date night: malacca straits, broadway

Date night: a gen Y phenomenon whereby a couple, who may already be living together, ventures out for a traditional dinner and movie. The boy pays of course. (To illustrate just how gen Y it is, my workmate mentioned recently to her boss that she went on a date night with her live-in boyfriend. Her boss looked aghast, believing that she was having an affair).

Last Friday saw chapflap and I (who don't live together, I might add, just in the interests of full disclosure) headed back to Malacca Straits at Broadway after a first visit inspired by Simon Food Favourites (Grab Your Fork has also posted on this hidden treasure). That time, we had the murtabak, Hainanese chicken rice, wat tan hor (stir fried seafood hor fun) and ice kacang, all of which were delicious. This time, we had:

Otak-otak (from the specials menu, so I'm not sure how much it was. It wasn't expensive though). We hadn't tried anything like this before - minced fish with coconut milk steamed in leaves. Yum.

2 serves of roti canai ($6 altogether). Not as flaky as the ones at Mamak, but more than satisfying given you don't have to queue for half an hour for a table. Great for mopping up this...

Chicken kapitan curry ($13). I could seriously drink this sauce. Fragrant with a punch of tamarind sourness, it was the hit of the night.

Wat tan hor ($11). Similar in texture to the Cantonese 濕炒牛河 (literally "wet stir-fried beef rice noodles", as opposed to the also imaginatively named 乾炒牛河, which is "dry stir-fried beef rice noodles"), this had plenty of the all-important 鑊氣 ("wok breath", or that delicious smoky flavour achieved only through a massive flame and a well-seasoned wok), seafood and vegies.

I am such a sucker for Asian desserts. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one to say no to chocolate, cake or pastries, but I simply cannot resist any form of Asian dessert, particularly if it features lurid coloured syrups. There are 3 desserts available at Malacca Straits, one other of which is a shaved ice as well (ice kacang) - this is the slightly more adventurous ABC ($5), with rose flavoured (and coloured!) syrup, peanuts and corn hiding beneath all that shaved ice. I know it sounds unusual, but somehow it all just works.

Malacca Straits is the perfect place for your next date night. And for the record, yes, chapflap did pay.


Malacca Straits
66 Mountain Street (pretty much next door to Broadway Shopping Centre)
Broadway NSW 2007


Open for lunch and dinner Mondays to Saturdays


Menu available here


Park at Broadway Shopping Centre for 3 free parking, or 4 hours if like us, you are off to a movie after dinner at Hoyts. Note that the restaurant is tucked up pretty much right at the back of the apartment complex (Quadrant Building).

temasek, parramatta

Jostling with pho for top spot on my favourite foods list is hainan chicken rice. I think we've found the perfect specimen at Temasek, Parramatta (although I'm willing to take further recommendations... the next one on the hit list might be at Ultimo, based on grabyourfork's review of Chinese Herbal King Seafood Restaurant).

This restaurant in tucked in a little alley on George Street, Parramatta. The street itself was eerily quiet for a Saturday night but the restaurant was pretty full with families and couples. The place is set up a bit strangely - two dining rooms with tables in the alley in between as well, but it seemed to work ok.

Apart from the deliciousness of the food, I was impressed with the speediness of the place - within about 10 minutes of our order, everything was already on the table. Quick enough for us to get back in time to watch the Rugby League World Cup final (which we lost to the Kiwis, argh!)



Mmm, fried hainanese chicken rice - $12. Not the conventional steamed hainanese chicken served with ginger and shallots, but more like chicken karaage - served with kecap manis (sweet soy and chilli. For me it's all about the rice, and this was great. Just the right about of garlic and chicken stock, and washed down well with the accompanying soup.



Serai (lemongrass) pork - $17.80. Very moreish - not too oily.



Tom yum soup - $7.80. There was pineapple in it - is that authentic? A great mix of sourness and spiciness, with lots of prawns, mushrooms and bamboo shoots.



Belacan kangkung - $16.80. A delicious tangle of vegetables with chilli and shrimp paste.

Unfortunately they didn't have bobo chacha that night, which I've been intrigued by ever since I saw it on the SBS TV show, Food Safari. Looks like grabyourfork had it though on her expedition to Temasek earlier this year. Was tempted by ice kacang, especially when a table of 8 near us ordered one each - but the unseasonably cold November weather made me vow instead to return for the bobo chacha another time.

Chapflap took me there on his previous experience of the chilli crab, so we'll be back with a larger group to have that and my bobo chacha! This place deserves more than a 6.4 on eatability!

Disclaimer: I'm not Malaysian so I'm not vouching for the authenticity of the food. All I can say is that it tasted good! Also, as for the service (which has been criticised on eatability) I would say that it was fairly perfunctory.

Temasek
Shop 2, the Roxy Arcade
71 George Street
Parramatta NSW 2150

(02) 9633 9926

Open 11:30am-2:30pm and 5:30pm-10:00pm, Tuesdays to Sundays