4-Sept-2012: Updated post here with a new dish!
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Well well well... Another trip to our family's favourite feeding ground!
We've been returning to this place over and over for the past year, and some things never change: our list of four favourites, and the DELICIOUS flavours that the kitchen always seem to create!
I'll admit it's not the easiest place to find, tucked inside the Quadrangle at the corner of Broadway and Mountain Street in Ultimo. There's two entrances to the courtyard, but once you find it, you can't miss it... Especially if you're coming in from the Broadway entrance.
An excellent place for lunch, with great value for the size of the meal... but it's even better at night in my opinion. Picking a quiet night isn't easy: it's often packed and the kitchen rushing to get the orders out as fast as they come in. Wednesday and Friday nights would be my recommendation: the place isn't as heavily packed, with the food just a touch better.
Having been eating here every month (if not more frequently), some of the waitresses grin as they take our order: Hainan chicken (half portion), one of the three main Fish Curries, Pad Thai Chicken, and their specialty: Silken Tofu w/minced chicken: my ABSOLUTE favourite! We try to vary up a 5th choice... but it's hard when you know what's the best to have.
We've been returning to this place over and over for the past year, and some things never change: our list of four favourites, and the DELICIOUS flavours that the kitchen always seem to create!
I'll admit it's not the easiest place to find, tucked inside the Quadrangle at the corner of Broadway and Mountain Street in Ultimo. There's two entrances to the courtyard, but once you find it, you can't miss it... Especially if you're coming in from the Broadway entrance.
An excellent place for lunch, with great value for the size of the meal... but it's even better at night in my opinion. Picking a quiet night isn't easy: it's often packed and the kitchen rushing to get the orders out as fast as they come in. Wednesday and Friday nights would be my recommendation: the place isn't as heavily packed, with the food just a touch better.
Having been eating here every month (if not more frequently), some of the waitresses grin as they take our order: Hainan chicken (half portion), one of the three main Fish Curries, Pad Thai Chicken, and their specialty: Silken Tofu w/minced chicken: my ABSOLUTE favourite! We try to vary up a 5th choice... but it's hard when you know what's the best to have.
I'll start off with the Hainan Chicken: the sauce here is one they make themselves. A mild chilli flavour - enough to enhance the flavoursome chicken. Honestly, I eat most of my chicken without the sauce :)
The chicken... I can't describe it - just order it yourself and enjoy!
The chicken... I can't describe it - just order it yourself and enjoy!
A new dish on our list - now we've had the Curry Beef before, and come away from it with a bit of disappointment. Now the last time we were here, Chef Tan came out of the kitchen for a chat - and that's how we found out about this little gem!
We couldn't fault this dish - perfectly cooked beef with all the succulent parts, brought to your rice bowl in their delicious curry sauce.
I'll admit that I'm not a fan of curry - but this one is worth it =)
Pros: as described =D
Cons: we're used to the sizing - but a curry lover would wish for more.
Tips: remember to order for the Special Curry Beef, not the standard one.
We couldn't fault this dish - perfectly cooked beef with all the succulent parts, brought to your rice bowl in their delicious curry sauce.
I'll admit that I'm not a fan of curry - but this one is worth it =)
Pros: as described =D
Cons: we're used to the sizing - but a curry lover would wish for more.
Tips: remember to order for the Special Curry Beef, not the standard one.
Number 2 and 3 on our favourites list: the Pad Thai Chicken, and my personal delight - the Silken Tofu with minced chicken.
I'm not going to share Chef Tan's secret for this one, but the Pad Thai Chicken ... you just have to try it and form your own opinion. I've been hard pressed to find a better Pad Thai around the Kensington/Kingsford area around UNSW. I won't claim it's the best in Sydney, but it's up there... definitely. 'Saucy' and 'full of flavour' are all the hints I'll leave for you...
For the Silken Tofu - I have had a year-long... more than that, actually... love affair with this dish. I've had it at its best, and nibbled at it during its worst. This is one dish you simply HAVE to try - Chef Tan recommendations, even before he created the Specialty menu.
Their blend of tofu with something... egg, presumably... creates this delightful creamy mixture encased a lightly fried batter coating. 8 or 9 of these packages are covered by a tasty gloop (best enjoyed with white rice), topped with minced chicken pieces and broccoli.
Best aspects: once you order this, enjoy it immediately on serving - the tofu cores are best devoured carefully whilst hot - though not TOO hot - I'm not going to be responsible for your burnt tongues!
Cons: Can be a hit-or-miss dish - the quality isn't there on busy nights. The 'gloop' I enjoy can occasionally be too thin or 'watery'. My advice - better on a weeknight than weekends.
This is a dish with a number of elements that could go wrong... but when it's perfect, it's PERFECT!
I'm not going to share Chef Tan's secret for this one, but the Pad Thai Chicken ... you just have to try it and form your own opinion. I've been hard pressed to find a better Pad Thai around the Kensington/Kingsford area around UNSW. I won't claim it's the best in Sydney, but it's up there... definitely. 'Saucy' and 'full of flavour' are all the hints I'll leave for you...
For the Silken Tofu - I have had a year-long... more than that, actually... love affair with this dish. I've had it at its best, and nibbled at it during its worst. This is one dish you simply HAVE to try - Chef Tan recommendations, even before he created the Specialty menu.
Their blend of tofu with something... egg, presumably... creates this delightful creamy mixture encased a lightly fried batter coating. 8 or 9 of these packages are covered by a tasty gloop (best enjoyed with white rice), topped with minced chicken pieces and broccoli.
Best aspects: once you order this, enjoy it immediately on serving - the tofu cores are best devoured carefully whilst hot - though not TOO hot - I'm not going to be responsible for your burnt tongues!
Cons: Can be a hit-or-miss dish - the quality isn't there on busy nights. The 'gloop' I enjoy can occasionally be too thin or 'watery'. My advice - better on a weeknight than weekends.
This is a dish with a number of elements that could go wrong... but when it's perfect, it's PERFECT!
Last of the favourites is the Fish Curry series. Now its got fish (a seafood, which I don't touch) and a curry (which you know my opinion). But it's a good pot of yummyness - going by my family's insistence on ordering this dish over and over again.
You can order the Fish Curry (half) for $15 or the full portion for $30. The best ones, though, are the other choices: Fish Head Curry is one for those who know their way around the alternative parts of devouring a fish. Whole Fish Curry is the other for the adventurous diners - explore your way around a curry pot full of fishy delight.
Apart from the two major Fish Curries at $38 - large enough for two mains, really; the other mains are priced around $15, a few poking their plates a touch above that. Rice (white or chicken) isn't included (about $2 or $3 on your preference)... but we rarely exceed $100 to feed 3 males and Mummy to bloating point! :)
Malacca Straits
5/66 Mountain St
Ultimo/Broadway, 2007
Directions: inside the Quadrangle, just off Broadway
Open: Monday to Satudays, Lunch + Dinner
Mains: $10-20. Seafood and Fish Curries $25++
Link: http://www.malaccastraitsbroadway.com.au/
You can order the Fish Curry (half) for $15 or the full portion for $30. The best ones, though, are the other choices: Fish Head Curry is one for those who know their way around the alternative parts of devouring a fish. Whole Fish Curry is the other for the adventurous diners - explore your way around a curry pot full of fishy delight.
Apart from the two major Fish Curries at $38 - large enough for two mains, really; the other mains are priced around $15, a few poking their plates a touch above that. Rice (white or chicken) isn't included (about $2 or $3 on your preference)... but we rarely exceed $100 to feed 3 males and Mummy to bloating point! :)
Malacca Straits
5/66 Mountain St
Ultimo/Broadway, 2007
Directions: inside the Quadrangle, just off Broadway
Open: Monday to Satudays, Lunch + Dinner
Mains: $10-20. Seafood and Fish Curries $25++
Link: http://www.malaccastraitsbroadway.com.au/
