Thirty seconds’ walk from the east exit of Shin-Okubo Station, the basement floor of the Shin Okubo KM Building is not the kind of place that travel publications write about for its atmosphere. It is located in the basement of a modest business building on Hyakunincho, in the area of the Shinjuku ward that has been subtly changing from a Korean dining hallway to something more varied and difficult to describe.
The design of Nanyang Uncle Bak Kut Teh mimics a Malaysian feel without going overboard, and the tables are useful. What counts is what’s in the pot: a rich, dark herbal broth made with pig ribs that is uniquely Malaysian in its Hokkien register. It was refined over three years and more than 300 tastings in Singapore before the proprietor ever offered it in Tokyo. That origin story is not lighthearted.
This kind of intentional individual effort—operators who took the flavors seriously enough to do the work of getting them right rather than imitating them for a market that would not notice the difference—has contributed to the expansion of Malaysian cuisine in the Shinjuku area. Given how much Japanese culture emphasizes skill, flavor depth, and the kind of patience required to produce a well developed broth, it’s plausible that the Japanese dining audience is actually better positioned to detect the difference than others.
The guests at Shin-Okubo who have discovered bak kut teh, the Malaysian Hokkien variant with its slow-cooked herbs and black, rich stock, seem to grasp what they’re eating. Over the past few years, Shinjuku’s surrounding Southeast Asian food scene has expanded significantly. Bangkok77 in Kabukicho delivers comfort food from Thailand and Southeast Asia to a mixed mixture of tourists and residents navigating one of Tokyo’s busiest business districts.
Malay Asian Cuisine, located further out, close to Shibuya Crossing, has emerged as one of the city’s most often reviewed Malaysian restaurants. It is halal-certified, well-liked by Malaysian expatriates, and frequently mentioned for its beef rendang and nasi lemak. Although none of these eateries operate in the same way, taken as a whole, they show how Malaysian and Southeast Asian cuisine is expanding throughout a city that has long held strong views about what meticulous cooking is.
Although it is still accurate, Shin-Okubo’s current culinary identity began as Tokyo’s Korean Town. A far greater variety of Asian cuisines have found it easy to establish themselves because to the same Yamanote Line accessibility that made Korean grocery stores and barbecue restaurants so convenient.
Several national cuisines, including Malaysian, Thai, Vietnamese, and Halal-certified establishments, have made their way into the streets surrounding the station. It’s difficult to ignore the fact that the growth has occurred covertly, with no special announcement or cultural moment—just eateries opening and attracting and retaining regulars.
With 3.5 million people traveling through Shinjuku Station every day, which places it in a unique position globally, there is a sizable market for delicious Malaysian food in this area of Tokyo. It’s still unknown if the current cluster of operations develops into something more prominent and well-known. However, it is clear that the effort to prepare the food correctly has already taken place. The broth is prepared. Now, the question is if more people end up in the Hyakunincho basement.
