Curry Leaves

Authentic food that tastes great! We are a regular. We recommend the Curry Mee, Thai Fried Rice, Sing Kong Tofu, Seafood Chow Fun, Kangkung Blachan, Roti Canai. It’s definitely worth it to eat here. It’s a hidden gem in downtown Flushing.

Sentosa used to be my go-​to Malaysian restaurant in Flushing but I think I’m gonna have to switch to this place. The exterior isn’t particularly eye-​catching so it’s easy to miss when you’re walking down the block. (A previous review mentioned the C sanitation grade — it now has a B. Just fyi!) When we got there we were seated at a table next to where the employees were prepping vegetables. A litlte awkward but not unusual for a small casual Asian restaurant. We got roti canai which was a little too crispy but the curry sauce was great. It’s pretty standard curry sauce but compared to Sentosa, the portion was a little bigger and there was more potato and chicken.
My go-​to dish whenever I get Malaysian is stir fried noodles (char kway teoh) and it was amazing. Not only was the portion (again) larger than Sentosa’s, they were quite generous with the shrimp and squid. The noodles had a nice smoky sear («wok hay» in Cantonese maybe?) and had just a bit of a spicy kick. We had also ordered chicken and beef satay as one of our appetizers but they brought it out after our entrees. Not that big of a deal since it is a super casual restaurant. I liked the chicken; the beef was a little bit tough.

Somehow ended up in here at 4am when they first open their doors. A good friend of mine brought us out here after a night of hanging out.
I haven’t had curry in a noodle and soup form before so this was exciting to try.
This is a great casual spot… I’d highly suggest the curry soup with noodles. You pick your broth, noodles, and whatever it is that you want (char siu, homemade wonton, chicken, and lots more!). Broth is spicy… You can get ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ if you want a subtle spicy meal. I personally love spicy food, so I went 100 on the curry!
Staff speaks English and Chinese… And were very friendly.
If you’re looking for a quick stop after a night out in the area, Curry Leaves should be on your list.
They also have a variety of freshly made dry noodles, which have all types of flavors and protein. On the counter, there are a bunch of fresh baked goods! There’s so much more here that I can’t wait to try!

Great Malaysian food. Love their beef rendang and their roti canai. Very good service too.

This restaurant is phenomenal! The food here is absolutely delicious and traditional. I love their curry noodles, which truly are a thing of beauty. I also enjoy going here in the morning to enjoy their breakfast items, such as the nasi lemak, gaia, and no mi fan. While my English is far better than my Chinese, I still don’t really know how to translate no mi fan. It is this delicious sticky rice that provides an excellent start to the day. While this place has a C in sanitation, the lowest score one can have, and rather shoddy décor, I believe the food outshines both of those factors. There are many dishes you can purchase for a relatively low price, usually being able to buy a decently sized meal for less than ten dollars. They really have superior execution for this traditional Malaysian food. The curry noodles are perfectly cooked. The curry noodles are wonderful, causing vibrant flavors to explode in my mouth even with a small sip. The soup really reminds me of my grandmother’s cooking when a was just a young boy.
I think that this restaurant is a really great place, compared to the other Malaysian restaurants in Flushing, such as Sentosa. The price and quality is superior and the employees are friendly. In fact, I would say that this is one of the best restaurants in Flushing!
While Curry Leaves holds a special place in my heart, it is not without its faults. The décor is mediocre and the sanitation rating is near failing. However, the quality of the food eclipses these faults, which is why I would highly recommend this restaurant. I feel that it is only fair that I mention that my friend claimed to have contracted food poisoning from the food, but this has never happened to me upon my numerous visits. Truthfully, I believe the pleasure this restaurant had given me would be worth the food poisoning.
For a few concluding thoughts and recommendations, I would say this is an excellent place for Malaysian food all hours of the day, and try the curry noodles!

This is one of the best Malaysian food restaurants in Flushing! I always get this restaurant and the other one down the block mixed up. This is the one closer to Main St.
Coming from a Malaysian background, this place is legit. The hainanese chicken over rice is the cheapest I’ve seen at $ 4.95 and the chicken is so tender. It’s served with cucumbers that are lightly seasoned with soy sauce. The rice is flavorful and not greasy.
For the roti canai, you can get it two different ways, Malaysian or Indian which is crispy all around or lightly crispy. Portion size is slightly smaller than other places.
We also ordered the seafood scrambled egg chow fun which is one of my childhood favorites. It’s flat noodles with seafood and a scrambled egg gravy over it. Absolutely delicious! They also add slices of fish cake which not a lot of Malaysian restaurants do anymore so that is a plus! The portion size is pretty big for this dish. Also ask for the marinated sliced green peppers on the side.
Also service is better at this restaurant than the other one up the block.

My fav Malaysian restaurant. I prefer it over Sentosa. They arguably have they best Hananese chicken and rice in Flushing/​NYC metro area. Knock down one star for the look and B rating.

2 stars for the generic tasteless Malaysian food.
But 4 stars for staying up all night, affordable prices and friendly management.
This is the place you see all of the drunk crowds from the Flushing KTVs.

this is my favorite malay spot in flushing. I always order the same thing — the chow kar teow because they make it theee best — super flavorful, not oily, and the right texture. my bf has utterly converted me because i used to never ever order a dish of just noodles (im not really a carbs girl) but this place has me hooked. We usually always get the malaysian cherng fun. Not many places have this dish and its also another indicator of their authenticity. it comes with a medium bowl of curry with fried tofus on the side :)
I usually always order haianese chicken (¼, dark meat) but this place brings it out warm which i’m not used to, and also the soy sauce they use is super bland. even the red garlic spicy sauce they give on the side is really bland too. i know because my breath isnt kicking by the time im done eating like it should be!

This place is really a hidden gem. From 11am to around 12(they sell out FAST), you’ll be able to order Cha Siu which comes with two sides and steamed rice. The cha siu is really for all I go here for. It is just plain delicious, and cheap. The whole meal is less than $ 5 dollars. I’d say don’t be alarmed by the rating. B rating just means Better Taste anyways haha.

The best CHA SIEW ever in flushing!!! I had the combo:3 dish one soup, I chose CHA SIEW, steam egg and another something. So the gem here is always CHA SIEW. Anyhow, if you want to get the delicious CHA SIEW, you need to come between 11−1pm because it sold out quick. Sometimes they would not display it so you have to ask for it. Yes, it’s that little amount that you have to ASK FOR IT!

My friend took me here and it’s her to-​go Malaysian restaurant. You can ignore the B rating and the low lit lighting, this place is good and I think pretty authentic. (I’m not Malaysian, but I think any restaurant that has the run-​down look must be good because they have been here for awhile.)
We had beef satay and roti canai (crispy). My friend had curry (I don’t remember what kind) and I had Mee Goreng (?), which are noodles with seafood, vegetable and crunch pork skin? maybe. I don’t actually quite remember the description/​name.
The beef satay is a must! Delicious and smells divine. Comes with peanut sauce and cucumbers. The roti canai was good. The pancake thing was crispy at the edges and the rest was soft. My noodles were really good and filling.
This place is cheap, quick and delicious. There are so many things on the menu, and as other Unilocalers say, they have breakfast items too. Will come again for Malay cravings! :)

This place was a pleasant surprise. After eating at Sentosa and Malay restaurant, I was sure that Curry Leaves was going to be very average, maybe even worse considering their lackluster sanitation grade. But I was proven wrong.
This is by far the best Malaysian restaurant in Flushing (there aren’t too many), and the dishes have a nice homey, Asian comfort food flavor to them. Not every dish is good though, so you have to be careful.
Beef Satay — A nice sweet, honey flavor glazed on the outside of the meat paired with a tasty peanut sauce and some cucumbers and onions. Whenever I come to this restaurant, I always order this dish. I wish every Southeast Asian restaurant would make their Beef Satay like this.
Malaysian Cheong Fun — When I allow myself to consume carbs, I order this dish. It comes with some curry soup, noodles and some chewy sides (not sure what they are). This is exactly what I want in an Asian noodle broth dish. Very satisfying. It gives me nostalgic flashbacks and images of a «grandma’s cooking» (my own grandma didn’t really cook).
Shrimp Banana Salad — This is a very atypical salad dish that you will not normally find in restaurants. But it is very unique and tasty. I personally liked the combination of shrimp, banana, some crunchy sticks, and sweet sauce on top.
Shrimp and String Beans — Very solid dish. Nice flavors.
Some dishes that weren’t too good were the Tom Yum soup and some vegetarian roll appetizer that was cooked in a low quality oil. Nonetheless, I do suggest giving this place a chance. The inside is very charming. And the owners seem nice.
Early Bird Special:
They also provide a Malaysian Curry Mee special in the wee hours of the morning. I tried this out two times, and I have an interesting story to boot! I was in line with a few people in front of me. When it came to my turn, some mainlander woman tried to cut in front of me. The serving lady tore her a new one, telling her that I was here first in some broken Mandarin. That made my day. I honestly would have expected the servers to skip me, considering my American-​sounding Cantonese and youthful appearance. But thankfully they do not discriminate. You rock, morning crew Curry Mee lady!!!

3.5 stars.
I wished I could rate it as a four star restaurant, but between my mediocre vegetarian meal and the ‘grade pending’ sign on the window (at least they didn’t cheat and post the letter grade on the ‘side’) but in broad frontal revelation like, if you can’t deal with it, don’t come in), I just had to lower my rating slightly.
Curry Leaves has been a Malay stalwart in the Flushing scene and I pray it will continue its legacy in the years to come. Why? With the influx of other regional Chinese offerings in Flushing, other Asian cuisines are starting to get unrepresented, such as Japanesed, Indian, and even Korean, unlike you move more towards the Murray Hill area. Don’t be mistaken. I love to see all these variations, but it is also an obligation to keep old guards, especially ones that are opened from 4am to nurse a night of drinking or early workers and till 2am to pre-​feed a night of drinking and feed workers just off work. These almost ²⁴⁄₇ joints keep our stomach nourished in a maternal way.
Walking into Curry Leaves is synonymous to entering into a friendly Malay home. All the waitresses could be your young grandmothers and you just know the décor and furnitures have been there since the beginning. On the right from the entrance is the steam table for morning take out and a line up of boxed Malay desserts, which are often so colorful from natural coloring that you just want to buy it because they are so pretty to look at. I’ve only ever dined at lunch and there’s always a table available. The noodle dishes are always cooked with wok hei and gusto. Hot and fresh from the kitchen wok, steam can still be seen raising from the plate of squiggly, sauced noodles. The waitresses are quick to serve you for sure. The Hainan chicken rice plate is another popular dish. Perhaps even their top seller. There are two choices — one with just wings and a bit of breast or for a dollar more, you get the high leg for meatiness. People on a budget would go for the former, while those who are frightened of sharp bones would steer towards the latter. Either way, you get moist, ginger-​infused poultry meat rested on a pool of soy sauce, a dip of chili sauce, and a side of a bowlful of chicken rice. While the flavor is on spot and meat not tough to chew on, perhaps this chicken we received was a diet because it was very boney and not much meat to rip into. Also, we are always afraid of random, loose bone (once was a dental accident. Not a pleasant experience), that it was safer to not fully exploit the entire bone.
Almost every table has another common appetizer — roti canai. I learned that there are two kinds — the flat and thick ones. We decided on the flakey one. Ripping into the crumbly dough and dip into the turmeric-​colored curry was fun. The airy texture of the roti was like savory cotton candy, though leaving a streak of greasy ghee on your fingers afterwards. Only downside is the small bowl of curry was on the sweeter side and was lukewarm. You could also add an egg to amp your protein consumption.
Now why the lowered rating? My plate of Chinese broccoli was requested to be simply boiled. I did get it boiled… but as I ate it, it has an aftertaste of pork (I’m very sensitive to meat since I haven’t had it for a long time), so I believe instead of starting with a fresh batch of hot water, the chef just reused water for cooking. The Chinese broocoli was in poor condition, with yellow leaves and haphazardly chopped up stalk. My favorite green just got butchered and handed to me awashed in a meat bath. I still ate it, but inside, I wasn’t satisfied.
The ladies are very friendly and I conversed with one at the steam table able Malay dessert. I love hot sweet soup and was hoping there’s still some left. Unfortunately, the mo mo cha cha and other choices were sold out. ‘Sometimes people buy by the quarts,” she reported. Wow. Malay families sure have a sweet tooth then.
I would suggest Curry Leaves if you eat meat, love noodle dishes, need grubs in the wee hours, and love Malay sweets. While I won’t be a regular patron here, with all my heart, I still want Curry Leaves to thrive, for the older waitresses to have a steady source of income, but to not get another restaurant chain in its spot (or another massage joint). Just the humbleness and nonchalant appeal of this place just dials my maternal button that I want to protect its existence even more.

The breakfast is phenomenal and authentically Malaysian (I am Malaysian) — come between 4am and 10am and you’ll witness a dizzying array of activity and freshly cooked foods. Some things, like nasi lemak and peanut pancakes, will sell out quickly early in the morning.
But the curry noodle soup, which is the highlight, will be there the whole time. Get a huge bowl and choose all the tofu/​fish ball combos you want. The friendliest uncle ever will offer you some coffee (I opt for iced Milo) before you sit down for the most delicious breakfast ever.

Service was very nice and fast! Great selection of dishes on the menu. I ordered the Home Style Roti Canai, Chow Kueh Teow Malaysian Style Noodles, and chicken skewers. The Roti Canai must of been the best that I’ve ever had. The sauce had a really great texture to it. The noodles were kind of like the chow mei fun at a Chinese restaurant but maybe like three times better. I would recommend it! Although, I minus one star because one of the chicken skewers was obviously uncooked. which seems very unappetizing.

Hands down one of my favorite places for Malaysian food. It’s cheap, delicious, and big portions. This place makes you feel very homely, and don’t mind their décor. Although, it’s kind of outdated but we’re really here for the food. I came here last Saturday for lunch and got the curry noodle soup with extra eggplants and extra crispy tofu ($ 6.25 only!).

My friend brought me to this place, and it’s the first time I’ve had laksa. Before I was introduced to laksa I never knew that noodle soup was a breakfast item in some parts of the world.
You just go up to the counter, choose your type of noodle (regular or vermicelli), broth (spicy or not), and toppings (fried tofu, fish cake, char siu pork, etc.). The taste was amazing and it was pretty cheap, at $ 6.50 a bowl (including tax; no tip since breakfast is self-​service).
Important note: The restaurant is open way before the posted hours on Unilocal (11AM-​10PM). If you show up at 11 AM and ask for a laksa, they’ll have already stopped serving breakfast and therefore laksa. (I learned this the hard way, the second time I went.)

My go to Malaysian spot. It is a little hard to find but look closely and you won’t be disappointed! I recommend Malaysian classics like roti canai, nasi lemak, laksa asam, char kuey teow, and curry noodles!

Me and my friend stopped by Curry Leaves earlier for lunch today. I was a bit hesitant of going in because of the C grading for the restaurant. We shared a Home Style Roti Canai and Beef Rendang Rice. They brought out the Beef Rendang first and took a few mins to give us the rice. The roti was a disappointment because it was too freaking crispy and the curry dip was eh. The Beef Rendang was spicy and okay.
Overall the experience was merely eh!

I visited Curry Leaves pop-​up shop from 4AM-​11AM and I fell in love. From the street, Curry Leaves seem unassuming. The windows are covered with photos of their menu items and when they aren’t covered their fogged over from the steamy kitchen. Once I opened the door, I quickly shuffled in the already 7 people deep line. What did I get myself into at 9AM on a weekend?
Once up, I order bowl of curry or kari laksa with thin wonton egg noodles and crispy tofu, fried wontons and veg. The shop seems bared bones, but the food is the star. And they know it. Even the cashier insisted I eat before taking my money. The restaurant was packed and almost every table top was covered with a bowl of hot laksa and every chair was filled with a body. The curry or kari laksa soup is bright, spicy, rich and intense. They don’t let the noodles water down the broth. The laksa will leave your lips buzzing and taste buds aching for more. Wash this treasure down with an cold milk tea.
After my trip to Curry Leaves, I dreamed of their laksa for the next 3 meals after. Even writing this review has me drooling all over again.
Wake up early, go to Curry Leaves pop-​up shop and you will not regret getting the kari laksa. You’re welcome.

If you are looking for a malaysian restaurant which offers consistency every time it is Curry Leaves. I am a Malaysian so finding a restaurant to give five stars to is hard. I am really picky about the Malaysian cuisine because I have been to Malaysia and it very hard to find a good place back in NY.
Curry Leaves is open much earlier for some reason. This place is open at 6:00AM (not joking). I arrived back in NY and came here at 6:15 and people was already eating at this location. So if you are starving and want a good meal before work this place is great. In the morning it is all self serving. I noticed the morning is kind of like a buffet style than compared to the afternoon which is more restaurant. The morning has the dishes already made and people just picked the dish they want. I have been to both the morning and afternoon time here. I perfer the morning because it really remind me of the Malaysian culture.
I highly recommend the Curry Noodles with mixed fish cakes, prawn noodles and the Roti Canai. In the morning they sell this malaysian jam for bread that is amazing. It called kaya and that as tradition as it get. Kaya is like a coconut jam that you place on toast and it is amazing with coffee.

Arrived here early morning with an empty stomach and just a hint of hesitation. It wasn’t worth the worry though as the lady at the front seem pleased that I knew what I wanted (with thanks to Joe DeStefano of
for his online advice). Steaming bowl of Curry Laksa with yellow noodles, pork, crispy wontons, fish balls and some other kind of mystery meat that found its way in and got devoured along with everything else (see photo). This is a delightful experience and one I really enjoyed. The curry with coconut milk had only a hint of heat, actually could have gotten into a little more but with the entire bowl consumed it really warmed me up on a chilly Fall morning. I suspect this is one of the more authentic Malaysian eateries in Flushing and one I hope to return to next time I’m in town but this time it’ll be for dinner. Can’t wait.
If you’re a fan of big hearty Laksa dishes, this is a great spot to get your fix.