Duda Diner: A Warm Malaysian Welcome in Peckham’s Ever-Changing Dining Scene
Malaysian comfort food, heartfelt hospitality and a real story to tell. Duda Diner might just be Peckham’s quietest success.
3 min read
Review at a glance: ★★★☆☆
The year has seen South-East Asian food absolutely explode in London, but with so much of the attention placed on Filipino new openers, Malaysian food seems to have stayed under the radar. Which is exactly why I found myself at Duda Diner in Peckham this week.
Like many, I love a good story behind a restaurant, and Duda Diner certainly has one to tell.
Started by husband-and-wife team Hakeem and Zura, the couple began cooking together while stuck in Morocco during the pandemic, and it has been love ever since. Duda Diner has evolved from a pop-up into the permanent space it now calls home.
Walking into Duda Diner is classic nuevo Peckham. Seating is close together, branded flat caps and bottles of natural wine sit beside a coffee station, and a wall stacked with vinyls, old-school speakers and greenery acts as a backdrop to the the serving staff coming in and out of the kitchen. The crowd leans towards young professionals who almost certainly would never have lived in Peckham 20 years ago, but that’s just a sign of Peckham now.
Now let’s talk food and drink.
Both the Duda Express cocktail, a mix of aged rum, pineapple juice, lime juice and sugar cane syrup, and the Teh Tarik, a Malaysian pulled-milk tea, were fantastic. Although I can’t be sure, I’m convinced Zura is the only one allowed to make the tea as we had to wait specially for her to work her magic.
We started with the Acar Rampai, seasonal veg pickles and sunchoke crisps. The vegetables were flavourful, but nothing particularly standout. In retrospect, we should have skipped the cold starter and gone for the Cucur Bawang.
But we certainly got the mains right. We paired the Kuey Teow (flat rice noodles, tiger prawns and beansprouts) with the Ayam Kicap (chicken leg, Habhal soy sauce and curry leaves), and both dishes delivered. The noodles had depth and comfort, nothing too complex, but full of soul. The chicken, though, was the real star. It arrived swimming in a dark, rich sauce that I could have drunk by the spoonful.
To finish, we went for the pandan Basque cheesecake. Melt-in-your-mouth good. The pale green cake dripping with gula melaka sauce was a sight to behold, although one slice is definitely enough for one person.
With so much experimentation happening in London’s food scene right now, Duda Diner is a welcome change of pace. It has charm, warmth and potential to carve out its own lane.
