This is a Cincinnati Malaysian restaurant segment. Let me write the blog post based on the transcript.

A One-Way Ticket to Malaysia in Cincinnati’s Mount Lookout Neighborhood

“You walk in and you get almost transported to Malaysia,” Guy Fieri declared after experiencing the flavors at Sago, a small Malaysian restaurant tucked away in Cincinnati’s Mount Lookout neighborhood. This hole-in-the-wall spot, run by Chef Paulu who emigrated from Malaysia at age 41, delivers what Guy called “five star restaurant” quality food in an unassuming setting.

Nasi Lemak and Beef Rendang: The Star of the Show

The centerpiece dish that had Guy raving was the Nasi Lemak with Beef Rendang—a complex Malaysian creation featuring curry beef stewed for hours, served with sambal pickles over fragrant coconut rice. Chef Paulu walked Guy through every meticulous step of this labor-intensive dish.

The beef knuckle gets pressure cooked for 35 minutes with lemongrass and water, then chilled and diced before braising. The fresh spice mix includes oil, lemongrass, turmeric, galangal, and onion. The dry spice blend brings together star anise, cardamom, coriander, black pepper, fennel, clove, and cumin—all ground together. The coconut rice itself is a mixture of jasmine and long grain rice cooked with ginger, onions, lemongrass, pandan leaf, coconut milk, salt, MSG, and water.

The tamarind sambal that accompanies the dish gets cooked until “you can see the oil separate from the solids”—a 15 to 20 minute process that Guy called “15 minutes of torture” waiting for the aromatic sauce to come together. The final plating includes peanuts, eggs, spicy pickle, coconut rice, tamarind sambal, beef rendang, toasted sesame seeds, and fried onion.

“You have to mix it together,” Guy explained, “because when you’re biting into this and you get this tender beef with a little bit of spice and you get a little bite of the pickle and then the next thing you get spicy—that’s really really delicious.”

Roast Duck Dry Noodles: Crispy Perfection

The second standout dish was the Roast Duck Dry Noodles. Chef Paulu’s duck preparation is a multi-day affair: the bird gets a dry rub of ginger powder, black pepper powder, cinnamon powder, ground star anise, kosher salt, chicken base, white pepper, and Shaoxing wine applied to every cavity, then rests for at least 24 hours before being skewered.

The maltose solution—sugar specifically from wheat—mixed with white vinegar and water gets brushed on to give the duck its signature Peking-style color. The duck is blanched in hot water to seal the pores, coated inside and out with the maltose solution, then hung to air dry for two to three hours. Hoisin sauce goes in the cavity before a 45-minute roast at 350 degrees, finished with a final crisp of the skin.

“As soon as you take a bite of the duck it just snaps in your mouth,” Guy said. “It’s somehow crunchy and crispy but tender at the same time. It’s got a real depth of flavor.”

What Makes Sago Special

Guy noted that Malaysian cuisine itself represents “an influence of Thai, Chinese, Indian—all different countries,” and Chef Paulu’s execution captures that multicultural complexity. One diner in the segment who had actually been to Malaysia said the food “reminds me of home” and called Sago “the best” Malaysian restaurant she’d found after trying Malaysian places in every city she visited. Similar to how El Borracho Beef Rib showcases hours of slow-cooked beef mastery, Chef Paulu’s beef rendang demonstrates that patience with protein pays off in spectacular ways.

“This is the kind of place that I said it a million times—you would blow, you drive by this every day not knowing it’s here,” Guy observed. That hidden gem quality, combined with authentic techniques from a chef who spent years honing his craft in Malaysia, makes Sago exactly the type of discovery that keeps Triple D fans hunting for the next great find.

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