Malaysian hawker food in Australia

[whisks]

shewie, do you have recipes for the different types of chui kwei? if you do, could you post them please? thx

[Shiewie]

Here are some recipes:

- Savoury Woon Jai Go - recipe 1

- Savoury Woon Jai Go - recipe 2

- Savoury Woon Jai Go - recipe 3

- Savoury Woon Jai Go - recipe 4

- Savoury Woon Jai Go - recipe 5

- Savoury Woon Jai Go - recipe 6

- Savoury Woon Jai Go - recipe 7

- Sweet Woon Jai Go - recipe 1

- Sweet Woon Jai Go - recipe 2

There was an earlier discussion on woon jai go in the Kueh thread over on the Elsewhere on South East Asia Board - http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=44433&st=90

- other names for Chwee Kueh are But Jai Go, kutsinta (pics in Kueh thread look like the sweet woon jai go) and Tepee mentions that there's also a similar version in Vietnam (have seen it in a Hue restaurant - topping is slghtly different - has pieces of lard in it).

whisks - do post on how the recipes turn out

Edited February 14, 2006 by Shiewie (log)

[whisks]

thanks; will do.

[NickLam]

Ahhh, chatterbox......spent many a dollar there during breaks from uni.....just 10 floors above it! Chatterbox is pretty good, especially the crispy chicken rice.

On Bourke Street, next to Bras N Things, there is a small little street (Forgot the name), wher ethey've got lots of food there. There's a place called Chinese Wok or seomthing like that. Really good chicken rice and food there.

Changi Village Nasi Lemak is so-so IMO, having had the real thing once too many in Singapore. I actually spoke to the owner, which is the original Changi Nasi Lemak guy's daughter. She and her husband run the place. They've changed the taste a bit to suit western tastes, and I think they still haven't found the perfect moisture balance for the rice yet. The rice is pretty dry and hard, coz Aussie rice is dry grown, but the rice in Asia is mostly wet grown. But........if you ever run in for a teh tarik (Pulled Tea!), tell them to do it Singapore taste and they will. Its a pity they've had to change the taste though, but hey, I guess it sells.

[Dim Sim]

what 'chui-kwei' might be...?

←

So far I only even seen this dish in Singapore. I wonder whether if this is a Singaporean Hokkien dish ?

[PCL]

Shiewie to the rescue! Thanks, woon jai go I know very well

[Taubear]

Went to “Spice I Am” last week for the first time. I have stopped going to Thai restaurants in Sydney as most of them bore me to tears. “Spice I Am” was something completely different! The food was amazingly fresh and SO very delicious. We had a Thai fish cake special which I would'nt normally order as they are usually like eating squash balls. These fish cakes were delectable little morsels that melted in the mouth and were accompanied by a dipping sauce. YUM

Next was a spicy beef salad. This beautifully put tighter dish actually had a very good chilli bite and good use of lime.

Next was a lemon grass salad. Wow what a mouth explosion lemon grass cut very finely pared with king prawns and a palm sugar lime and chilli dressing. An absolute highlight.

Everything was SO good we decided to order one more dish. Yellow curry chicken. This slightly sweet curry is one of the best I have ever eaten and was a great way to end the meal. We will defiantly be going back again and this will probably become a regular. Finally an authentic Thai restaurant in Sydney.

Spice I Am

90 Wentworrth Ave

Surry Hills NSW 2010

Edited February 14, 2006 by Taubear (log)

[lamington]

Does anyone know the opening hours of the great Malaysian place in the Hunter Arcade? Is it open into the early evening on weekdays or on Saturdays at lunch time? I've only ever been through the arcade around lunchtime.

[PCL]

We call that place 'The Smelly Place' and they are open for lunch only and weekdays only. I'm not sure what the actual name of the place is, but as is, I only ever go there when in Sydney for business and never have had cause to visit them on weekends or in the evenings.

Besides, it's lunch food!!

[lamington]

... and it's bloody great. Just sometimes life takes one too far from Hunter Arcade...

[Julian Teoh]

... and it's bloody great. Just sometimes life takes one too far from Hunter Arcade...

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There's a place on Hunter Street (other side of Hunter Connection) called the Malay-Chinese takeaway. Always very packed and very good. But again, only open for the lunch crowds.

[Taubear]

After reading this quote "... and it's bloody great. Just sometimes life takes one too far from Hunter Arcade.." I walked down there for lunch today. I went to the Malaysian place on the lower floor and ordered their chicken curry. To put it simply it was bloody delicious.

[PCL]

Just to add to the ravenous praise for the little subterranean joint... they have daily specials and their nasi lemak is one of the best in the country.

[oesophagus]

Just to add to the ravenous praise for the little subterranean joint... they have daily specials and their nasi lemak is one of the best in the country.

←

I think the best nasi lemak (or "nasty" as my peeps like to call it) in the country is almost a thread in itself. I'm a little bit obsessed. I like the one at Kopi Tiam on Harris Street in Ultimo (they're also big on daily specials - fish head curry and the like - even if the regular menu isn't super-strong), and there used to be a good one (heavy on the pickled vegetables) in the hotel on the corner of Campbell and Pitt in Chinatown.

My current favourite is in the Asian food hall in the basement next to Woolies Metro in the city (enter off Pitt near the corner of Park); they do a good lemak and also a passable chicken rice. Can't say I think much of Jimmy's original (either location) though I was surprised to find a version (quite good from memory) at that strange Christmas/Cocos Islander halal place near the corner of Castlereagh and Campell, not far from Spice I Am.

That said, the best one I've had in Australia still has to on Mindil Beach at the night markets in Darwin, with really good rice and nice crisp ikan bilis, but that just could be the setting and the fact that there's nowhere else to eat in that city clouding my judgement. (The same stall pops up elsewhere, too, doing a sort of Malaysian breakfast burrito/kebab - curry rolled up in roti with sambal, boiled egg, cucumber and ikan bilis - roti canai to go, if you will.)

[oesophagus]

(And yes, the one in the Hunter Arcade - Malaysia Food House, I think - is definitely on my list. Has anyone tried any of their daily specials? I can't ever bring myself to order anything but the lemak.)

[PCL]

RE: Specials,

The roti canai, on Fridays if memory severs, is passable. Nothing special, but the chicken curry that it comes with SENSATIONAL. You can get it with the 'nasty' as well.

The Penang Har Mee, or prawn noodles, is sensational. I like it with plain egg noodles only instead of the traditional egg/rice vermicelli combo.

[whisks]

i have a new favourite place - "sambal" on ryde road near macquarie centre. i love it, and i figured out why on my third visit in the last 2 weeks - the food isn't over salted and there is no msg aftertaste! really homey. so far, i've had the nasi lemak, rojak, chicken laksa (it is genuinely beautiful just to look at and a delight to eat) and penang char kway teow. so far, i've only been able to get there for lunch, but i think dinner is the way to go, looking at the menu. ring in advance if you want specials like fish head curry and that sort of thing. i really do feel "sambal" is my choice for eating malaysian food from now on - it even surpasses "to's" in north sydney (where i had an assam laksa today) - the menu is far more extensive and the ice kachang in comparison to "to's" is in a different league altogether.

i did try "ginger and spice" on military road, neutral bay a few weeks ago. the food is nice enough - modern singaporean, but my feeling is i want authentic more than a modern variation. like i said, nice enough, but not authentic. the chef is from temasek in parramatta.

[Taubear]

OK first post for the new year. Happy New Year to all.

I have been going to Kuali in Lane Cove every week for the last few months. The restaurant is not so much of a hawker joint as it can be expensive [The signature dish is mud crab with curry sauce] but it has a good range of hawker dishes. I absolutly adore this place and highly reccomend going if you get a chance.

Here is the link http://www.kuali.com.au/

Cheers Mark

[Maliaty]

I'm another vote for the Hunter Arcade Malay place (down the escalators, hard left). The ginger octopus and sambal eggplant I had yesterday were fantastic. And they do good rice.

I was a regular devotee of the Malay-Chinese place when it was on the corner of King / Castlereagh, opposite the MLC Centre. Great Hainan chicken rice. But it's closed now and i got sidetracked by the first Malay place when I tried to find their other place in the Hunter arcade yesterday.

Here's to spice!

Maliaty

[whisks]

have just discovered another place - straits kitchen in kingsford - just up the road from UNSW....if i had only know about it when i was a poor uni student....sigh. they do laksa lemak, fish head curry, that sort of thing and there's a differnet special on most days. nice for a change, especially if i'm down that end of town.

[Snadra]

Another vote for the Malaysian place in the bottom of the Hunter Arcade (I love the Hunter arcade for lunch!). The Indian takeaway next door is also very good, and as a bonus they're open until 7pm on weeknights (they cook fresh at around 4pm).

My question is: Is there a truly good Hainan Chicken Rice in the city? I've not yet found one I like as much as at F&L Gourmet in Macquarie Centre - the chicken is silky, the rice flavourful and the sauces are perfect and so more-ish. They used to do a Green Bean Starch Sheet dish once a week too that was the ultimate summer meal. I need to get out there more often.

eta: That Indian place also cooks fresh Naan to order.

Edited February 1, 2007 by Snadra (log)

[whisks]

ooohh....F & L at macquarie? i've seen it many times, but not thot to try it, but will now on your recommendation. also good to know abt the indian place - thx for the tip.

just looking at the posts on this thread make me wonder how many fellow egulleteers may just be around the corner since we seem to have frequented some common places (eg, hunter arcade.....)