Merlion

GREAT NEWS ! Merlion has REOPENED under a different name:
RASA MALAYSIA same location, corner of Market in Southern Village.
1. Menu similar to previous Merlion, maybe entrée prices increased a bit ?
2. Simon is still ‘The Flash’ when it comes to rapid friendly service.
3. Some new decorating, new carpet.
We heard about the reopening through The Independent and online and enjoyed a dinner visit on the 2^nd night of their new start.

Too bad this place has closed. I tried the Hainanese Chicken Rice here a couple of months ago and it was really good. Almost like home. I was hoping to come back for the Char Kway Teow and Laksa. Now there is no place in NC to get my fix except for Cuisine Malaya in Charlotte.

Terrible service. We were pretty much ignored. I had to get my own silverware and did not have water refilled etc. I give it 2 stars because the Tom Yum soup was decent. The rest of the food was simply not that good. Save your money and buy better, yet less expensive Asian food.

We returned to this bright, attractive restaurant for the first time in several years, and frankly, we were rather disappointed in the quality of the food compared with previous visits. The folks here are super — friendly, engaging, and attentive — and the environment is pleasant, the dining experience is enjoyable, but the food just wasn’t up to par on this visit.
We had the Coconut Shrimp, and the Curry Samosa to start, followed by the Roti Prata with Chicken Curry and the Singapore Laksa with shrimp, all dishes that we’ve had, and enjoyed, in the past. Unfortunately nearly everything was at least a tad off on this day, the kitchen definitely was off its game.
We were served a small bowl of soup, and a small salad while we waited for the appetizers. The soup was excellent, with a very flavorful, clear broth and a mix of crunchy vegetables. The salad was good, but surprisingly the very colorful dressing was Thousand Island.
The Coconut Shrimp was considerably overcooked, a very dark brown in color, and though the shrimp tasted fresh, the overall flavor was just not good — these shrimp should never have left the kitchen. The Curry Samosa were also overcooked, but at least not to the same extent, and the filling did have a nice, distinctive curry taste.
The Chicken Curry was simply not well done. It is chunks of chicken and potato cooked in what is described as a «curry gravy», which is more a thin sauce, and this batch was very greasy, and the chicken consisted of dry cubes of white meat chicken that had been cooked to death rendering it bland and rubbery. The Roti Prata, thin multi-​layered pancakes, were simply superb, light and flaky, bursting with goodness.
Singapore Laska is an interesting noodle dish, and is very popular in Singapore and Malaysia. There are 2 ways to prepare the broth, one using coconut milk, the other approach is to skip the coconut milk, but include tamarind. The version here has coconut milk, and thus is rather sweet. But the predominant taste is that supplied by the laska leaves — a taste that is hard to describe, and really needs to be experienced.
The dish contains the broth, spice paste, dried shrimp, chili, plenty of rice noodles, tofu, slices of fish cake, the laska leaves, and topped with half a boiled egg. This is a huge dish, more than enough to share, and it should be shared. The distinctive taste makes a little of this dish go a long way. We had it with shrimp added, and the shrimp were fresh and tender. The only off note was the tofu, it had been cooked so long that all that was left was the now shredded outer skin — little taste and a creepy texture.
All in all, this was a mostly disappointing trip, a destination trip at that. And the disappointment didn’t stem from a bad choice of dishes ordered, everything out of the kitchen was off, some way off — hopefully it was just a single, bad day.

Authentic! I studied abroad in Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia in college. When I returned I visited this restaurant. The food is the closest I’ve ever gotten to the good I had at the hawker stands in Singapore. Roti Prata is my favorite!!! So good and surprisingly filling.
The owners and staff are extremely friendly as well.
Singapore sling is delicious here too.
Nothing in NC compares to this gem.

I came here with a friend for lunch on July 4^th and did not have trouble looking a parking spot. The restaurant was pretty empty, so we were seated right away. We got thai tea to start off the meal. It had a strong tea flavor and was not very sweet. I was a little disappointed with the food. We heard so good things about the stuffed you tiao and decided to order it. The you tiao was stuffed with shrimp paste and deep fried. Then it was topped with julienned vegetable and covered with tons of sweet mayo. The you tiao were really crispy and tasty but I was not a big fan of the excessive amount of mayo.
The other dish that we shared was the char kway teow. I grew up in Malaysia and the food we eat is very similar to the food in singapore. I was hoping that the dish would be authentic enough to what I was used to eating. However, it was not what I expected. Char kway teow is supposed to only have rice noodles. The dish we got have half egg noodles and half rice noodles. We asked for the dish to be spicy but it turned out to be pretty mild. As a whole, the dish was just okay. Maybe I just did not order the right dishes so I might have to come back and try out the rest of the menu.
The service that we got was great! The server was very attentive and refilled our water glasses as soon as they were low.

I left this restaurant pretty satisfied. I’ve never had Singaporean food before so honestly, I had no idea what to expect.
Food: My friend and I ordered the Char Kway Teow and the Laksa. They were both really spectacular dishes. Great portion (enough for leftovers) and it was the perfect amount of spices and not too salty/​sweet.
Service: Service wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. Our waitress wasn’t as attentive as we hoped.
Price: This place is not cheap, but not too expensive. Entrees start at around $ 13+. Our bill came out to about $ 30~ for two dishes. The food was great, but I’m not sure if it was worth that price. I noticed that they also had Thai food on their menu, which were more expensive than other Thai restaurants I’ve been to.
I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who has never tried Singaporean food! I loved the ambiance, great place for a date! :)

Delicious well prepared food on a consistent basis, in a comfortable yet elegant atmosphere.
The nasi kunang rice dish with dried fruits, nuts and and seafood is superb!

We got the hainanese chicken rice and the hor fun. The rice was very flavorful and the chicken was well prepared. The hor fun was also good, but I think it’s best on a cold day because it’s basically flat wide rice noodles in some thick soup. There was also scallops, shrimp, and calamari in the soup which was really good. What I really appreciated though was our waitress. She was super sweet and attentive to our needs. Good place for lunch because it’s a lot cheaper than dinner.

Yeah, this is an update review and hell yeah, I like this place better than ever.
Location: reside in southern village, Merlion is right at one of the corner of southern village market. Parking could be painful but if you walk around, you probbaly will find something interesting before came this place.
Service: the serve is really nice and caring although they are busy all the time. We were here on a Sunday lunch time, so it’s pretty crowded and service is slow. But I still think they deserve a 4 star.
Food: we basically tried every street food.
Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice, Nonya Sweet and Sour Chicken, Char Kway Teow, seafood and Basil (off the menu), Beef Mango Salad, Beef Mango Salad,
Let’s start with Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice. It came with three kinds of sauces — ginger, sweet and spicy. The chicken is well mixed and balanced.
Char Kway Teow is one kind of noodle which stirred fried with shrimps. I love it a lot because its not salty spice compared to other places.
Nonya Sweet and Sour Chicken, if you go for a sweet chicken dish, this is it. A little bit sour but with plenty sweetness in it, the chicken is light fried to make crispy layers outside and the veggie also satisified your nutrition choices. It’s not the American-​chinese restaurantise sour chicken so try it. I, as a traditional chinese, love this dish very much.
Beef Mango Salad is not a salad in my opinion. Beef has a crispy layer outside and the salad is composed of slices of mango and slices carrots. Bit sweet which could be caused by mango.
Fish Fillet with Preserved Lemon is cooked with lemon sauce with fried fish into it. The layer is saturated with lemon sauce so I recommend if you wanna keep it cripsy, you should eat it fast. I doubt Americans would love this dish because it’s bit sour but I do. I do, and I do. I love the sour with tenderedness which is from the fish. The sauce is balanced, pretty delicious.
Merlion Roast Duck is my personal favorite. I cannot describe how great it is. But all you need to do is to try!
Food is a 5 with a 3 star for service.
But I would give a 4.5 since this is the best Singapore food I have ever had in USA. And i would saythere are some pretty authentic dish that are better cooked than some Singapore restuarant

I simply love this place. We picked this place for a nice Sunday brunch and as you can see, I am still raving about the experience.
The only puzzling bit was the restaurant had quite a few tables open, but the hostess told us it was a 15 minute wait. We were a 5-​person group, so I suppose they did not want to squish us in an open 4-​person table.
We ordered the money pouch appeitzer (little pouches filled with shrimp and calamari), the Cantonese roast duck with rice (only available on Sundays), Char Kway teow (noodles with shrimp, sprouts, egg), and the roti prata with chicken curry (gravy with potato and chicken with multilayered pancakes). We were surprised at the portion size of the money pouch as there were enough for each of us to have at least two. They were crisp and fresh and very delicious. We absolutely feasted on the duck which was roasted to perfection and could have been fresh roast duck from any restaurant in China. The portion size was smaller, but a deal for the price ($ 9.25). The noodles were a generous portion and so well seasoned! We loved that Merlion didn’t skimp on the good stuff like shrimp, or meat. The Roti Prata was a surprise as we’ve never had a dish like it, but it was very savory. The potato chunks were huge, but with the broth it tasted delicious!
We cannot wait to go back and try everything else especially all the other dishes on the dinner menu!

American Born Chinese who has made a handful of trips to Singapore and has a Singaporean best friend. In other words? Trust me dudes, I know what I’m talking about. Came here for the 2^nd time with my mom. We ordered the roti prata, hor phon, and laksa with tofu.
What’s Hot
— Good quality and portions. My mom and I definitely walked away full. Everything was well cooked and delicious. For any newbies, here’s a suggestion, be aware that not everything on the menu that is labeled spicy is really that spicy. For example, the laksa is slightly spicy, bu then again I’m used to melt your tongue off spicy. So if you’re uncertain, I would recommend asking the waiter.
— Good layout. There are tables for big groups and small groups, which is definitely useful.
What’s Not
— I kinda wish their menu had more variety and would come in Chinese. For example, my mother said there are some Singaporean dishes that are not on the menu, but I guess we can’t expect it all in this area. I guess I’m spoiled and used to Chinese restaurants having Chinese language menus. I think it helps give a better understanding of the food, especially for native Chinese. My mom was a bit surprised with her Hor Phon, which I think would have been eliminated if she had a Chinese menu.
— Service can be slow. My mom and I came around 1pm in the middle of the week. One would think that the lunch rush would have already died down, but no. There were still quite a number of table of customers and the two waiters they had were overworked. I think the place is family run, which explains the short staff. But they need to hire more waiters especially for the rush times.
Final Answer
Great restaurant and will definitely return.

The stuffed you tiao is AMAZING. Do not skip out on this appetizer. Everything — even the colorful fruit/​veggie salad part which is generally unappealing in so many other dishes — is edible and delectable. The sweet mango with the pickled turnips, the saucy shrimp meat embedded in the fried goodness that is «you tiao» (Chinese donut) = MAJOR YUM.
Singapore Hor Fun was another major win. The sauce and wide noodles were a delight to eat. Seafood was cooked well; scallops were juicy, and the calamari was chewy. Both were flavorful. I thoroughly enjoyed the dish, but my boyfriend (who was the one to order it) remarked that it wasn’t quite what he was expecting from the menu description. He had thought it would be less of a soup and more of a dry dish.
I didn’t realize until after I tried the Hainan Chicken with Rice that the rice and chicken would be served separately. I guess I was expecting more of a mixed chicken and rice sort of deal, or like fried rice. I was still willing to accommodate this change however, especially since three different sauces would accompany the chicken. Ultimately, however, the result was disappointing. The steamed chicken was bland, and the sauces overpowered the chicken once dipped, although not in a good way. I wasn’t a big fan of the ginger-​oil sauce, nor the sweet plum/​Hoisin sauce (whatever it was). The spicy red chili sauce was the only one that I thought matched with the steamed chicken, but even then, it wasn’t anything special.
It wasn’t until later that I heard roasted chicken was well worth the extra dollar. In that case, I would’ve paid for it willingly. Steamed chicken was probably the healthier option, but it was incredibly bland. The rice portion was great, in terms of aesthetics (a perfect scoop that was a strange hat shape) and taste (must’ve been boiled in chicken broth or some other sort of beautiful).
I would recommend Merlion for authentic and Americanized Singaporean food. It’s got a unique, delicious genre of food. However, I wouldn’t rely too much on the menu descriptions, which weren’t especially detailed and had some openness in interpretation, and I would go with the recommendations from the owner of the restaurant, even if it means being unhealthy for a day.

I was shocked to find this place. Never had Singaporean food, but I love Malaysian food so figured it would be awesome (anyone please let me know if there is a Maylay restaurant anywhere around here it would be beyond appreciated). This place had Rendang so you know I had to get that. In case you haven’t heard of it, its a popular dish in SE Asia and it was the #1 food on CNN’s readers poll of top foods in the world. It will change your life, I’m not joking, but I digress… back to Merlion first off its a beautiful restaurant inside and out and they absolutely have things on the menu you can’t get anywhere around here. I started off with moneybags cause they look awesome. They don’t taste so awesome, pretty plain actually, should’ve gone with the sampler. For entrees you know I had to get the Beef Rendang and the Shrimp Laksa (been dying to try it). The Rendang was disappointing, it was pretty good I would still recommend but I got a Malaysian buddy, his is better. He actually said Singapore food, whilst similar to Maylay is distinctly different. Now my Laksa was amazing, never had anything like it I just wanted it spicier. The broth had a great rich, sour, and coconut flavor, and the fried tofu was super good. All in all I really liked this place.

I am glad to have stumbled upon this cozy gem located in Chapel Hill. I ate here for Sunday Lunch and was pleasantly surprised at the quality and authenticity of this food.
Located in Southern Village right behind UNC, Merlion is a great-​sized restaurant, not too big, not too small. As a seasoned veteran of all foods Asian, I could immediately tell that the food here was the real deal.
They have a great variety of food stretching across the Malay Peninsula. I highly suggest ordering the Singapore Laksa and Hainanese Chicken.
To boot, this place has great prices and their dessert is not to be passed over. Would definitely come back here.

Love how consistent all the food and staff are here! I had to come back for more savory Laksa! The creamy coconut based soup is perfect for cold winter days, in the sense of flavor, texture, and it being the equivalent of a nice warm hug! I modified my order to switch the regular noodles for the wide rice noodles, those are hand made by Simon! So authentic!
My friend got the Roti Prata again! That bread is just so rich textually and I have not found an equivalent to anything like that in my 16 years living in RDU. Its amazing how the quality always delivers, even after being a repeat customer for the past 8 years. Shared leftovers have made our friends jealous to come out from Raleigh to Chapel Hill just for that bread and amazing flavor of the Roti Prata
I’ve literally had everything on the menu and have never been dissatisfied! I can’t wait to visit again! Repeat customer for life!

Let me preface my review by saying that I am a born and bred Singaporean that has been living in NC for a number of years now.
When I missed home, I had to suck it up and ride through it, because there were hardly any options to get a taste of Singaporean food here… until I discovered Merlion! Most of their interpretations of Singaporean street food are right on.
The Char Kway Teow is fantastic, and spot on.
The Nasi Lemak is a bit odd (why does it come with calamari and eggplant???)– but the sambal (spicy chilli sauce) is PERFECT.
The pohpias here are pretty good. The roti prata is actually pretty good too!
The laksa is good, but just a little too watery for my taste. The Nasi Kuning, while good, is also lacking a little flavour for me, and slightly too greasy.
My partner especially liked the Pad Kee Mao (drunken noodles), which is a Thai dish… but is mindblowingly good here.
Bottom line. I basically will never have to anxiously countdown to my vacations back to Singapore to binge-​eat Singaporean food, because this fabulous restaurant does a great job of satisfying my cravings! Shiok ah… Merlion! Bravo!

Was pleasantly surprised to find a Singaporean restaurant right in Chapel Hill! With such good food to offer, I’m a bit shocked that I hadn’t heard of or tried this restaurant earlier!
On a Friday night, this place was definitely busy! Service can be a bit slow but the staff are seem so nice it’s hard to be angry.
For our first experience, I tried the Mee Goreng noodles and my boyfriend tried the Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice with roasted chicken. The chicken was yummy with crispy skin, had a mild flavor that wasn’t too overpowering. The rice dish also comes with a sauce trio, a spicy ginger sauce, a non-​spicy ginger sauce, and a sweet black sauce (not sure what it was). The ginger sauces were really good and complimented the chicken dish well.
The Mee goreng noodles reminded me very much of a Pad Thai, which was a little disappointing. While the dish itself was delicious, I was hoping for a more distinct taste? Perhaps it’s just the nature of the dish to taste like Pad Thai in general, I’m not entirely sure. The portion of the noodles was incredibly generous as well, I only ate half of my meal! Shrimp and chicken are cooked just right, presentation is on point. Prices are fair!
Also tried the Merlion Sling and Mai Tai as they were the drink specials of the night. Both delicious!
Overall a good experience. I will definitely return and try other dishes!

Dined at Merlion last night for the first time; it was an nice introduction to Singaporean cuisine! Our waitress was upbeat and helpful, after mentioning that someone in our party had a shrimp allergy she made a point to check that everything was shrimp free. The décor was simple and pretty; I liked the real orchids at the front and the option to dine outside on the patio. Although not everything we ordered was mindblowing, I give Merlion 5 stars because it’s REALLY delicious, authentic for asian cuisine in NC, the quality of the ingredients is high, and there aren’t many options for Singaporean food. IMO it’s important to support establishments that offer something unique.
So about the food:
We ordered the Merlion signature tea, Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice, Merlion Dumpling Soup, and Beef Rendang. If you like lychees and/​or jasmine, definitely try the signature tea, its quite refreshing! The dumpling soup was a flavorful appetizer, it came with 4 giant dumplings and I appreciated the high quality of the broth. Although it wasn’t my favorite, the boyfriend really enjoyed the Beef Rendang. He said he appreciated the balance of flavors and the fact that it wasn’t overly doused in coconut milk. The Hainanese chicken and rice was super yummy, but I wasn’t crazy about the sauce trio.

Having lived in Singapore for many years before relocating to the Triangle, I was blown away to find a Singaporean restaurant in Chapel Hill, and blown away even further to discover that they actually serve authentic Singaporean food!
One half of the menu is typical Singaporean dishes, labeled «Uniquely Singapore», and the other half is pan-​Asian. For those unfamiliar with Singaporean cuisine, it encompasses a vast array of Chinese, Malay and Indian dishes, as well as many that are unique hybrids of these three. This cuisine reflects the predominate ethnic mix of this tiny island nation. Some may refer to these dishes as «street food», but in reality true street food is almost non-​existent in Singapore, as long ago the government ushered all street food vendors into food court type eateries called hawker centers. So in the case of Singaporean cuisine, hawker food is the preferred term for these dishes. When at Merlion, I recommend sticking to the Singaporean half of the menu, as it contains authentic versions of some of the most popular hawker dishes in Singapore.
The Laksa (rice noodles in a spicy curry broth with shrimp, fried tofu, and a hardboiled egg) is my personal favorite at Merlion, and very close to what you would be served at a hawker center in Singapore. The Roti Prata (savory pancake) with Chicken Curry is another typical hawker dish that is done quite well here. The Chicken Rice is decent as well (roast chicken, not steamed) and a good dish for those who don’t like their food too spicy. The owners are Singaporen and the waitstaff are Malaysian, so what you’re getting here is more or less the real deal. You can even wash it all down with Singapore’s Tiger beer. But don’t expect Singaporean hawker center prices here, as you definitely pay a premium to get this unique cuisine in NC.