Hawker Malaysian Street Food - Sydney CBD - Sydney, Australia

From the same owners of the ever so popular Mamak, Hawker is also a Malaysian restaurant, but its core focus is on the Malay-Chinese street food of Malaysia, also known as hawker fare. Their simple and pocket-friendly menu offers classic items that fall under the categories of snacks, fried bread, noodles and desserts. There are certain dishes only available here and no where else in Sydney as of yet, such as the fried oyster omelette, stingray and turnover pancake.

On a Friday night we were expecting to queue for a table but surprisingly we walked straight through. On the contrary, when we left the line was going out the door.

As we were directed to our table, our eyes deviated towards the chefs cooking in the open kitchen. There was so much happening in that little space.

The dining area is spacious, airy and clean, with minimal decor.

The 'Popiah ($8.00 for 2)' was first to come out. I had this once in Malaysia and faintly remember how it tasted. It's a fresh spring roll that is filled with an assortment of ingredients. The version here is freshly made from start to finish. The paper-thin skin is prepared by the chefs on premises and the way it's made is mesmerising.

It's filled with yam bean, shredded omelette, minced tofu, lettuce and crispy shallots with a hoisin like sauce. While we found the mixture to be fresh and crunchy at parts, the sauce overpowered the popiah and left a weird aftertaste which wasn't very pleasant.

The 'Ikan Bakar ($14.00)' is a grilled stingray marinated with sambal and served with a tangy and spicy dipping sauce. The piece we got was relatively thick compared to the flat ones we usually see in Malaysia or Singapore.

On initial bite, the stingray is succulent like white fish meat. It does have big bones but don't get deterred by this as it's easy to eat once you take it out. Unfortunately, it lacks the seasoning and we find ourselves having to make use of the sauce for extra flavour.

Hawker's rendition of the 'Char Koay Teow ($12.00)' is similar to what I ate in Kuala Lumpur. It uses the thin rice noodles tossed together with prawns, cockles, lap cheong, eggs and bean sprouts.

Cockles aren't usually found in the dishes here but I'm amazed at how they've adapted it to be very much like home. We like how there is the balance of sweetness from the dark soya sauce and slight saltiness from the Chinese sausage, whilst also having the wok-hei, giving it a nice smoky taste which wasn't too overwhelming. Word of warning, there are chilli specks scattered throughout and it's quite spicy.

Crispy pork fat! Those words on the menu immediately grabbed my attention. The 'KL Hokkien Mee ($12.00)' uses the thick Hokkein noodles, stir fried with pork slices, prawns, cabbage and crispy pork fat in a rich black sauce. Not the prettiest or healthiest of dishes but it was delicious and full of flavour. The side of chilli sauce was a great accompaniment to the noodles.

We ended our meal with a dessert called the 'Apam Balik ($6.00 for 2)'. It's the Malaysian adaptation of the pancake. Special moulds are used to make these crispy turnover pancakes filled with crushed peanuts, butter and creamed corn. I've wanted to try this for many years and the day final came. Did it live up to its expectations? It sure did.  The outside was crispy and the filling was deliciously sweet.

Some dishes were hits while others were misses. We went within the first month of opening so they may have improved on their flavours since then. We would definitely return to try the other items on their menu. Fancy a durian fried fritter?

Where?
Shop G.02, 345B-353 Sussex St
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Phone no: 02 9264 9315

Opening Hours
Open 7 Days a Week
Lunch: 11:30am - 2:30pm
Dinner: 5:30pm - 10:00pm

Website
www.hawker.com.au

Kampong Boy - Hurstville - Sydney, Australia

Kampong Boy

A Malaysian restaurant in the south of Sydney is a rare find as there aren't many around the area. Three years ago, when I found out that there was a Malaysian restaurant in Hurstville, I really wanted to go and try out the food. However, this has been delayed for years as we never found the opportunity to go. That was until I had a major craving for Hainan chicken rice a few weeks back. You would think I would be over eating chicken rice after consuming it numerous times in Singapore and once in Vietnam, but this hasn't been the case. If something is delicious, I can eat it very often.

Kampong Boy, a Malaysian restaurant located on the quieter end of Forest Road in Hurstville has been open for a number of years. The food must be decent for it to be open till now. I didn't set my expectations high as there isn't much to compare it against in the area.

On a Thursday night, there is a steady flow of customers, though not near full capacity as there are many tables unoccupied. The modern interior looks to have been recently renovated with wooden tables and traditional Malaysian style decorations around the dining room. There is a see through glass partition at the front of the restaurant where they do the grilling.

The menu offers a number of authentic Malaysian dishes such as Bak Kut Teh, Nasi Lemak, Hainan chicken rice etc. The menu looks to have been updated in recent times as it's different to what I've seen online and accordingly the prices have slightly increased too. We decide to stick with the safer options, items which we have tried before at other places.

The 'Nasi Goreng (($12.80)' is the Malaysian version of the fried rice topped with a fried egg. It contains sambal which gives it a spicy kick and unusual ingredients such as anchovies, which are not in the usual fried rice. It was cooked well and wasn't oily like the other dishes that followed.

The 'Fried Kway Teo ($13.80)' was made up of a combination of flat noodles, bean sprouts, prawns, fish cakes, egg and chives, which was unfortunately a letdown. It lacked the wok hei, tasted dry due to the lack of sauce and overall lacked flavour.

The dish that I anticipated and wanted to eat most was the 'Hainan Chicken Rice ($12.80)'. On the plate, everything was nicely presented and it was served with a chilli and dark soy dipping sauce. Even though they gave my favourite part of the chicken, the drumstick, it didn't make a difference as it was plain and dry. Unfortunately, the chicken rice was gluggy and soft. I probably wouldn't order this here again as it wasn't very good.

The 'Chicken Curry ($15.80)' was surprisingly a winner. It was spicy, well cooked and packed with a whole lot of flavour. As you can see from the layer of oil on top, it's extremely oily but what lies beneath is delicious. A very simple curry with chicken and potatoes but it sure won me over.

'Roti ($3.00)' is made fresh in house but I wasn't watching so whether it was made fresh on the day is not guaranteed. Crispy and flaky like how a roti should be but it was once again very oily and together with the oily curry, it didn't go very well together.

'Satay Sticks - 12 Sticks - Beef and Chicken ($16.00)' is grilled perfectly leaving a nice charcoal caramelised exterior, but leaning more towards the sweeter side in terms of taste. Together with a rich peanut sauce, it was delicious, but they could have been more generous with pieces of cucumber and red onion on the side.

Overall, half of what we ate was decent but half of the dishes weren't very good. I'm thankful that there is a Malaysian restaurant in the area that serves authentic food at reasonable prices but unfortunately my craving for Hainanese chicken rice wasn't satisfied. I would come again to try some other dishes but the food was mediocre on the day we went.

Where?
370 Forest Rd
Hurstville NSW 2220
Australia

Phone no: 02 8094 8409

Opening Hours
Tuesday to Friday
Lunch: 11:30am to 2:30pm
Dinner: 5:30pm  to 9:30pm
Saturday to Sunday
Lunch: 11:30am to 4:30pm
Dinner: 5:30pm to 9:30pm

Website
NA

Petaling St Malaysian Hawker Food - Haymarket - Sydney, Australia.

Petaling St Malaysian Hawker Food

I’m a big fan of Malaysian cuisine as I love how the food is not only tasty, wonderfully flavoured and extremely easy to eat, but there is just an endless choice to choose from. 

Petaling Street Malaysian Hawker Food Restaurant is located on busy George St in Haymarket, the fourth branch, with this being the first in Sydney and the rest located in Melbourne. Petaling Street is a famous street in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, well known for the abundance of restaurants specialising in hawker-style food and that is where this restaurant gets part of its name from. My friend C from Penang is a big fan of this place, choosing to dine here anytime she finds a chance to as it reminds her of the food she gets back home.

The food here is the real deal. You’re getting authentic Malaysian dishes at reasonably cheap prices. Please note their portion sizes are much larger than average so do not over order like we did. The good thing about this restaurant is you don’t have to queue as they've got plenty of seating inside. If there is a queue, the wait time is not long, but I've never have had to queue here.

Their menu is spread over two huge A3 sheets of paper and there are even additional sheets containing specials! The options seem endless. From the popular Malaysian dishes such as the Hainan chicken, satay chicken, bak kut teh to more adventurous dishes such as Marmite ribs. We tend to order food that we have tried before and on this occasion it was no exception.

‘Satay Chicken Sticks’ is grilled. Not sure what cooking technique they used here but unable to see or smell any char. 

'Roti Canai Chicken' was spot on. Superb buttery roti was absolutely scrumptious with the chicken curry. One of my favourites for the night.

‘Roast Chicken Rice’ is a winner. My favourite of all and the item I tend to order when I come here. The skin has been roasted to perfection giving it a crispy skin and tender, juicy meat within.  The rice here is not soft like it usually is but has a crispier texture from the garlic bits. Soup has a nice chicken flavour.  Not bad but not the best either. I liked how they served the traditional chilli and ginger sauce on the side.

The ‘Hainan Chicken Rice’ is the most anticipated but is unfortunately a letdown. Everyone is scared off by the pinkness of the chicken meat fearing it may be undercooked. It barely gets eaten. 

‘Mee Goreng’ is nice but not as good as the version at Mamak. To me it lacks that flavour hit. Shockingly, Tutor Girl has never tried this before and prefers the packaged Mee Goreng in instant noodle form.

The ‘Nasi Goreng’ is basically fried rice with the addition of sambal. At this point we’re just too full. I forced myself to try this for the sake of it. Nothing special as it lacked the flavour hit once again.

Various drinks including 'Iced Lemon Tea', 'Ribena with Lemonade' and 'Coke with Lemon'.

The food is good here with some dishes being better than others. Rather than having to travel all the way to Malaysia, you can have it here, though it may not be as cheap or great as the actual fare in Malaysia. We all enjoyed the dinner but might have been too full to fully savour the taste of each dish and the added heat from outside usually deters one from eating too much.

Where?
760 George St
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Phone no: 02 9280 1006

Opening Hours
7 Days a Week
11am - Late

Website
http://www.petalingst.com.au/

Mamak - Chinatown - Sydney, Australia

Mamak

 

Without fail, there is a queue here every night and it is long, very long. This was the case the last two times I was here and this time was no exception. We waited at least half an hour to an hour for a table.  Previously, I found the food average and couldn't grasp what was great about it. I think the long waiting time and exhaustion from the days activities must have affected my taste buds during the last two visits.

This time was it was different.

This is one of the most talked about places in Sydney and the blog reviews are aplenty. It goes to show how popular it is and for that reason the food should be good right?

 

 

Mamak, are well known for their authentic Malaysian fare at reasonable prices. We choose to go to the Chinatown restaurant as it's the most convenient. If you walk past the Chinatown restaurant, you can see them make fresh roti and it sure looks mesmerising. They also have a branch in Chatswood and a store in the Chinatown Friday markets, where you can watch them make fresh roti.

 

 

We started with two savoury roti's, the 'Roti Canai'($5.50)' and the 'Roti Planta ($5.50)'. The difference between the two is one is the original version whereas the other is a buttery roti. These are served with two spicy curry dipping sauces and a sambal sauce. Fresh roti is my absolute favourite and the buttery roti was to die for, both light and fluffy. You could see the melted butter leaking out from the flour. So unhealthy but oh so good.  I much preferred the lighter dhal curry over the darker, tomato based fish curry as it was more subtle in taste.

 

A 'Dozen of Chicken Satay Sticks ($12.00)' was one word, yum. Marinated chicken grilled over charcoal to give it that char flavour. That accompanying peanut sauce which had hints of sweet and spicy went well with the satay sticks.

 

'Ayam Goreng ($14.00 for 4 + $4.00 for each additional piece). Finger licking good. 5 pieces of huge thigh pieces coated in their secret herbs and spices and then fried to a golden brown. Well, more than a golden brown cause of the spices they used to give it a orange colour. One bite into that crunchy batter and BAM! That burst of flavour from the spices and juices from the meat made it taste exceptional. Crunch, crunch, crunch...

The preceding two are usually my two favourite dishes.

 

This isn't the popular instant noodle but the real 'Mee Goreng ($12.00)'. It is a stir-fried noodle dish made of Hokkein noodles, fish cake slices, eggs, prawns and bean sprouts. It's a bit spicy for some but tolerable.

 

'Nasi Goreng ($12.00)' is a Malaysian style fried rice with sambal, prawns, eggs and an assortment of vegetables. Good flavour combination and a popular dish amongst the table.

We couldn't leave here without having dessert could we? There is always room for dessert amongst this group and we decide to get two to share.

 

The 'Roti Kaya ($8.00)' is a flat roti filled with kaya, which is made from pandan and coconut. This is served with vanilla ice-cream. I like anything with kaya and this was yummy. A bit on the sweet side but nicely balanced out with the ice-cream.

 

Remember this name, the 'Roti Tisu ($10.00)' as it can be life changing.  My favourite dessert of the night. Having resemblance to a party hat, this paper-thin and extra crispy roti is coated with sugar and highly addictive. Some prefer it with condensed milk while others with ice-cream. I prefer mine with the latter.

'Teh O Ais Limau ($4.00)' is an iced tea with a hint of lime. Accidentally ordered this when I should have ordered the 'Limau Ais ($4.00) which is a lime drink but enjoyed it regardless.

 

I didn't think I would say this but the food at Mamak was great. I loved every dish and so did the others. A restaurant that makes good food and is friendly on the wallet. If you're prepared to queue, then go for it!

Where?
15 Goulburn Street,
Haymarket NSW 2000
Australia

Phone no: 02 9211 1668

Opening Hours
Open 7 Days a Week
Lunch 11:30 - 2:30
Dinner 5:30 - 10:00
Supper til 2am (Friday & Saturday)