De Malaya - North Ryde

My brother in law loves Singaporean and Malaysian food, luckily, so does most of our family. So when his Singaporean friends recommended De Malaya, we just had to give it a go. A last minute decision meant I had to leave work early to get home in time, so we could try and beat the peak hour traffic to North Ryde.

45mins later, we finally pull up to De Malaya. Luckily my brother in law knew roughly where it was, because I would've driven right on pass. De Malaya is situated almost in the middle of nowhere, with houses on either side and not another restaurant in sight. There's a small car park next to the restaurant making it easier for us to usher the kids in and out.


We were the second table of people there and practically had the restaurant to ourselves (considering we outnumbered the other table 2 to 1!). This is a truely a no nonsense buffet style restaurant.

Plate #1

Chicken curry, otak otak, ham and chicken roll, paper baked chicken, chicken satay, fried chicken wings and hainese chicken rice.

As you can tell, I love my chicken. A lot of the food was really nice and authentic even though the quality suffered a bit being in a bain marie. Since we were the early group there, some of the food had started to get cold. But as the night went on and more food came out, everything was piping hot and so fresh. My absolute favourite would be the fried chicken wings and the fried baby fish (in photo below - bottom left corner).

More fried stuff

Salt and pepper prawns, char kuey teow, satay chicken, cold mussels, fried chicken wing, spring roll, fried tofu, ham and chicken roll and fried baby fish.

Laksa

There were heaps of other non-fried dishes available, like DIY Laksa, Bakuteh, heaps of salads and other cold entrees. I didn't bother taking photos of everything, I was too busy eating!

Anyway, I was so stuffed by the end of the meal, that I barely had room for dessert:

Dessert

Fruit, pickle, fried banana and agar agar

De Malaya
122-124 Wicks Rd
North Ryde NSW 2113
Phone: (02) 9878 3833

Winding down the alcohol consumption...

My liver has been complaining for the last 2 months. Ever since "The Announcement", its been non-stop farewells. On D-Day, they booked out the whole Chicane restaurant beneath our building and had a big piss up. Drinks started at 4pm with beer, wine and sparkly. Food came out every now, meaning there was a mad rush when it did:

The vultures going for the pies

Wedges

It became and open bar at 7pm and things went downhill pretty quickly from there. We went way over the bar tab, which almost had to be doubled. But it was a good party for everyone in the business to say our farewells.

We then had another team farewell with our 60 odd team members at the Malaya. This one was much more intimate giving us a better chance to chat. At Chicane, it was all about the alcohol and not a lot of people showed up. At the Malaya, even the people who never come out decided to come and say their goodbyes. I suspect the food was a good lure:

Popiah

Satay lamb sticks

Salt and pepper prawns

Sze Chuan eggplants

Kueh Teow

Lamb Korma

Roti

Curry prawns

Ice cream balls

Due to the amount of alcohol consumed, I accidentally took 2 photos of the eggplant instead of the cashew chicken, which was fantastic by the way. I actually had a fantastic night where I got to chat to a lot of people I don't usually get to talk to at work.

The night ended up at the Malaya and moved over to the James Squire brewery. I'm not sure what time I left, I do remember the bar lights coming on when my workmate decided to pour beer on the floor to make it easier to moon walk.....

Its been a very drunken last 2 months, and I was hoping it was going to wind down. And it has.....a bit. But I think welcome drinks are going to start up soon. Actually, it kinda has. More on that later.

A birthday and a get together

I am sooo behind in my blogging! Bad SMJ! Here's my attempt to catch up. So a few of my major outings in the past two weeks have included Alex's birthday party at the Bavarian Bier Cafe and also a get together with some of my old workmates at Malaya.

Bavarian Bier Cafe @ York St

Firstly, Alex's birthday. I didn't bother taking much food photos since I've been there so many times. The only real food photo is of their sticky date pudding:


I've always disliked sticky date puddings as I find them too sickly sweet. That is until I tried the one at Nick's Seafood at Cockle Bay Wharf. They have converted me onto this gorgeous dessert! The Bavarian Bier's version is lighter and slightly crumbly compared to the traditional sticky date, but it worked out perfectly for me after eating a massive slab of schnitzel and mash. Plus I had gus help me eat half of it.

Now onto the rest of the night. It was pretty calm except when I tipped half a bier onto my brand new dress trying to climb over the bench to sit down. Note to self, don't wear dresses when you're going to be sitting on a bench.

Of course, there was the present for the birthday girl:



Then for some reason, Gus got a bit macho jealous of Ryan's biceps and needed a photo with them:


Only he lost the contest:


Just to make Gus feel less inferior, we decided to hit the schnapps, picking the ones with the highest alcoholic content. You know, cos we're all macho and all.



Let me tell you this, Sour Apple Schnapps is the ONLY thing you should order from their schnapps menu. The rest is either a paint stripper, or a sugar concentrate that will guarantee cavities within 5mins of taking a shot!

Malaya

The last get together I had with some of my old workmates involved Yum Cha at lunch. As nice as that was, we couldn't spend much time chatting and catching up. So this time round, I organised dinner at the Malaya to give us more time to catch up as well as have some great food! Unfortunately, the lovely Oyen who wanted to try Malaya so bad was feeling sick and couldn't make it, so it looks like I'll have to organise another outing to Malaya soon! Poor us ;)

As with every get together, there is alcohol beforehand. Its kind of given considering half of the people are boozers! (And I mean people who booze more than me!). This time however, we made it to the restaurant on time. Unlike the last dinner outing which involved a few of us getting so pissed we forgot to go to the restaurant, and when we did, we caught the wrong bus and ended up walking in a storm without umbrellas to get there! This time it was raining as well, and we were pissed, but not so pissed we couldn't find the place. But what do we do the minute we got to Malaya? Cocktails!!

Malayatini - Passion fruit and lychee martini

Mrs wong - Tastes like orange juice to me

We ended up having quite a few more rounds of cocktails and beers before the food even came out!!

Seafood san choi bow

My serve

Chicken satay sticks with a sweet sambal sauce

The sweet sambal like sauce was really really good. I was spooning a whole teaspoonful per bite I was taking. Then I moved onto the veggies which I dunked into the sauce then delicately balanced a heap spoonful of sauce ontop before eating. I was half tempted to ask them to leave the sauce behind. But get distracted for 2 seconds and it was gone :(

Roti Canai - Flakey pancakes with a chicken curry dipping sauce

The sauce

As much as I liked this dish, $11 for ONE roti cut into 4 wedges and a bowl of sauce is RIDICULOUS. In Singapore and Malaysia, this is considered a cheap snack. For what you see above, that wouldn't cost you more than $1.50.

Pepper king prawns - peppery but sweet and moreish

Wonderfully crispy salt and pepper squid

Tender Lamb Korma

Assam fish - Crispy but with a creamy sweet and sour tang

Half demolish Bali Lamb

Sze Chuan Eggplant

I decided to write about this dish last. This was UNBELIEVABLY, orgasmicly good! The eggplants were fried until crispy, but the inside was smooth and creamy, all tossed in a caramelised sweet and spicy sauce served on a bed of Kang Kung. I would've been happy with this dish and a big bowl of boiled rice. Hell, I'll eat this every single day, 3 meals a day for a week and I'll still be happy! Anyone who doesn't like eggplant must still try this dish. I guarantee it will convert you!

Happy campers!

SoRCook is back again!

Its been awhile since I've done any cooking. Theres been so many recipes I've wanted to try, and many things I crave that my mum either doesn't know how to cook, or doesn't want to cook it. Now its my chance! As I go home every night, I stop by the local butcher, veggie shop and asian grocery store to pick up my supplies for dinner that night. I'm trying to cook just enough for dinner, and maybe some leftovers for lunch (and some for my granny as well). So, what have I been cooking?

Shin Ramyun pork noodles

The Korean spicy noodles Shin Ramyun is my favourite hangover cure. Depending on how bad my hangover is, I would to boil the noodles in water, and once the noodle cake starts to break apart slightly, I would pour out half of the water. I then add an entire packet of the spicy soup mix to the pot and let that simmer until the noodles have absorbed most of the soup. This gives the noodles an extra spicy kick that really wakes you up. The more hungover I was, the more spicy I would make it.

For a more decent meal, I stir fried pork mince and cabbage with the soup powder that comes with the Korean spicy noodle Shin Ramyun. I let the mixture simmer for awhile so the pork absorbed all the yummy spicy sauce. Once the sauce starts to thicken up, I poured it over the cooked noodles before stirring through. This was absolutely delicious and a perfect hangover cure!

Satay Chicken, Veggies with Oyster sauce and rice

The one thing I miss the most about our family restaurant is all the restaurant food we used to eat. We never eat "restaurant food" at home. Anything we used to sell at the restaurant is basically never cooked at home. I don't know why, but I do know I miss the food a lot. And one of my favourite dishes was satay chicken. When I was working at Crows Nest, the local Chinese restaurant cooked something very similar to what we used to sell. Similar, but not the same. And now that I'm working in the city, I can't even find something remotely close.

So here's my attempt at it. And although I didn't mix up a batch of the satay sauce we used to use, this was close enough and definitely satisfied my cravings. The veggies were gently steamed and the oyster sauce was drizzled ontop. I know that looks like a lot of sauce, but I had a lot more veggies on the side.

Hokkien Mee

In 2 1/2 weeks time, I can finally go to Singapore and visit my favourite hawker stall for their Hokkien Mee. But I can't wait 2 1/2 weeks. I wasn't paying attention when I cooked this and accidentally made it too thick. And I chose to use a thinner noodle. I also didn't have any Ketjap Manis, so I used a lot of dark soy. I wasn't as dark in colour as a proper Hokkien Mee, but GOD THIS TASTED GOOD!! I even surprised myself! The sauce is rich and comforting. The sauce is caramelised and so moreish! I can't wait to make this again! I might actually go and buy a bottle of Ketjap Manis next time to make this properly. It tasted almost like the real thing! I just wished I had some pickled green chillis to go with it. MmMm and good thing I made extra to take to work, because this will definitely taste better tomorrow! I can't wait!!

Malaysian Cuisine - Jimmy's Recipe

I've recently discovered a little secret place literally around the corner from my work. Its a little hole in the wall restaurant that is barely noticeable from the main street. I only happened to spot it one day heading into our office car park. In fact, this place has been open for almost 2 years, and none of my workmates even know about it! There is a tiny sign advertising their presence and that's it. The shop itself is tiny. You can only sit a handful of people in there. So either go early, or grab takeaway.

I'm not even too sure what the name of the shop is call. Maybe its just "Malaysian Cuisine", but whatever it's called, they've got some good food in there! I've been there a few times just to try their food out, and so far so good.

Chicken Laksa

Their Laksa is supposedly the best in Sydney, but I personally still like the laksa from Malay-Chinese Takeaway. I prefer my laksa to be lighter so I can finish the whole bowl. Their laksa is richer than MCT, but still good regardless. I just wouldn't finish all the soup......I'll feel too guilty from their richly goodness!

Kapitiam Chicken

I went back the next day to try their Kapitiam chicken. This was...strange. The sauce is slightly sour, but also curry/satay like. I've never had this dish before, so I'm not sure if its the way its supposed to be. I was disappointed in how they made the dish though. They had a Kapitiam SQUID special the day I was there, but I really had a hankering for chicken. Instead of cooking a fresh batch, they picked up some chicken and mixed some of the squid sauce through it. The dish didn't taste bad, but I think I would've liked it better if they had covered all the chicken with the sauce. And maybe if I didn't find squid pieces in my container...

Hainan Chicken and Rice

Chicken and veggie broth

Chilli garlic dipping sauce and ginger shallot sauce

Every time I've gone into the shop, I see people consuming plates of the Hainan Chicken Rice. So for my workmates birthday, we decided to give the dish a go. The chicken was very nice and tender, the soup flavoursome (Even though it was msg laden) and the dipping sauce was oh so authentic! They even give you the option of wing or thigh.

I'm liking this place alot as it is so close to my work and is perfect for those days I am too lazy to walk anywhere to buy lunch. It is literally a 30sec walk from my office! How great is that for rainy days!

The shop can be found in the tiny Bridge Lane between Bridge St and Abercrombie Lane.

Malay-Chinese Takeaway - The best Laksa in Sydney

I guess this place is no longer a secret based on the number of people that rock up every lunch time (Especially after they made it into SMH). The Malay-Chinese Takeaway shop on Hunter St is famous for their laksa. Walk in any day of the week, and you see all the tables packed with people slurping down their delicious laksa that is spicy and comforting. The secret to their laksa is that they don't use just coconut milk like the other restaurants. They actually use a combination of coconut milk and normal milk. This gives it a creamy but not overly rich taste meaning you can drink every last drop of the soup and still not feel sick. OK, you can feel sick when you are so full but you won't stop eating because it tastes sooooooo good!

Skinless Chicken and Veggies

Seafood and Veggies

I first tried their laksa almost 2 years ago. First week at work, I got invited along to their weekly laksa lunch and I've been hooked every since. I've also got a lot of friends hooked as well! This is a no frills place. You get your own cutlery, the plastic bowls and spoons have been stained yellow from serving thousands of laksas every week. This is not a place is sit and chat for a leisurely lunch. Even if the owners are happy for you to stay, its the 50 odd people lining up against the wall, all the way out the restaurant, who stand there giving you dirties if you don't up and leave the minute you finish your last drop of soup. I've even had people squeeze into the one spare seat we've got left on the table, and sit there staring at us until we've finished eating.

Ontop of the laksa, they also serve a whole range of other Malay and Chinese dishes. Theres always a special of the day. Usually its either Har Mee (Prawn noodle soup), Tom Yum Noodle Soup or Mee Siam (Stir fried rice noodles with a tangy sauce). Their Har Mee is always popular, and so is their Combination Hor Fun (Rice Noodles), but no where near the popularity of their laksa. Just remember to wear black when you go in case of splatterage. (Otherwise you can buy a bib from them)

Malay-Chinese Takeaway
Shop 1, 50-58 Hunter St
Sydney
http://www.malaychinese.com.au

Chinta Ria

Its been awhile since we've had a catch up with the old CBA gang, so after hundred of emails, numerous phone calls, we finally settled on Chinta Ria. I have walked past Chinta Ria so many times, but have never had the chance to go for dinner. After grabbing a drink at Pontoon, we went upstairs to try and snag a table for dinner. Chinta Ria doesn't accept dinner bookings, and we'll be rocking up with a pram, so the earlier the better. Infact, we were so early, there was only one other table there.

I loved the decor of the restaurant! Its colourful and vibrant, and theres a MASSIVE bucket of free prawn chips at the front door! I also noticed this was one of the Malaysian restaurant that featured in SBS's The Food Safari. I think it was the colourful bowls that gave it away.

We went and picked a main dish each leaving room for alcohol and dessert. I'm glad we've got our priorities right! hehehe

Lamb red curry - $22

Beef Rendang - $22

Nasi Goreng - $15

Vegetarian Noodles - $15.50

Assam fish - $24.50

Banana Fritter (Minus the ice cream)

Mango Sorbet

Sago Pudding with Coconut milk and palm sugar

The curries were quite standard and might I say, a tad dry. It was still went quite nice with the boiled rice we ordered. The Nasi Goreng was light and not oily at all. Noodles were nice, but a bit too much dark soya sauce for my liking. But the Assam Fish was my favourite dish. The sauce was light and tangy, and given a choice, I would've slurped down the sauce like it was Tom Yum Goong.

However, all of that was upstaged the minute my Sago Pudding came out. It is so simple, let sooooooo moreish! It was cooling and soothing. Perfect after a hot curry. The palm sugar was aromatic and not too sweet. I scraped every last bit out of the bowl!

We had a wonderful night out with good food, and even better company. My only complaint would be the staff at Chinta Ria tried to basically kick us out by giving us the bill at the same time that our dessert arrived. I know they're busy, and I know we were occupying a table for 8 with only 5 people (Plus a baby making it 6). But we didn't ask for the bigger table, we arrived early to avoid the hassle of trying to get a table with enough room to fit a pram and they offered us a large table when the place was still early. But once the place started getting packed, they quickly changed their tune. That was the only incident that marred a beautiful night out. We still had a great time nonetheless.

It's time to start organising the next outing!

Chinta Ria
Roof Terrace of Cockle Bay Wharf
201 Sussex St
Sydney, 2000
Ph: (02) 9264 3211
Fax: (02) 9264 1411

http://www.chintaria.com