Indian – ohdenny

PappaRich – Doncaster

January 1, 2016 Posted in Doncaster, Food Reviews, Malaysian, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

PappaRich is practically everywhere in Melbourne, and interestingly their Doncaster outlet is located in a separate building and not part of a shopping centre or shopping strip. It’s a spacious area but bustling during the weekends. If you had never been to a PappaRich before, they basically offer a wide selection of Malaysian rice, noodle and roti dishes along with a an almost innumerable amount of drinks to choose from.

PappaRich’s Chicken Curry Laksa is one of the better laksa’s around town, but still the ones to beat are Chef Lagenda and Laksa King. It’s just creamy enough, with the right amount of chilli and spices. With a hint of mint to freshen it up.

Their Red Chicken Briyani with Fried Eggplant is a dish you wouldn’t often come across as it leans towards the more Indian/Malaysian style of cooking unlike most Malaysian restaurants which are more Chinese influenced.

I love Briyani and the rice here has that lovely spices infused into the rice, but I detest sultanas in dishes so I very rarely (read: never) order this. Comes with a crispy thin pappadam too!

Their drinks are usually quite good, I opt for the Soy Bean Milk with Grass Jelly on many occasions because it’s not too sweet and getting it with jelly is always enjoyable.

Last words

Doncaster outlet doesn’t stray too far from the standard set by Chadstone or Glen Waverley so it’s nice to have one on the eastern side of town.

PappaRich Doncaster
540 Doncaster Road
Doncaster VIC 3108

Corlam Kitchen

March 13, 2015 Posted in Food Reviews, Glen Waverley, Indian, Malaysian, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

Corlam Kitchen on Blackburn Road in Glen Waverley is one of the better Indian/Malaysian restaurants in the area. Somewhat hidden in the sense it’s away from the Kingsway hub but still situated on a main road so it gets plenty of traffic passing by. My favourite Indian place to eat is and has been for many years, the shop in the derelict Dandenong Hub Arcade food court. Perfect blend of spicy and aromatic spices. Corlam Kitchen, although doesn’t ascend to the top, it does remain in my go to places if I want Indian/Malaysian food around the area. Corlam Kitchen has a wide selection of Rice, Roti and Curry dishes to appease your Indian cuisine cravings

Their Nasi Briyani is rich with flavour, aromatic however the rice served was not as dry as I would have liked. The curry accompaniment adds the creaminess and spices to the dish, and for something to cleanse the pallet a bit it is also served with a yogurt side dish.

You can also order something like Nasi Kandar, selecting a few dishes with rice. Here is their Sambal Eggplant with rice, it’s actually quite nice, with just enough spice and sweetness in the sambal. The sambal isn’t as good as it is in PappaRich but overall it’s a pleasant meal.

The Lamb Murtabak at Corlam Kitchen is quite generous in its offerings, with the lamb filling stuffed inside the roti. What I would have liked is if the Murtabak itself as a tad more crispy on the outside however the meaty filling inside with the curry sauce is one of the better Murtabak’s around and to be honest the tasty curry sauce that comes with it isn’t enough to eat my way through the dish. Other than that, it’s probably number three as my favourite places to order it (Taste of Singapore and Mamak as one and two)

Impressions

The flavours of the dishes we ordered are on average quite tasty and probably on part with India Delights. I haven’t had the chance to frequent Corlam Kitchen often but I definitely will.

Corlam Kitchen

PappaRich Glen Waverley

March 6, 2015 Posted in Food Reviews, Glen Waverley, Malaysian, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

I’ve dined at most of the PappaRich stores in Victoria and the Glen Waverley and Chadstone stores I would say are the best of the bunch. Although, I’ve heard from numerous people the Doncaster outlet is above all, I have actually yet to try it even though it’s now the closest one to me. Go figure.

Malaysian cuisine has almost become part of the Melbourne dining experience with Nasi Goreng or even Laksa as commonly known dishes to most. What isn’t as well known is probably the more Indian or Malay influenced Malaysian dishes such as their Nasi Kandar style dishes which is usually rice served with curry and side dishes.

PappaRich has a decent selection of menu choices such as beef rendang or curry chicken or even prawns and eggplant for instance. Generally, I would say you can’t go wrong with it and the Biryani offerings I would say are pretty darn tasty.

Their Har Mee (Pappa Prawn Mee) is one of my favourite Malaysian dishes. Some restaurants tend to water down their prawn soup base, but here it’s still full flavoured. My only con is that it’s just overly oily. Otherwise it’s something I can probably rely on being satisfied with.

Impressions
As mentioned before, PappaRich Glen Waverley is one of my preferred PappaRich outlets and both service and food quality is above average. Although finding a table during peak times can be the most challenging issue of it all. Queuing is almost the norm there. However, to be honest I would probably prefer to dine at Petaling Street for my Malaysian fix at Glen Waverley. Though, you’re really spoilt for choice with Kitchen Inn, Straits of Malacca and O’Town all within walking distance from each other.

Highlights
Ipoh Koay Teow Soup with Steamed Chicken, Pappa Prawn Mee, Pappa Special Nasi Lemak

India Delights

March 8, 2013 Posted in Food Reviews, Forest Hill, Indian, Malaysian, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

India Delights, as the name suggests is an Indian restaurant in Forest Hill, across the street from Forest Hill Chase Shopping Centre. I head one of the chefs here was from another Indian restaurant in Knoxfield (or around there) who has established this one recently. The food at India Delights is predominantly Indian (duh) but the food also has its Malaysian influences. It’s Mamak (Indian/Malaysian) but I feel it leans more heavily on its Indian ingredients as opposed.

Their Chicken Briyani as pictured above is quite tasty, the flavours of the rice are beautiful and taste as a Briyani should, plentiful of spices, and meat. The curry isn’t too bad either but it definitely tastes like your standard Indian curry (and spicy too). I prefer ChilliPadi’s Briyani to be honest and Taste of Singapore’s Briyani, but this would be a close third.

Indian Rojak is one of those dishes you hardly see, but nonetheless it is a treat to order. It’s basically an assortment of vegetables/salad ingredients with crispy friend potatoes and tofu mixed with a spicy gravy. My mother swears this is one of the tastier Indian Rojak’s around, better than ChilliPadi’s. Her stamp of approval is extremely hard to get (haha) and I find it it be quite great too. The gravy has a nice hint of spice that tingles on your tongue but doesn’t overtake the taste of the other ingredients. Very complementary.

I ordered their Lamb Murtabak and it certainly is on the thick side of things, packed full of lamb and onions. I found the bread to be too soft, I prefer my Murtabak to be crispy on the bite but here it feels like roti that hasn’t been toasted. It’s probably because it’s difficult to get the balance of crispiness right with the inside cooked well but I’m unsure.

The curry also isn’t too bad, I felt it uses too many spices that doesn’t sit right with me. Some might prefer this kind of curry but I like the creamier varieties with the spices toned down. Overall it’s a decent dish, and quite filling at that, but Taste of Singapore’s Murtabak has it beat.

Impressions

Unsurprisingly, Indian Delights is quite popular with Malaysians and Singaporeans. During lunch time, that’s all you see eating there! I actually haven’t seen Indian diners there.

The food here as indicated above is more Indian influenced as opposed to Malaysian/Indian but that’s not a bad thing. A bit of variety is always welcomed. I don’t know if it’s my go to place for Mamak cuisine, however the food here served is overall quite good so on occasion I might venture down there again.

India Delights
59 Mahoneys Rd
Forest Hill VIC 3131

Lynbrook Hotel

November 16, 2011 Posted in Australian, Chinese, Desserts, Food, Indian, Italian, Lynbrook, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

I came across the Lynbrook Hotel after browsing Urbanspoon’s top Melbourne Buffet Restaurants. Having already tried China Bar, Consevatory and Kitchenworkshop (3 of the top 5), I was surprised to see Lynbrook Hotel so far up the top. Lynbrook? Lynbrook has a hotel?

After my initial shock, I checked out the official website, it said it had a International Buffet Bistro, offering European, Asian and Australian cuisines. This piqued my interest and afterall their prices were quite reasonable too.

We went to try it out for my father’s birthday, and booked the earlier session to avoid the large cohords of people (I expected anyway). Their eating area is quite spacious and clean. It makes for a welcoming dining experience.

The food is grouped into several categories, from Asian (Chinese), European (Italian), Australian, and Indian with a bit of Thai, and of course Desserts.

The Food

While I didn’t take photographs of the food itself (I was too busy eating), the food was decent and there was a great variety of dishes.

In the Asian corner, they have Fried Rice, and a few stir frys which were surprisingly decent for a restaurant primarily served by Indian chefs.

There was a good selection of seafood, from fresh prawns, to steamed fish and a few of your standard ‘Fish and Chip shop’ items, and also roast items like roast beef and potatoes, vegetables in another area.

In their European flavoured area they served mostly Italian food, i.e pastas, lasagne and pizza.

Their Indian area took me by surprise, as it smelt great. A few different styled curries, and bite sized snack food. As I mentioned before they served Thai fish cake, which was spicy! However when my parents when again for a friend’s birthday celebration, they didn’t have these on offer. So it seems their selection of food varies slightly per week.

Their dessert menu consisted of a lot of cakes and sugary treats. My favourite was the warm almond cake, and the chocolate mousse. Of course, they served ice-cream for the kids, which was running empty by the hours end. I’ll admit their selection of desserts was great, but nothing can top soft serve ice-cream at Kitchen Workshop.

There were a couple of downsides, their pizzas weren’t cooked long enough so the bread was still doughly. Perhaps their second run of pizzas were better, I didn’t attempt to try it again.

As mentioned earlier, their 3 tubs of ice-cream were probably sitting there for a while so it wasn’t replaced as quickly (or at all) during our session. Some of their dishes were slightly overcooked but I can overlook that as it wasn’t terribly bad.

Overall impressions

The Lynbrook Hotel serves a great selection of food, for what you pay for, you do get your monies worth. Compared to Kitchen Workshop which is roughly the same price, I’d prefer Kitchen Workshop but if you’re looking for some tasty Asian dishes Lynbrook is your best bet.

Lynbrook Hotel

550 South Gippsland Highway
Lynbrook

VIC 3975

Bistro Prices and Sessions Here

Chilli Mama – Roti Bar

April 15, 2011 Posted in Chadstone, Food, Food Reviews, Indian, Malaysian, Restaurant Reviews, Travel2 Comments

Picture above taken by avlxyz

We came across this Indian/Malaysian store whilst trying to find something decent to eat in Chadstone Shopping Centre. I believe it has recently opened, and when I mean recently I mean the last time I shopped at Chadstone which was a couple months back (We went there in November I think) So anything Malaysian, I just have to try it out.

It looked pretty good for a food court eatery, having a wide selection of savoury and sweet Roti dishes but also various noodle dishes like Mee Goreng and Fish Head Curry. Plus the commonly served, Char Keow Teow. First time around we had the Curry + Rice dish, with those curries served at front and not cooked to order. It was pretty good for a food court meal and not very expensive either, surprisingly. This time around we ordered the Mee Goreng and Char Keow Teow.

Both were on the slightly small side for their price, well compared to what I’m used to but it was by no means over priced.

Served on a nice banana leaf, the Mee Goreng was tasty and didn’t have a strong sweet and tomato taste like some other’s I’ve eaten but my mother’s home cooked Mee Goreng with added chilli probably tops it, just because it’s spicy.

The Char Keow Teow was decent too, not too oily but might just be a tad over oiled and had all the ingredients to make it tasty. Just that I like it spicy, and we ordered it spicy, but it wasn’t at all. Probably they forgot, as a couple of their curries were slightly spicy.

Anyway as mentioned multiple times, it’s very surprising to come across a really decent food court meal for a reasonable price, and a Malaysian/Indian one at that. So we probably would eat there every time we go to Chaddy but probably won’t go out of our way to get there.

Chilli Mama – Roti Bar

(Urban Spoon Link)

A: Shop Lower Level

P: (03) 9568 2263

OPENING HOURS

Mon – Wed 9am – 5.30pm

Thur – Fri 9am – 9pm

Sat 9am – 5pm

Sun 10am – 5pm

Public Holidays 10am – 5pm