Malay Chinese Take Away

Food

This was not the first time I visited, but it was the first time I actually ate there (long story). I'm sure those of you who work in the city are very familiar with the place and the concept, but for these who aren't, here's the deal.

You go up to the counter and order, there are the usual Malay dishes, soup noodles, and a bain marie containing Malaysian hawker dishes.

You pay and they give you a ticket. You go to find a seat, and as soon as you sit down, your number gets called. You go up to the counter to get your meal, then you dig in! Simple really.

In the interest of comparison, I chose the Har Mee ($8.50) - which is a mix of Hokkien noodles and vermecelli in a seafood scented broth, topped with some prawns, bean sprouts and a slice of meat.

Har Mee is one of my favourite Malaysian dishes, alongside laksa, nasi lamek, Hainanese chicken Rice...you get the idea, I really like South-East Asian cuisine. I have eaten at quite a few Malaysian places around Sydney, including Temasek (Parramatta), Ginger & Spice (Neutral Bay), Baba Laksa (King St) and the Malaysian at Imperial Arcade. This version was not as good as the one at Imperial, the soup did not have that deep seafood taste, and the prawns were appalling! The meat was ok, nothing fancy, but it was soft and not too fatty. The bowl contained the right ratio of noodles to meat to soup, although I would usually prefer more prawns than the 4 halves I was given, but these prawns didn't look like prawns and certainly didn't taste like them either! They tasted dried up, a bit like flour really!

I've heard the laksa is quite good though, so next time I go I will do the laksa comparison test. Even though the food didn't score highly with me today, I will give this place another go.

Rating - 5

Atmosphere

Decor you say? What decor? It is situated in a basement, there are tables and chairs.... wait, I think there are some plastic pot plants scattered around, and harsh globe lighting. You come here to eat then go, not to enjoy the surrounds.

The fun of it is fighting for a table. You basically sit there and gawk at all the other diners, willing them not to linger and chat, and as soon as a table is vacated, you have to swoop on it before someone else. Once you secure your seat though, you can feel smug and pity all the other souls who will have to fight their way through.

I don't know if this can be counted as a plus side, but you always see people you know there. On the way in I bumped into some senior Westpac people, and just before leaving I bumped into some old Westpac grads. I guess this might have to do with the close proximity to several Westpac buildings...

Rating - 1.5

Service

Well, they are efficient, and I like efficient people. They can calculate change quickly and they are very persistent when they call your number out, although you can never quite hear exactly what the number is... maybe they need to adopt the bingo calling system, hehe, it would be much more interesting if they called out "two fat ladies" instead of "88"

Rating - 3

C-factor

Even though this was a cheap place, compared to other joints in its price range, it doesn't get my vote. Imperial Arcade beats it hands down in value for money. Even though Temasek and Ginger and Spice are much more expensive, you get better quality.

However, it is fun to people watch and fight for tables, and I had good company for lunch, so

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 10

Info

64 Castlereagh St
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9232 7838
Website