Any suggestions on what one should try?
We had a rijstafel in Amsterdam this summer and have been aching for some since returning. I was given a gift certificate for a place nearby for my birthday 
but have no clue what anything is.
I like meat and thick sauces, never trust seafood at these places.
So, if you were to pick the perfect Malayasian meal, what would it be? (… if seafood wasn’t available)
Oh, and I don’t mind spicy but it makes my girlfriend cranky.
Broiled dog on rice!
MarkB
Chicken is usually safe. Thai food can get insanely hot (spicey). Ask for medium hot. If you go for Thai, make sure you get the peanut gravy. I should warn you that they use A LOT of coriander, in case you are one of those people with a low tolerance.
djm
Rijstafel is always a good bet, as it has something for everybody. The Indonesian restaurant in my old neighborhood had three versions, and we used to alternate among them.
Some of the dishes we liked were sate (heavy on the peanut sauce); spicy beef*; any soup with lemongrass; the coconut milk-based curries; coconut-coated shrimp.
Our daughter used to LOVE hot food till, a little after her first birthday, she got a bite of spicy beef that was just too much. Three years later, she’s just easing back into spicy food, presumably with hot coming along in a little bit. It’s in (half) her genes.
Malay food, hmm if I had to choose a favourite it would possibly be satay, marinated grilled meat on a stick with peanut dipping sauce. Usually comes with a side of cubed boiled rice cakes wrapped in banana leaf (ketupat), some onions and cucumbers - all of which can also be dipped into the peanut sauce.
Nasi padang is the term for plain rice with a few side dishes - rice with a side dish of lamb or kambing curry will fit your requirement of meat and thick sauces. Meat curries generally have thick sauces, vegetable curry or longtong has a slightly less viscous sauce. Non curry dishes would include ayam pangang (grilled chicken), squid, okra, bean sprouts etc.
Alternatively you could have nasi lemak, rice cooked in coconut milk that gives it a nice fragrance. That usually comes with fried anchovies, peanuts, an omelette, a chicken wing and most importantly an addictive sweet-spicy chilli paste on the side. There’s also soto ayam which is spicy chicken broth with ketupat in it. Or fish cakes grilled in a banana leaf wrapping called otah. For noodles what is common is mee rebus - noodles in a thick savoury sauce, or mee siam - vemicelli in a sour-spicy sauce, and laksa which is thick rice noodles cooked in coconut milk and chilli. If you’re at a place with an Indonesian inclination you should try the Gado Gado, a salad with a creamy thick sauce and crispy belinjal crackers in it. I think all the above are generally nice when done well but that’s a variable that depends on the cook.
For drinks, what would typically be offered is a rose-milk drink called air bandung, or a coconut milk based drink with jelly strips in it called chendol. Dessert can also be interesting, with a range of confectionaries generically called kueh. You’ll have to see what they have on offer as unless you’re at Malay/Nonya confectioner, you probably have a limited selection. They may also have banana fritters called goreng pisang, but that is usually eaten as a snack rather than dessert.
Its not so much the seafood that you have to look out for (assuming they get the seafood from the same locality as any other eatery in your region) but rather stale coconut milk which can give a nasty stomache. It would be hard to totally avoid coconut milk in a Malay/Indonesian eatery though, its like cream is to French cuisine.
For Indonesian food, what about tahu goreng? That’s bean curd deep fried in some sort of batter. Shredded cucumber strips are liberally sprinkled on top, and then a peanut-y sweet-spicy gravy is poured over the whole thing.
If you are more adventurous, try the squid that is marinated in a sweet sauce and then grilled. It’s the tentacles that are the most yummy part of this dish, IMO; like having slightly stretchy chewy noodles that come with some texture (the suction cups).
[Post-edit - the tahu goreng is not really that spicy, so your girlfriend shouldn’t have problems with the dish. The grilled squid is not spicy at all.]
Lovely, exactly what I was looking for! Special thanks to Eldarion, my big problem was that there are no descriptions in the menu, so I was lost. Mmmmm, very much looking forward to this.
Moor, you might want to take it easy the first time. Besides being spicy to a lethal extent, some of the corriander stuff can stay with you for days, like its crawling up the back of your throat. Easy does it till you get familiar.
djm
I hear balut is a once in a lifetime experience.
Robin
Oh man! You got me hungry here: Even though it’s just 10am here I would go for an indonesian dish any time 
That’s one of the few things I miss here- there are only 2 places that serve indonesian food here in Copenhagen (and they’re not fantastic). Growing up in Holland it was part of my diet just as much as potatoes.
Yes, the sateh and peanut sauce.
I also like the GadoGado Eldarion describes.
My personal favourite used to be Nasi Rames, which is a bit like a personal Rijsttafel on a plate. Not all places would serve it though.
When looking at the menu:
Nasi = rice
Goreng means Fried
Bami = some kind of broad noodle
mihoen = small noodles
Ayam = chicken
that’s about all I remember 
When eating really spicey the Pisang Goreng is a great way to extinguish some fire. Sweet!
ah and krupuk (deep fried shrimp crisps).
I stop now, I’m starting to drool
(seriously)
Yeah I love those prawn crackers too! Its one of those snacks I really loved as a kid but never had much of for some reason.
Other interesting Malaysian/Indonesian food to try:
Tempeh: A cake of rhizopus mould-infected soya beans in banana leaf. Its usually deep fried, a little bland and is extremely nutritious (enhanced protein content due to the rhizopus mould) Usually eaten with a bit of chilli sauce.
Telur Belada: I like this one, its hard boiled egg, lightly fried (after boiling) with a sweet spicy chilli sauce called sambal (similar to that you get for nasi lemak) Interesting texture on the outside, chilli eggy goodness on the inside.
Grilled sting-ray: Usually grilled in a spicy sauce then served on a banana leaf. My friends are crazy about this one.
Kangkong belachan: spinach stir-fried in savoury spicey shrimp paste. This style of flavouring is also used for eggplant/aubergine
Beef Rendang: a hearty, thick beef curry (might be overly tough if not done well though)
The above are mostly served as side dishes to your rice. Do get yourself something like air bandung or at least lime juice though, these are great if you take a bite of something spicier than you can handle. Bandung especially, being dairy based will provide fast relief against capsaicinoids - plus it tastes kinda interesting if you never had it before.
Hm. The take-out menu has penut suce as a side order… what does it go with?
EVERYTHING! 
djm
Got our meal last night.
Spring Rolls with a dipping sauce that blew my head off (know what it was? Sorta red with liquid ontop and thicker/brownish on the bottom)
Gado Gado
Combo satay (2 beef, 2 chicken, 2 lamb)
Lamb Kurma
It was all fantastic (although my stomach and me are still arguing that point). The spring rolls are fantastic at this joint, but I suppose that’s rather boring. The lamb kurma was great, but maybe a little bland, I’ll have to go spicier next time around. However, the lamb was some of the most tender meat I’ve ever had in my life and there was a tonne of it. Really great stuff. Thanks for the advice folks.