Malacca Straits Broadway Malaysian dinner with friends on a friday night - featuring Cereal Prawns

We booked this place & had 10 friends for dinner tonight. Definitely a meaningful & productive catch up with my friends. In the group of ours, we had a couple soon to be married next week. Feeling honoured to be chosen as their MC (along with my friend C) and helping out whenever we can with their wedding preps, we managed to meet the bride’s father and the clan of friends that will be helping out next weekend. You could say we have gotten our act together in preparation for F&K’s big day. I also was feeling uber excited for my friends about not only the big day coming next week, but also uber excited that my closest friends have finally decided organizing their destination wedding too. Maybe in general, today I’m happy for my friends and living in that journey to witness the next chapter in their lives. Hopefully for many many more years to come.

Anyway, back to the food bit, so over a Malaysian feast we selected ample of dishes that was to be shared , guess who ordered all the dishes?

Mr Bird himself. So what’s the excuse this time in the selection of this restaurant? We came here probably a few weeks ago and what caught Mr Bird’s eye? It was the cereal prawns on the “separate special menu” that we didn’t get to try last time. So for a second time taste testing round, he was adamant that he was going to at minimum order that dish!

Mr Bird: Who would have thought a Malaysian restaurant of this quality (and no, [mainly Roti] Mamak doesn't count) would have ever pitched up in the city?

When we arrived, we were one of the earliest from our group of friends. As we had a bit of waiting time (my friends were still finding parking- we managed to park in front free parking vs parking in the 3hour free in Broadway Shopping centre), sitting down at the reserved table, I wasn’t too impressed with the set up of the two tables, one large oval and one small square table put together, plus the sitting so close to other patrons. After a while, the restaurant started to pack out at 7.30pm+ and you could see in the distance rain pouring on, I felt at ease that I was at least sheltered out of the rain. Cozy snug kind of feel. Guess it gives you that real atmosphere if we were eating in busy Malaysia in a packed out restaurant, so very authentic!

All the more time to take pictures for this blog posting ;)

As all our friends started arriving and crowding around the tables full with noise and gossip, we didn’t mind having all the other patrons around as the loud noise from our table & others, made us feel slightly at home, even better when the food came to our table.

The Pick

ENTREE:

We started with the typical must have Malaysian entree, chicken satay skewers with home made peanut sauce and a side accompaniment of cucumber & onions:

It’s always refreshing having the cucumbers with the satay skewers.

I thought the chicken satay were pretty well cooked.  They were still moist without being undercooked.  The peanut sauce could have been a bit more peanuty and richer but it really is a matter of personal taste

We also ordered Murtabak which is described as minced marinated beef wrapped in thin parchment roti canai and served with curry sauce:

I wasn't really that impressed with this dish.  The best way I can describe this dish is a roti sandwiched with beef mince dipped in curry sauce.

MAIN:

Again, not straying too much away from the typical Malysian dishes, we started with Hainanese Chicken Rice.  We were given 2 big bowls of Chicken Rice to share amongst the group:

The chicken rice flavour was quite mild but still imparts that slight chicken aroma and taste.  I prefer my chicken rice to be more bold with that chicken flavour punch with every bite.  Still, any chicken rice always goes well with hainanese chicken.

The Hainanese Chicken comes with the traditional sauces including chilli and sweet soy sauce.  You can tell if the Chicken is well cooked by two factors - 1. no red blood oozing from the bones when cut ie not half cooked & 2. when you taste the chicken, it should be moist and juicy.  This one was cooked perfectly (as good as Temasek) and was a hit with the group:

 

No complaints from me here Mrs Bird.  You hit the nail in the head with this one regarding how nicely cooked this chicken is.  They make it look so easy making this dish on TV but ending up with the final product that is not oozing with blood off the bone is really harder than it looks.

Next came the Beef Rendang.  This is a delectable dry beef curry with beef pieces that are so tender they almost melt in your mouth:

I can't remember the flavour of this dish but distinctly remember the texture of the beef which, as you described, is quite soft and melt in your mouth.  A great topping for chicken rice.

Assam Ikan is fish cooked in a tangy tamarind sauce with fresh tomatoes.  This dish can sometimes be quite watery.  The Malacca Straits version strikes the right balance as the consistency of the sauce is just right.  Rather than the stock standard Basa fish fillets that most restaurants serve these days, this dish came with Ling fish fillets which provided the firm meaty texture:

I always like tamarind based dishes and this is no exception.  There is a hint of tamarind flavour in the sauce that is overpowered slightly by the tomatoes.

Kankong Belacan is stir friend water spinach with sambal belacan (shrimp paste with chilli).  Although most of the group were not chilli eaters, most still managed to sample this dish leaving Mr Bird, being the only chilli eater, to finish the remainder of the dish.  Mr Bird enjoyed this dish as the vegetable was quite fresh and young and cooked just right with the appropriate amount of crunch:

If you like this vegetable with a slight kick in the sauce, this dish is a definite must try.  Not too spicy and, more importantly, not too salty making it the perfect contract to the richness of the other more saucier dishes.

Next is the Char Koay Teow.  The waitress who took our order recommended the special version that is not on the menu.  This version has seafood and is more charred for the authentic Malaysian taste:

I think we definitely made the right decision with getting this version of Char Kway Teow.  The noodles were charred to the point that anything more would have burnt them.  It provided an excellent smoky taste although I don't recall it having any chinese sausages?

Finally, the dish that Mr Bird has been waiting for: Cereal Prawns in a batter of nestum cereal garnish with lettuce:

This dish was delivered to our table fresh out of the wok as it was absolutely hot when Mr Bird took his first loving bite.  These did not last long though as they were soon gobbled down by all.  It had a sweetness from the cereal batter and as you bite into the flesh (lucky we had the prawns peeled as you can also order the prawns to be unpeeled) you know it is fresh if the texture is meaty & a crunchy to the bite vs eating soft stale prawns.  Definitely a dish we would order again!

As much as I did love this dish, I wouldn't go as far as saying I would order this again next time as there were so many other prawn dishes available and caught my eye that night.  Angel Hair Prawns, Singapore Chilli Prawns, Assam Prawns... when are we coming back Mrs Bird?

DESSERT:

The $5 desserts sounded reasonably priced and we opted for Mango & Sticky rice with vanilla ice cream & ABC(Air Batu Campur or Ice Kacang) which is shaved ice with red bean, glass jelly, cendol topped with rose syrup sugar & evaporated milk, great for summer weather! 

Mango & Sticky Rice

Air Batu Campur

Mr Bird was not too impressed with his ice kacang as it didn't taste like the typical ice kacang.  Perhaps the mix of the ingredients wasn't right?  Nonetheless, it provided the perfect end to an enjoyable meal.

The only black mark on an otherwise enjoyable dinner.

We had a guest that wanted to order the Sweet Wheat porridge using gandum wheet in pandan flavoured coconut milk base but was sold out or unavailable. 

The Peck Verdict

Overall, we had a great dining experience. As it gets busy on Friday nights, you might have to wait for your dishes. The only issue is that most of my group of friends are only mild chilli level eaters. The Malaysians love their chilli and they do have several featured chilli dishes for the chilli lovers. The chilli lover in our group today only consisted of Mr Bird.  Hence, the rest of our group definitely enjoyed downing bottles of water this evening!

Kudos goes to the attentive waiters that refueled many a times our water bottles. As we ate some of the spicier/chillier dishes, not only did we sweat slightly from the heat but also downed the cooling refreshing water into our systems in preparation for the next wave of chilliness to evade our mouths. Overall, if you are craving for some Malaysian and can’t be bothered to wait for hours on end and join the queues at  Mamak in Sydney’s Chinatown, then this is another option to try out.  We do like Malacca Straits Broadway and consider it slightly better than Kopitiam on Harris St, Sydney. However, we love the sweets made at Makan at Alice’s which they don’t have.

The owner's son even went as far as having a short chat asking how the food was and apologising for the slow service given it was an extremely busy night.  Seeing us taking more pictures of the menu as we were leaving, he asked if we needed a copy of their menu.  Definite plus marks for his customer relationship skills.

Otherwise, fantastic night out, great company, great food and we have managed to get our MC speeches plus games we’ll play on the bride & groom  for the wedding sorted too for next week!

On an end note, so what are other dishes on the new menu?

New additions to their menu:

Salted egg yolk prawns - Crispy prawns served in a batter of duck egg yolks $26.80

Cereal prawns in batter of nestum cereal chillies $23.80

BYO Singapore Chilli Crab – as everyone is asking for this, here it is – they will cook for you this finger licking Singapore chilli crab, all you need is just bring your own mud crab and we will cook them for you for $20 per crab.

Special Chinese New Year Banquet menu for $45 per person min 4 persons:

New year salad of fresh salmon & summer vegetables, five Spice chicken & chestnut roll, hainanese chicken with fragrant rice, Singapore chilli prawns, “Abalone” mushroom & broccoli in creamy seafood sauce, glutinous rice balls on sweet red bean & sago base, you need to book 3 days in advance.

What's our final verdict Mrs Bird?  I would happily RECOMMEND this restaurant to people to go try.

Totally agree Mr Bird.  RECOMMEND


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Malacca Straits on Broadway
66 Mountain St, Broadway

(through Quadrant building)

Ph: (02) 8021 7069

Open Mon to Sat
Lunch 11:30am to 3:00pm
Dinner 6:00pm to 9:30pm

Other Malaysian restaurants mentioned:

Kopitiam Malaysian Café
594 Harris St, Ultimo, Sydney
Ph: (02) 9282 9883
Open 7 days for lunch 12pm - 3pm
Open 7 days for dinner 6pm - 9.30pm (exception is Wed-Sat till 10pm)

Makan at Alice's
Shop 3, 262 Pennant Hills Road, Thornleigh, Sydney (turn into Bellevue Street and it's on your left)
Ph: (02) 9484 8288
Open Tue to Sun Lunch  11.30am - 2.30pm
Open Thu to Sun Dinner 6.00pm - 9.00pm

Mamak
15 Goulburn Street, Haymarket Chinatown, Sydney (next door to Meet Fresh Taiwanese dessert place)
Ph: (02) 9211 1668
Open 7 days (no reservations)
Open for lunch 11.30am - 2.30pm
Open for dinner 5.30pm - 9.30pm
Open for Supper  till 2am on Friday and Saturday
Mamak has also opened a second store in Chatswood at the eating place near the train station end. Shop P9, 1-5 Railway St, Chatswood.