Category: Malaysian

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Malaysian

Char Penang Foodie – Campsie NSW Restaurant Review

I’ve been getting a lot of char kway teow content on my Instagram feed recently. This meal is the result not of any specific paid advertising for the restaurant in particular, but possibly influenced by the Sydney Malaysian food cabal.

The Penang Famous Char Koey Teow 著名炒果条 ($18.50) was pretty good. I guess there are a number of ways to romanise the same Chinese words, and this is what it’s listed as on the menu. The dish was savoury, and not too salty. It featured quite a few large prawns, though not much char siu or other meats. There was a reasonable degree of smokey wok hei flavour, though probably less than that of nearby competitor Hokkein Kia. There was a degree of crispiness, but again less pronounced than Hokkein Kia, which had quite prominent pieces of fried lard. As a trade-off it felt less oily overall, which I guess is a plus.

The Loh Bak 卤肉条 ($5.50) was pretty good, well priced for a quick snack. Crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, served with a brown slurry that wasn’t pictured on the electronic menu. The lady explained to us (after I had tried drinking it) that it is a soup base that they use for one of their noodle dishes, designed for dipping.

I didn’t love the Bak Kut Teh (Dry) 肉骨茶(干) ($26.50), rice included. It was meaty, full of pork and fish balls, and having a mild bak kut teh aroma and taste, but in comparison with the CKT just didn’t wow or astound.

The 槟岛式茶冰 Penang-Style Iced Teh Tarik ($7.50) was pretty good, however tasted pretty close to the green can of Mesona grass jelly herbal tea drink. It was just around the right level of sweetness, which is not something that I can say for all iterations of this drink. It seemed quite overpriced to me though, probably not worth more than a nasi lemak or half a CKT.

The Bungkus Nasi Lemak 椰浆饭 ($6.50) we had for take-away, because we obviously ordered too much food to eat in one go. I liked it. It was fragrant, the rice was moist, even after a stint in the fridge and another stint in the microwave, and the flavours were umami and well balanced. Note that only half the serving is pictured, because my girlfriend ate her half without me.

Overall
The char kway teow was pretty good – a slightly different approach to that of Hokkein Kia across the road, but just as valid.

Char Penang Foodie
239 Beamish St, Campsie NSW 2194

Categories
Malaysian

Rickshaw Food – Burwood NSW Restaurant Review

I stood outside this restaurant pondering the menu for a brief few seconds before a somewhat elderly lady sitting on a bench told me that I should go inside and have their lunch special. At that point I felt too in-it to back out.

We had the curry chicken with egg noodles ($17.80), which came in a lunchtime special with a ice milk tea, pictured below. These noodles were excellent, with a strong peanut flavour (would it be more accurately described as satay curry noodles?), in its thick flavourful sauce. The chicken was juicy and delicious, and the portion provided was overall quite large. Absolutely satisfied with this choice.

I can’t tell you anything about this ice milk tea, which I did not have any of. My friend seemed satisfied.

The seafood dry laksa ($17.80) was not bad, though was not on the lunch menu and thus did not come with a drink. The noodles were thicker than that of the chicken noodles, and this dish’s sauce was also good though less so, and not something that actually reminded me of ‘laksa’. The mussels were very clean.

The Malay fried chicken wings ($15.80) came extremely hot, and burnt my friend’s fingers. They took a long time to cool down to an enjoyable temperature. Once tasted, I found the external skin to be crispy and tasty, however the internal meat I felt was lacking of flavour.

The satay chicken skewers ($16.80) were a bit odd, with the satay much more in the dipping sauce than in the chicken skewers themselves. The satay dipping sauce was very good, however.

Overall
Overall the meal was good, and I would definitely recommend the chicken curry noodles with its thick delicious sauce.

I’m a bit concerned about the 7% discount for cash payments though. Is that legal?

Rickshaw Food
8B/27-31 Belmore St, Burwood NSW 2134

Categories
Malaysian

New Kreta Ayer – Ashfield NSW Restaurant Review

We ate at New Kreta Ayer (not to be confused with the Old Kreta Ayer) following a long day engaging in the national pastime, directly after seeing the terrace of a former judo champion who had for some reason decided to fill his detached shower with the remnants of a small tree.

The beef brisket roti ($18.90) was alright, though the beef came a bit lukewarm. The roti, however, was fantastic, flaky, oily, and delicious. I’m a big roti fan, and I’m now wondering if I could potentially save some money by just keeping some frozen roti in my freezer at all times.

A further glamour shot of roti.

The combination laksa ($19.90) was big and flavourful, featuring two large prawns and an assortment of other fish balls and proteins. I don’t think it stood out to me as much as the laksa from Ngoodle (just up the road) did, but it was good nonetheless.

The crispy chicken bites in shrimp paste ($24.90) were as tasty as fried chicken can be expected to be, though the portion size really could’ve bene bigger for $25.

Our last choice was a vegetable dish, because we are adults who take care of ourselves sometimes. We had the FuYu KangKung (wok fried water spinach with fermented bean curd) ($19.90), a green dish that my partner said she had had before with her family, but was completely new to me. Though she enjoyed it, I personally did not like the stringy texture, which required many chewstrokes per mouthful to break down into pieces small enough to swallow. A sense of sliminess, possibly a combination of the vegetable itself and the sauce, made the mouthfeel all the less pleasant. That said, it seems likely this was more of a problem with me personally than the dish or the restaurant itself.

New Kreta Ayer
339 Liverpool Rd, Ashfield NSW 2131

Categories
Malaysian

Warung Taming Sari – Arncliffe NSW Restaurant Review

After a somewhat cursory eSafety check glance from a nearby JDM mechanic, we tucked into some pretty good Malaysian food at Warung Taming Sari.

The nasi lemak with chicken curry ($15), pictured here with extra bergedil ($1), was pretty good. It was everything you could ask for in a nasi lemak, and helpfully for my weak constitution was not too spicy at all. My partner enjoyed gnawing at her giant drumstick, which meant that she was too distracted to have much of the laksa.

A note on the bergedil ($1), a small potato ball that we added on as extra to the nasi lemak. Though I don’t have any other experiences to compare this to, this small potato ball was dry and minimally flavoured. I would not get it again, and judging from this experience I am much less likely to try it again at any other store either.

The curry puffs ($3 each), came in a number of meaty and non meaty options. The meaty options included chicken, beef, and lamb. There were only 2 meaty flavours left available, and though I don’t recall which 2 of the 3 flavours we got, it doesn’t really matter, as they were tepid out of the pie “warmer” and both tasted the same. I can’t even really tell the difference in this cross-sectional comparison (hastily cut together to keep both in focus in the one image). Can’t recommend.

Disappointments aside, this chicken laksa ($15) was great. It didn’t look like much, but the rich texture and flavour of the soup, the soup soaked tofu, and the perfect ratio of noodles to other toppings made this an excellent bowl. I had no problem demolishing the majority of this whilst my partner was preoccupied bone-gnawing. Yum.

Warung Taming Sari
Cnr Queen &, 30 Firth St, Arncliffe NSW 2205, Australia
+61 439 693 298

Categories
Malaysian Thai Vietnamese

LEAF (Love Eating Asian Food) in Nowra – Nowra NSW Restaurant Review

As I was preparing to leave the safe confines of Western Sydney for a three month stint on the NSW South Coast my Thai friend and colleague told me about his favourite restaurant in the area, LEAF. This was high praise coming from a guy who has spent significant periods of time living and working in the Illawara, across both Wollongong and Nowra. Love Eating Asian Food, as unusual as it is as the name of a restaurant, does describe me well, as frequent readers of this blog will know. I came here with DTC and my partner for our traditional pre-handover dinner.

These crabmeat siu mai ($9.90) were really not bad. I was particularly impressed by the wrappers, which I can’t confirm but felt handmade. The filling was fine and crabby, and I can actually believe that it was crab.

The Malaysian Nasi Goreng Fried Rice ($18.90), complete with chicken satay skewer and a fried egg, was a completely normal staple. Doesn’t quite hit the mark of Sydney-based specialty Malaysian restaurants, but very edible.

Same vibes about the Malaysian Chicken Laksa ($18.90), though this was quite a difficult dish to share as we were essentially sharing a bowl of noodles between three people eating on plates.

In keeping with LEAF in Nowra’s theme of pan-Asian dining, the Vietnamese Pancake (banh xeo – $18.90) also has its country of origin in its name on the menu. It was not the most traditional rendition, but actually not bad, with good cripsiness of the thin crepe like pancake as well as good flavours and a bright and fresh sauce.

Apparently a staple dish for DTC, the Mango Sticky Rice ($9.90) was something new to me, and actually quite enjoyable. I’ve never had the combination of sticky coconut rice and mango before, and it was quite a treat. A bit odd about the little golden shovels that we got as spoons though, but maybe that’s traditional?

COMMENTS
While I don’t think LEAF in Nowra particularly excells in any one dish when judging by international standards, you could certainly do worse if you’re in the area and looking for a vaguely Asian meal, of any persuasian. My friend GD was right, even if his recommendation was based on his experience as a guy who eats three frozen macro-balanced meals a day. Not bad. Rurality bonus.

LEAF in Nowra
Unit 1 / Building B/111 North St, Nowra NSW 2541
(02) 4402 7286