Malaysian restaurants are popping up like bamboo shoots in Chinatown, and this dingy subterranean spot is the best. Locals crowd the dining room from morning (it opens at 7 AM) to night for the fragrantly spiced food. Indonesian-style chicken, crunchy in a sweet soy sauce; long-simmered beef rendang; and whole crabs swimming in a big bowl of spicy curry sauce and vermicelli are menu staples that get hearty nods of approval from anyone who's been to Jakarta or Kuala Lumpur. Jacket and tie. Subway: 6, N, R, Q, W, J, M, Z to Canal St.