This review should stand as a testament to the good taste of my fellow Charlotte Yelpers and the integrity of their reviews. If Malaya Kitchen and the reviews they've earned here are representative of Yelp as a whole- and I think they are - then the system works! So feel free to pat yourself on the back, raise a self-congratulatory glass of local micro-brew and allow me to explain.
When I came here about 2 years ago for dinner with my mom, we were NOT impressed. I remember the service was amateurish and the food was as bland as Norwegian cuisine adapted for recovering stomach surgery patients. But I'm a strong believer in second chances, especially if, as was the case then, they're new and still working out the kinks. Two years and 4.5 stars later I figured they must be doing something right. It just so happens they're doing just about everything right!
A couple weeks ago I went with my girlfriend and mom and we all left very happy. For starters, the service has improved considerably. But the food is where the greatest progress has been made. My mom got the Basil Flavor Chicken. While not the first thing I'd order, the chicken was very tender and flavorful and served with a generous portion of vegetables. Well worth getting if you can't handle too much heat. My girlfriend's Curry Duck was likewise, colorful and full of flavor. I think the duck should've been a bit crispier. But if your food is gonna go soggy, I can think of a lot worst culprits than coconut milk and spices.
As for my choice, the Curry Laksa...my god. I want to live in it! It's a gargantuan bowl of vegetables, noodles and your choice of meat in a spicy coconut curry broth. I suspect tyrants and despots the world over may just find the answer to hunger strikes in its heady aroma. All the lofty, idealistic political or religious goals in the world would just melt away with one intoxicating whiff of this otherworldly stuff. I only fear I'll never have the willpower to order anything else.