History
Opened in January 1973, Satay House strives to bring the unique flavours of Malaysian cuisine to the bustling streets of London. From chartered flying in the 60’s to restauranteurs in the 70’s the late Jaafar A. Shawal with his wife Zaharah Hashim were pioneers of their time.
No strangers to the restaurant and hotel business, Jaafar and Zaharah had already established one of Malaysia’s first fine dining restaurants in Kuala Lumpur called the Shawal Restaurant, as well as operating the hotel and beach resort in Lumut on the West coast of Malaysia. They also operated a chartered flights company called Bumi Travel that brought tourists to Malaysia before the emergence of the larger commercial airline companies.
Jaafar & Zaharah wanted to bring Malaysia’s favourite past-time to the ever increasing Malaysian community in London and share the unique taste of Malaysia with the rest of the world and what better way than to open one of London’s first traditional authentic malaysian restaurants.
For almost 50 years, Satay House has been a safe haven for many malaysians and locals. Visitors from around the world including the United States, France, Mexico, Japan, Nigeria have all experienced our food and left feeling mightily satisfied. The Royal family of Brunei are regulars when they are in town as well as many diplomats and politicians, who return to Satay House for a sense of nostalgia. Some celebrities have also been seen enjoying some of the delicious food on offer such as Jimmy Choo, Don Johnson and Michelle Yeoh.
Today, their daughter Fatizah Shawal, with help from the family, want to continue the long standing traditions of the restaurant and help create a dining experience that is truly unforgettable.
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What is Malaysian Cuisine?
Malaysian cuisine can be described to be a culinary diversity of multi-cultural groups. The Malays, Indians and Chinese all have a major influence and have their own unique style of cooking and taste. There are also other influences such as Nyonya, the Eurasians and the indiginous people of Borneo.
Satay House specialises in the traditional ‘Malay’ style of cooking and you will find many eclectic dishes on the menu that are found in the diversity of malaysian cuisine. This all helps create a special dining experience for all our guests and allows them to taste the exotic delights of one of Asia’s most enchanting countries.
