I completely agree with post below…

Best roti in Wellington by a long way!!! Love the way the Chef puffs it up at the end of cooking instead of just letting it go flat and soggy like so many others.

I go here all the time now, the food has the most amazing flavour and it is sooo resnoable, the ambience is nice and its BYO – yay.

The waiting staff have changed recently and are still finding their feet, but they will get there.

I am vege and nearly always order the vege curry which is so full of flavour and the perfect amount of spice, and as for the Roti – best in Welly.

When we came, the restaurant was packed, we didn’t mind waiting a few minutes for a table, but waiting for well over an hour for our food was ridiculous (I’m sure it was very close to 1.5 hour wait). We didn’t get our food until the downstairs were all cleared, the table that were seated a few minutes before us got their meal way before us, by the time they left we still haven’t got our food (they were also still serving tables upstairs, and from what I’ve heard, they weren’t happy with the slow service as well – no surprises there), they also forgot an order, which in the end we didn’t even bother to call them up on it. At least they gave us discount to make up for the slow service.

However, I have to mention that the food I had was nice.

We dined at Kayu Manis earlier this month. The service was average but the food was great – particularly the fluffy roti chanai. I can only put the improvement in the quality of food to one factor – the Raja (chef) factor. Keep it up Raja. We are coming back to dine with you again today.

they serve slighly more authentic malaysian foods. The foods are average, but serving is small and a bit pricey.

I agree with James. The roti was the best I’d ever eaten, so light & fluffy. Also had the Ayam Perchik Panggang with a sauce which I loved. Tonight the service was a little slower than usual but the roti chanai made up for it. Definitely will keep going back

Just got back from Kayu Manis. We actually left halfway through the meal and went to another restaurant for dessert. It was that bad. Even though there were only two tables and two staff members serving the service was very slow and disjointed. One of our mains came to the table about ten minutes ahead of the other.

The food itself was very disappointing. It all tasted as if it had been made around lunchtime and then reheated. Even the Roti was bad.

I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone!

We were sorely disappointed with our dinner at Kayu Manis on 17 May 09.

We visited Kayu Manis for a special occassion (birthday) and were upset at the quality of the offerings. We had dined there last year and were blown away by the authenticity of the food. The food then was remarkable! Everything looked and tasted authentically Malaysian – like no other Malaysian food in Wellington.

Last night was disappointing to say the least. The dhalca with roti (entree) was bland. It was made with boiled lentils and nothing else. It was not a dalca at all (which contains aromatic spices and herbs). The Fish Curry main was tasteless and watery. The fish was strong tasting to such an extent I could not finish my meal. Similarly the prawns were disappointing. Although they were generous in size, the taste of the dish was far from an authentic Malay one. It was again a bland and watery combination of onions and tomato puree. It tasted like these ingredients had simply been boild together and the prawns chucked in. A novice could have done better.

Very disappointing indeed. We are sure there has been a change in chef and would not recommend this restaurant to anyone. We are slow to provide harsh feedback because we understand businesses are struggling at the moment. However, the best way to combat this must surely be to maintain high standards to ensure return customers.

The service was friendly and convivial but not enough to make up for the appalling meal we had.

A dinner for two with entrees was $85. Not value for money! We would have gladly paid this for the type of meal we originally had at Kayu Manis last year. What a shame and a loss to Wellington that this once fabulous restaurant has taken a dive like this. I hope this review compels them to take immediate action. Perhaps the chef was off sick or some other disaster happened on the night. No excuse to serve up to customers what we got last night.

Must admit when I first saw the pricing, but have been there twice. Considering it’s a fine dining restaurant set up,it’s value for money.Have not had anything in Wellington (or even Auckland!) that even comes close to authentic Malay cuisine as you can get, and I’m a Malaysian
You get to choose from an array of traditional Malay food,like Roti Jala, Nasi Lemak (with fried anchovies!), Ikan Bakar (although it would have been better if it was a whole fish instead of fillet)and the fish in Assam (tamarind) Curry.
And the desserts were very good (go for the mixed dessert plate – 2 of everything)
Highly recommended.The service was impeccable and ambiance not too garish..the overhanging batik pieces a nice touch.

We tried Kayu Manis tonight. There is an extensive menu with a wide range of dishes to choose from. Service was prompt and efficient. We were very surprised and disappointed at how small the portions were, especially one dish which consisted only of three chicken drumsticks and garnish for nearly $19. If we hadn’t used our entertainment card, the meal would not have been worth our while.

Heard from friends that this restaurant was given 5 star ratings by David Burton in the Dominion Post.
Went there one Thursday night and entered into a very comfy place. The service was fast and the food was out of the ordinary Malaysian food you get in Wellington. Theirs was very different and surprisingly delicious with most food prepared fresh. Authentic Malay cuisine it is. The roti chenai was fresh and fluffy and the best I had in Wellington.The ayam panggang and kicap masak utara were just superb.Kayu Manis really live up to David Burton’s review.I will definitely pass the word around about this place.