This thickly-perfumed establishment is the Jack of Southeast Asian cuisines, but master of none.

The Venue
Compact Melati on narrow Great Windmill Street looks like a stronghold behind its temperature-regulating entranceway but the interior is snug. Apart from the colour scheme, the first floor is not unlike the ground; the walls are painted a warm shade of yellow, making the already tight space look even cosier. The rooms are decorated with pictures of butterflies, anatomy of plants, vases of artificial flowers and light reading on Southeast Asia's historical figures.

The Atmosphere
The fabricated interior feels like a townhouse showroom - the elements have been put together after considerable thought, but the space still has that sense of fleeting in-between. It is no wonder Melati is popular with passer-thrus - those looking for a place to fill their stomachs or to kill time before the festivities of the big night out. Arrive past 8pm on a Thursday night and you'll find the downstairs dining room filled. The hospitable service is brisk to keep up with the pace.

The Food
Like the versatile Melati flower (Arabian Jasmine), the restaurant's kitchen offers more than one cuisine; the fare banks on the better-known dishes of Singaporean, Malaysian and Indonesian cooking. The menu looks promising, with mostly authentic names in fairly accurate spelling. Staples and dinner sets can be pricey, with the plain rice at £2.25 a bowl and the Salero Bagindo set at £27.50 per person (minimum 2 people). But the sets offer a wide range of dishes.

It is not stated in the menu but a bowl of Laksa (£8.95) is plenty for two. Melati is well aware of that, and graciously offers extra cutlery before it is requested. This dish is teeming with ingredients but the thin vermicelli noodles, tough tofu and thin soup defers from the authentic recipe. The prawns have been overcooked although the squid has been meticulously scored. The Rendang Padang (£8.95) is a better attempt - it has the authentic flavour of coconut and spices, but has not been cooked to fork-tender. These dishes, narrowly redeem the overly oily, and very brown, Chef's Special (£9.95) starter platter.

The Drink
According to the prices, bottles of Tiger, Bintang, and glasses of house wines are the standards here (all £3.45). A bottle of the mild and sweet house white goes for £12.95. Others fit in the range of £14.95 to £25.95, but a pot of tea or a glass of tap water is not out place here.

The Last Word
Although the roots of Singaporean, Malaysian and Indonesian cuisines are heavily intertwined, their individual dishes are still very distinct. Melati fails to bring out their distinctiveness but remains popular because of its accessible location and comparatively affordable prices.

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