MALAYSIAN RESTAURANT MAKAN RELEASES CHARLESTON MENU AHEAD OF OPENING
D.C.-based Makan started scouting Charleston for a second location last summer, and now it’s almost ready to open at 210 Rutledge Avenue. The Malaysian restaurant will open in June with a menu unique to the Lowcountry. Chef James Wozniuk emphasized to Eater that he wants Makan's South Carolina location to feature more local seafood.
Wozniuk says one dish everyone should try is the ikan asam pedas, a Malaysian hot and sour fish curry. It’s traditionally made with stingray, but Wozniuk uses skate wing. “I think this dish has a Southern feel,” he says, “because it’s made with a spicy broth with okra and tomato. It’s sour and spicy, but there’s also sweetness from the skate. It runs the gamut of Asian ingredients, with fish sauce, ginger, galangal, chilies, lemongrass, and lime leaves. It’s a very unique flavor that I hadn’t experienced before. I love it. And I’m excited to have it in Charleston.”
Wozniuk’s obsession with Malaysian cuisine began on a research trip. At the same time, he was a chef de cuisine at Cambodian and Taiwanese cafe Maketto, also based in D.C. After a 15-hour layover in Kuala Lumpur, on the way to Hanoi, he found himself going back multiple times to research and eat. He opened Makan in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of D.C. in 2020.
Check out the full menu here, with choices like rendand daging (dry beef curry), curry mee (noodle soup with chicken sausage), and kerabu mangga (mango salad). Once open, Makan will serve dinner from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Tuesdays through Saturdays.
