourism Malaysia.

The last time we met with Tourism Malaysia, they told us all about the wonderful Malaysian dishes and insisted they take us to a restaurant the next time I was in town. On Wednesday, we met at Laut in Union Square. When we sat down, they explained their cuisine is a mix of Chinese, Indian and Thai food. I knew at that moment, I was in for a treat!

We let our friends order for us, as my colleague and I wanted to experience a true Malaysian lunch. New York City was oppressively hot on Wednesday, so we ordered typical Malaysian drinks meant to cool you down. We sampled fresh coconut water and a lychee drink with jellies.

For the first course, we tried three different appetizers. The first was called roti canai, a thin pancake served with a curry dipping sauce. Next we had satay chicken served on skewers, then calamari. For my main course, I ordered traditional noodle dish char kueh teow (large flat noodles, chives, bean sprouts and eggs with soy and chili sauce).

The entire meal was absolutely delicious and a wonderful learning experience. To our friends at Tourism Malaysia — this lunch made me want to visit even more! If you are in New York City, I definitely recommend Laut for lunch or dinner!

— Lindsay Gruen, digital account executive