Satay Malaysian Grille is a mom-and-pop place, but it doesn't have much of a mom-and-pop feel. Photo by Jane Kalinowsky.

With the obvious (and sorely lamented by many) exceptions of Basque and Bohemian, sometimes it seems the great majority of the world's cuisines are represented in Las Vegas.

One of the most recent entries is Satay Malaysian Grille. Malaysian cuisine obviously is its reason for being, but because ethnic Indians and Chinese are large segments of Malaysia's population (and, it would follow, major culinary influences), the menu incorporates many dishes from those traditions. That Indian and Chinese foods are vastly more familiar to most Americans ends up as a sort of happy coincidence.

Satay Grille is a mom-and-pop place, but it doesn't have much of a mom-and-pop feel, being larger than is typical and possessed of a sort of clubby/sports-bar feel thanks to plasma screens and a dedicated lounge area.

But it was dedication to the food we were interested in, and here Satay Grille prevailed. We would, of course, have to sample its rendition of nasi lemak (with curry chicken, $8, or sambal shrimp, $9), which conventional wisdom holds as a kind of national dish of Malaysia, available wherever Malaysians gather.

Satay's version was as classic as it comes: a big pile of coconut-infused rice, surrounded by the traditional accompaniments of cucumber slices, half of a hard-boiled egg, fried ikan bilis (crispy-fried anchovies, which sort of flake), peanuts and sambal, a thick and savory red chili paste that's perked up with a bit of garlic and some shallot. The idea here is the range of flavors and textures -- the pungency of the fish, the crunch of the peanuts, the richness of the egg -- which play off of each other so effectively.

The curry chicken bathed in a thickish sauce and served in a separate bowl on the plate was delicious, but the bone-in chicken thighs were somewhat difficult to eat, even with chopsticks, and we ended up resorting to our fingers.

We were more successful with our chopsticks when it came to the roti canai ($4), an Indian-style bread that's similar to naan but richer. Fluffy and light, it has been cut into triangles and folded into wedges, to be dipped into a curry sauce on the side. Quite nice.

And our chopsticks were equal to the task of handling our beef rendang ($13), which is stewed until tender in coconut milk flavored with cumin, turmeric and lemongrass. The meat was tender, the flavor deep and rewarding, and we liked it even better after we asked for some white rice on the side ($1).

Of course we had to try the house satay, choosing a combo of chicken and beef ($7.50) with the requisite peanut sauce. Satay Grille's skewered satay is much thicker than the ultra-thin strips we've usually encountered, and because the meats were so tender and moist, we liked it better that way.

Banana fritters for dessert ($6) were just sweet enough, with their drizzles of chocolate sauce and honey, but they'd absorbed too much grease to make them really delightful.

Service did start out delightful, but unfortunately didn't end up that way. We were impressed early on that, noting we were chatting as we looked over the menu, staffers came by to see if we needed anything but didn't push. But once things picked up a bit in the dining room, our waiter seemed to be overwhelmed, forgetting a glass of wine until we were well into our entrees and not stopping by to refill our water. He rallied at the end, but only after a manager lent a hand.

Busy evenings are something they may want to prepare for, because when word-of-mouth about Satay Grille's Malaysian cuisine starts to spread, it will no doubt find a prominent place in our culinary melting pot.

Las Vegas Review-Journal reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at 383-0474 or e-mail her at hrinella@ reviewjournal.com.