Lots of travelling lately - I don't think it would be inaccurate to say that I've been away about twice as much as I've been home.
Now, that could be a negative or a positive depending on how you spend your time of course. Usually with work and all, you hardly get an opportunity to check out good places while you're away.
That doesn't reckon with thoughtful rellies introducing you to their local favourite though. So it was that a few Saturdays ago I ventured to a little place call Alice's in Thornleigh, Sydney, in the company of a good sized family group (perfect, by the way, for any Malaysian meal).
Let's see...where to start? I like menus, especially when they list more than the run-of-the-mill offerings. And here, the menu had plenty to offer down that line:
Chicken rendang laksa?
Chai tow kuih
Wat tan hor
char tang hoon
mee hoon kuih soup
indian rojak (Now that's something I really need to go back for - only available some weekends though *sigh*)
penang rojak (Arrghh..and somehow I suspect that only one rojak would be available at any one time?)
Chai kuih
Popiah
Yong tau foo
& to cap it off, lots of assorted Nyonya kuih including two of my favourites, ondeh ondeh, and pulut hitam.
'Course the final two aren't uncommon at all - as long as the restaurant even offers them! So if you have a restaurant nearby that offers Nyonya kuih, why, don't bother visiting Alice's just to have these.
Otherwise it's surely handy to know where you can buy anything from single serves to catering packs of these goodies hey :-)
So. I haven't mentioned all the standards that are on the menu. A quick glance assures me that you'll find most anything you'd normally expect in a Malaysian restaurant, and more than I've even described so far. So I'm going to keep you in suspense about that. You can find out for yourself.
What did we have, incidentally? I can vouch for the tastiness of the following (in true Malaysian style we ordered to share - even though most of the dishes were hawker dishes hehe..):
chicken satay (good sauce...oh, and I spied - only accidentally, of course! - a charcoal grill in the kitchen. *Sigh of happiness*)
chicken rice (meaty, silky chicken with tons of chicken flavour and neither overoily nor flavourless rice)
chai tow kuih (oh yeah! More chilli next time though!)
roti with chicken curry and beef rendang
wat tan hor
har mee
laksa
pulut hitam
oh..and cendol, which I ignored in favour of pulut hitam - but two serves were downed most appreciatively by others. Verdict? I hear the cendol bits were home made and perfectly balanced between softness and resiliency - not like shop bought versions. I'm no cendol expert but that sounds good hey?
By the way, you can get home brewed barley drink here as well. Doesn't that make you nostalgic! I vote that they add lime drink to their repertoire though, I'd order that every time.
It seems wrong this time round to describe the dishes in more detail.. here's a place that needs a visit so you can find out for yourself. So, good reader, if you happen to be in the Thornleigh, New South Wales, sometime, check out Alice's wonderland - aka makan@alice's:
Shp 3/ 262 Pennant Hills Rd Thornleigh 2120, (02) 9484 8288
Hmm.. practical details: casual, family budget-friendly ie. most dishes under $10.
Hope I get work near Thornleigh sometime soon!
