Malaysian

Roti & Roti

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Chicken Satay Skewers

Tender, flavoursome, fabulous!

★★★★★

Seafood Curry Laksa

(noodles in a spicy coconut curry gravy with prawns, fish cake, squid, eggplant, tofu puffs, beancurd skin, bean sprouts)

One of the best laksas I’ve had in a while. Smooth curry that wasn’t too oily, plentiful ingredients and a decent serving size.

★★★★☆

Roti Canai with Curry Chicken

I couldn’t leave a place called Roti & Roti without trying their roti. Good thing I did because it was delicious.

★★★★☆

Overall:

A no frills kind of place where the food is amazing and everything is self service (ie. you order at the counter, and you get your own cutlery and drinks). This is the place I’m heading to from now on to satisfy my Malaysian food cravings.

Roti & Roti

1139 Glen Huntly Rd, Glen Huntly, VIC

(03) 9077 1495

Okra

Cassava crackers with sambal

You can’t go wrong with fresh complimentary crackers.

★★★☆☆

Eggplant with Homemade Sambal

★★☆☆☆

Ayam Merah Nonya

(red curry chicken with kaffir lime leaves)

Mildly spicy, tender chicken.

★★★☆☆

Pad Thai

(rice noodles with chicken, prawns, bean shoots and peanuts)

The tastiest Pad Thai I’ve had in a while. The noodles were cooked perfectly and unlike many other places, the dish wasn’t laden with sugar.

★★★★☆

Duo Seafood

(scallops and prawns with palm sugar and chilli)

From the menu description I thought this dish would predominantly comprise of scallops and prawns, not vegetables.

★★☆☆☆

Twice-cooked Black Pepper Duck with Champignon

Cooking the duck twice removed it from all its flavour, while the sauce had a disagreeable liver taste to it.

★☆☆☆☆

Overall:

Apart from the Pad Thai, the food was unremarkable. The staff however were very attentive as our dishes were taken away as soon as we were done with them and our water glasses were constantly being refilled (I don’t think my glass ever reached half empty). Note that this place is in the Entertainment Book.

Okra

159 Camberwell Rd, Hawthorn East, VIC

(03) 9813 1623

http://www.okrahawthorn.com.au/

4 Seasons Laksa

4 Seasons Combination Laksa

★★☆☆☆

Curry Chicken with steamed rice

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

I was expecting amazing laksa seeing as this restaurant has ‘laksa’ in its name, but it was merely okay so I was a bit disappointed. Service was friendly and the place was small and simple.

4 Seasons Laksa

330A South Rd, Hampton East

(03) 9553 3332

http://www.4seasonslaksahamptoneast.com.au/

Kitchen Inn

Kolo Mee Special

Soft handmade noodles served with minced pork, BBQ pork and prawns. The regular serving was rather sizeable so I can only imagine what a large serving is like.

★★★☆☆

Sarawak Laksa

Rice vermicelli served with omelette strips, fish cake, chicken breast, prawns, bean sprouts and laksa gravy. The fragrant curry-like soup had a unique peppery taste, with a tinge of sourness. The first couple of bites were terrific but I soon felt that the heavy oil content was too much for me.

★★☆☆☆

Crispy Chicken

Simple no frills chicken that was well seasoned and deliciously crispy.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Kitchen Inn’s latest branch has many things going for it: a good location, efficient service, an extensive menu, generous serving sizes, cheap prices, and cuisine that is still fairly uncommon in Melbourne. And it is because of these things that I will very likely return to Kitchen Inn to sample more of their menu. Fingers crossed that whatever I order won’t leave me feeling bloated until the next day again.

Kitchen Inn

Shop 3 Village Walk, 52-54 O’Sullivan Rd, Glen Waverley, VIC

(03) 9886 3062

Taste of Singapore

162 Clayton Rd, Clayton 9544 7865

Chicken Murtabak

Fried roti canai filled with minced chicken, eggs and onions, served with a curry sauce

= Good

Mee Goreng

Tasted like bolognaise with bean sprouts added instead of Mee Goreng

= Not bad

Chicken Hor Fun

Not enough noodles, the egg gravy lacked egg, this dish simply didn’t taste quite right

=Bad

Beef with Yellow rice

Wasn’t the biggest fan of the beef to rice ratio however the beef was tasty, tender and could be easily pulled apart

=Not bad

Overall:

A small family-owned eatery that is extremely casual (eg. the staff here served us our food with one hand and held a baby in the other). The service is great, the menu items are limited (note that they only serve satay on weekends) and the prices are cheap. It was a nice experience but I think I’ll stick to India Delights.

Wah Kee

338 Clayton Rd, Clayton 9544 5156

Rendang Daging

Curry Laksa

Salt and Pepper Squid

Stir fried Chinese water spinach

Eggplant with Bean sauce

Char Hor Fun

Cha Kueh Teow

Thoughts:

Rendang Daging – steak pieces cooked in spices and desiccated coconut = Not bad

Curry Laksa – a bland mix of noodles, fish cake, chicken, roast pork and fried bean curd in a coconut milk curry soup = Not bad

Salt and Pepper Squid – well seasoned pieces of delightfully crispy squid = Not bad

Stir fried Chinese water spinach – simple and not overly oily = Not bad

Eggplant with Bean sauce – the eggplant skin was a bit too chewy, but apart from that it was quite a tasty dish = Not bad

Char Hor Fun – stir fried rice noodles with pork, chicken, squid, prawns and vegetables, topped with egg gravy = Not bad

Cha Kueh Teow – stir fried rice noodles with shrimp, roast pork, egg, bean shoots and chilli = Not bad

Overall:

The food here is typical of a Chinese-Malaysian restaurant with no particular dishes standing out. The staff are friendly and the service is quick. Note that they are closed on Tuesdays.

Palms Restaurant

213-215 Blackburn Rd, Mount Waverley 9803 9668

Cheese roti

Paneer Masala Thosai

Chappathi and Thosai

Garlic Naan, Paneer Naan, Aloo Paratha

Beef masala curry

Thoughts:

Cheese roti – simple and scrumptious = Good

Paneer Masala Thosai – savoury pancake with a paneer, potato masala and vegetable filling = Good

Chappathi and Thosai – two chappathi, one plain thosai, one delicious vegetable curry, sambar, chutney and vadai (an interesting savoury doughnut made from ground lentils) = Good

Garlic Naan = Not bad

Paneer Naan = Good

Aloo Paratha – wholemeal bread stuffed with spicy potatoes and peas = Not bad

Beef masala curry – tender pieces of beef cooked with capsicum, onion, tomato, ginger and spices, topped with coriander = Not bad

Overall:

Four different types of cuisine are offered at this restaurant: Malaysian, Chinese, South Indian and North Indian. Once you have perused through the extensive menu, you head up to either the Chinese/Malaysian ordering station at one end of the room, or to the North Indian/South Indian ordering station at the other end of the room to place your order (Make sure to remember your table number, as the food is served to your table when it is ready). This place is set out like a food court in terms of appearance but don’t let that fool you. The service is good but more importantly the food is delightful and is great value for money.

India Delights

59 Mahoneys Rd, Forest Hill 9877 7593

Masala Dosa

Egg roti with dhal and curry sauce

Hor Fun

Keow Teow Goreng

Aloo Ghobi

Butter Chicken

Nasi Goreng

Chicken Nasi Briyani

Curry Laska

Roti Bomb

Roti Tissue

Thoughts:

Masala Dosa – thin indian pancake with a curry, potato and onion filling, served with coconut chutney, sambar and curry = Good

Egg roti – generous serving = Not bad

Hor Fun – soft flat rice noodles, chicken, prawns, squid, fish cake and shallots all covered in a delicious egg gravy = Excellent

Keow Teow Goreng – smoky flat rice noodles wok fried with egg, chicken, prawns, vegetables and bean shoots = Good

Aloo Ghobi – a rich creamy curry of potato and cauliflower = Good

Butter chicken – chicken cooked with tandoori, onion, sweet chilli, tomato and of course butter = Not bad

Nasi Goreng – generous serving, rice was a bit too dry = Not bad

Chicken Nasi Briyani – saffron rice served with chicken curry = Good

Curry Laksa – combination of hokkien and rice vermicelli noodles in a rich spicy coconut curry soup served with chicken, prawns, fish cakes and fried tofu (my favourite as they are able to soak up lots of the soup!) = Good

Roti Bomb – sickly sweet thick round roti = Not bad

Roti Tussue – crisp paper thin roti drizzled with condensed milk, sprinkled with sugar and chocolate powder. Yum! = Excellent

Overall:

Although named India Delights, this is in fact a Malaysian/Indian restaurant. While the decor is not the best (eg. giant asian folding fans hung up on the walls next to posters advertising Pepsi), the food here is cheap and very tasty. I’ve noticed that a lot of Malaysians and Singaporeans eat here so I’m guessing that they find the food to be quite authentic. Service here is fantastic with lovely staff who are friendly and very accommodating.