It Just Has To Be Delicious

Posts tagged ‘Malaysian’

Heng Ong’s, Joondalup

This little Malaysian cafe popped up a few months ago and has become a firm favourite. It’s in the Joondalup Square complex near Bunnings, and the word is obviously spreading. Even if we turn up early there is no guarantee of a table, and there is always a steady stream of takeaway customers coming and going. It was lovely that hostess Carina and her husband asked us what we thought of the food, it’s a place where they care about the food that they serve.

It’s one of the few places locally where you can find Lo Bak – the deep fried dish of minced pork/prawn in a beancurd skin. Wonderfully crispy and very tasty – this is always a dish that we order. There is always sweet chilli dipping sauce available:


Another great dish is salt and pepper prawns. It’s a generous serving of prawns with wonderfully crispy fried onion and chilli – yum:

Our go to favourite is the sambal prawns. Every family seems to have their own sambal recipe. Made with chef’s homemade special sambal sauce, it’s a wonderful blend of spice and piquancy:

Special fried rice is so good that you can eat it as a dish in it’s own right, but it’s also a great accompaniment to those sambal prawns:

Another great starter is prawn toast – generous prawn on superbly crispy toast meets all expectations nicely.

It’s definitely worth a try, because this neighbourhood gem serves some of the best Malaysian food in Perth.

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Syiok Kopitiam, Wangara

Syiok Kopitiam Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Syiok is based in Wanneroo Markets in the main food hall area. Usually it’s the only stall with a queue and that’s a clear sign that the food is good. There are weekend specials where you can have a combination of curries veg and rice. There are also regular Malaysian favourites like Nasi Lemak, Kway Teow, Nasi Goreng, Roti Canai, Mee Goreng etc. I have tried the food many times and can confirm that everything is delicious.

Nasi Lemak with crispy chicken is so tasty. The sambal is perfectly balanced, and the eggs cooked just nicely hard boiled.

The weekend special on this occasion was chicken curry with turmeric cabbage and rice. As you can see very plentiful and absolutely delicious.

Syiok also sell desserts such as ondeh ondeh – those delicious glutinous balls with pandan flavouring. I definitely recommend giving Syiok a go – it’s casual, plentiful and incredibly good.

Last Visit – January 2023

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Nasi Lemak Corner, Como

I managed to get past my annoyance that they spelled corner with a ‘k’ (pet hate of mine), and decided to book a table. It’s in a busy little area of Como with shops and a cinema close by. There are high and low tables, and it’s a BYO establishment.

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The menu is full of tempting Malaysian favourites, and we chose fairly traditional dishes. We started with a chicken satay (3 sticks per serve). This was nice, good satay with juicy chicken, but I have had a lot of satay before and it wasn’t the best or tastiest version I have ever tried. It was a good start to the meal though.

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We also chose some drinks – the sour cherry and lime drink. This was more sweet than sour and full of ‘ais’ which was quite nice as it melted into the flavours.

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I chose good old nasi lemak for my main with the chicken sambal. The waitress warned me that it would be hot and spicy, but I decide to go with it anyway. It was hot, but also quite sweet. The chicken had been cooked for a while and had lost some of it’s juiciness, but I did eat it all. The dish was accompanied by the traditional, egg, cucumber, anchovies, peanuts, and sambal sauce – flavours and textures which all work well together. If I tried this dish again, I would choose a different protein style – maybe the fried chicken or the beef rendang because the chicken was a too sweet for my tastes.

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My partner chose the beef rendang with rice. This was beautifully cooked and tender, rich and moderately spicy, a very nice version of rendang – this was the best dish on the table. The rice was served with pickles and sambal sauce.

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We also chose some roti breads served with the traditional lentil (dhal) dip. They were nice and a good contrast to the spice, but again, not the most amazing roti I have ever tried.

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When I booked, I was informed that I could have the table for 90 minutes, so it’s not the kind of place that guests linger. The tables are quite small and the seats are not the most comfortable, however, it is a very popular local cafe and definitely hits the mark by giving guests a taste of Malaysia (which is quite scarce in Perth). Our neighbours on the next table chose the murtabak and a lovely looking laksa soup with crispy prawns on top – I definitely had food envy from their choices.
So, will I return ? I’m not sure I’ll rush back here, but if I am in the area, I will definitely pop in to try some of the other offerings.

Visit Date – October 2018

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Tea Woks, Perth CBD

Tea Woks is another little casual cafe on Hay, and this one sells Malaysian food. They also serve great value bubble tea. The menu has a tempting list of Malay favourites, noodles, chicken wings, bak kut teh etc.
On this occasion I chose Hainanese chicken rice. The chicken was lovely – melt in the mouth, and had been cooked really well, The rice had the wonderful chicken flavour, and the chilli sauce was a great accompaniment. The soup was a little weak though and could have been better.

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This is definitely a popular cafe, especially with workers and locals. I’ll be back to try the noodles!

Here are some pictures from my second visit. I had combination rice which was yummy.

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Here’s a picture from my third visit – hokkien mee – great flavour, lovely noodles, prawns and chicken.

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Fried kway teow:

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Fried kampua:

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Last Visit Date – November 2019

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Satay on Charcoal, South Perth

Satay on Charcoal is small, and not the easiest restaurant to find, but when you find it, it’s a real treasure because the food is authentic and delicious. It’s on Mends Street but behind the South Shore mall and behind the Windsor Hotel, in the car park, nestled in between the pub and mall next to a pizza joint. We walked past twice before we finally located the cafe.

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The seating is all outside but under a canopy, so you won’t get wet if it rains, and it’s very much cheap and cheerful cafe style where you go up and order when you know what you want.
The menu was full of Malaysian favourites and it was really hard to choose because everything sounded lovely, but we went for curry puffs to start and the house special nasi goreng ‘soc’.

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The curry puffs were good, thick pastry and a chunky potato filling.
For main I chose the special with chicken rendang. This was accompanied by fried egg, prawn crackers, and chicken satay, The curry was delicious, on the bone, and nicely rich. The satays were out of this world delicious and when I go back, I’ll be having a plate of satays to start!

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My partner chose the version with beef rendang, and this was equally amazing, the rendang beautifully cooked to that fall apart melt in the mouth texture.

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So will I go back to Satay on Charcoal? Absolutely yes. It’s not the place to wear your finest clothes, but it’s one of the best outlets for Malaysian food in Perth, and the staff are really friendly. They are also open for lunch. Definitely a place where you leave with a smile and a happy tummy.

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Visit Date – March 2019

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Sedap Place, East Victoria Park

I wasn’t aware of Sedap Place until it came up on an Entertainment Book email, so I checked out the menu, it sounded good and we decided to give it a go. It’s on the main strip of Albany Highway among many other Asian restaurants. The menu is fairly typical Malaysian with favourites like laksa, nasi lemak, char kway teow, roti canai, and nasi goreng. I chose a lemon ice to drink, and we started with some spring rolls.

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The achar pickle was a nice touch with the spring rolls.
For mains I ordered char kway teow and my companion ordered beef rendang but was told that he could only have the rendang as part of a nasi lemak. When he asked if he could have just the rendang and rice it seemed that the kitchen were unable to manage anything not on the standard menu. We also noticed that there were a lot of items on the menu marked as not available. He also asked for a mango smoothie….not available. Any other smoothie ?…..not available. He ended up having lemonade.

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My char kway teow was nice and had all of the standard authentic features but could have done with some spice. A small pot of chilli oil or sambal would have been a good addition. I have eaten better c.k.t. in Perth.

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The beef rendang was very tender, and the nasi lemak was good, but again could have done with some seasoning.
We probably won’t return to Sedap Place – it is fairly average, and the service is not the best. The nasi lemak arrived about 20 minutes ahead of the char kway teow, and it really shouldn’t be that difficult to coordinate two dishes being cooked together.

Visit Date – November 2017

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Kitchen Inn Express, Karawara

Kitchen Inn Express Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Kitchen Inn Express is a favourite with the Asian community in Karawara. Situated in Waterford Forum, this cafe serves up the kind of Malaysian fare that you would find in Borneo. It’s one of the few places in Perth where you can find good Loh Bak, so obviously we started with a plate.

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Crispy, tasty, meaty and with a delicious chilli sauce this was a lovely starter.
I chose fried kway teow as my main, which was full of flavour, had three large juicy prawns and lots of sliced fish cake. It definitely satisfied my hunger.

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There was also a pot of rocket hot chilli oil to add some spice.

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My partner chose the chicken rendang rice which came with a fried egg – again very tasty with a nice rich sauce.

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We’ve been here several times and will definitely go back again when we’re south of the river. It’s casual, cheap and cheerful, and the seating is looking a little tired now, so the restaurant could do with a makeover, however the staff are lovely and it’s a real gem in Karawara.

Last Visit Date – April 2019

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Papparich, Joondalup

PappaRich Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

When Papparich arrived in Australia, I was quite pleased to see somewhere serving Malaysian delights, and a good place to get a Nasi Lemak fix.
In recent times I have also found some limited vegetarian options, and the vegetarian ‘mutton’ nasi lemak is definitely a good substitute. If you are vegan you have to ask them to omit the egg.

Papparich also serve noodles, kway teow, roti canai, laksa, the menu is quite extensive – complete with an array of authentic drinks. You complete your own order form, press the doorbell on the table, and a waitress arrives to process the order.

This is the chicken curry nasi lemak:
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This is the beef rendang nasi lemak:
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This is the satay:
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This is the vegetarian ‘mutton’ nasi lemak:
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This is the vegetarian laksa:

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Generally this is a good restaurant, but it can be quite variable depending on when you go. Portion sizes can vary considerably, and the quality of the beef rendang ranges from perfectly melting to a bit chewy.

Drinks include various fruity options plus teh tarik, kopi o, jelly drinks and soy options.

This is the lychee and grass jelly drink:

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Definitely worth a visit.

Last Visit Date – May 2020

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Restaurant review, Vegan/Vegetarian

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Mamak, Sydney, NSW

Mamak Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

If you are ever in Sydney I highly recommend a visit to Mamak. I noticed it because every night there was a huge queue of people outside, and let’s be honest if a restaurant attracts a queue then it has to be a good one. As you queue up you can watch the chefs making fresh roti, which keeps you entertained while you wait.
It’s a fairly big restaurant, cafe style, we queued for about 20 minutes before we secured a table. The food didn’t disappoint – it reminded me so much of the food that I have eaten in Malaysia.
We chose four classic dishes. The chicken satay was tender and delicious and as authentic as you will get anywhere.

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The roti bawang – roti filled with onion, was fresh off the griddle and tasted delicious. It was served with two curry dips and a sambal. We also used it to mop up our main curry dish.

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The nasi goreng – again a classic very well executed – Malaysian special fried rice, good enough to be eaten as a dish on it’s own.

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We also had Kari Ayam – the classic Malay chicken curry with potatoes. Another well executed, authentic, flavoursome dish.

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I really really like this place and I would happily queue up again for table. The food is relatively cheap and very tasty – well worth it. I would have liked to try a dessert roti – yes they make rotis with banana or coconut/pandan, but I was too full from the main course. Maybe next time.

Visit Date – April 2014

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Malaysian Hawker, Cambridge Forum, Wembley

Malaysian Hawker Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Following on from the Wembley Dim Sum post, we decided to have Malaysian for our main course. Malaysian Hawker has quite an extensive range of traditional and authentic Malaysian favourites.

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We chose beef rendang, a really thick and delicious coconut curry that cooks for ages so the beef is really tender. This was quite a nice version, but the meat could have been trimmed a bit better. the flavour was amazing but there were a few fatty pieces in there.

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We also chose char kway teow which was as good as any ckt that you would find in Malaysia or Singapore. It had the nice smoky wok burn flavour which I love. I ate some before I took the picture, so this is not representative of portion size.

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We also ordered Lo Bak, a beautiful pork and prawn dish in a beancurd wrapper which is steamed and then deep fried resulting in a crispy sausage type dish, then sliced into bite sized morsels. This was very good and quite a meaty version, served with sliced crispy tofu and a dipping sauce.

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I really enjoyed my visit to Cambridge Forum and would definitely recommend the stalls that I visited.

Visit Date – February 2018

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