Saturday, July 27, 2013

Petaling Street: Malaysian Hawker Food @ Haymarket

My Melburnian friends used to take pride in the countless Malaysian makan places they have down south. One particular place that I constantly hear is Petaling Street. Therefore, when they were opening an outlet here in Sydney, I was keen to give them a try. Even more so when I found out that a friend is one of the shareholders.

They sure know where to place themselves - the busiest street in Sydney, George Street and facing Market City. Definitely going to call out to the local Chinatown and visiting backpacker crowds.

Ranging from $10 to $30, I personally think that pricing is a plus point for the portion and the taste. Another plus point is the ambience, as it reminds me of home because of the constant Manglish/Singlish conversations jabbed with random words in Canto, Hokkien, Hakka and Malay. Here are some of the things I have tried over multiple visits:

Something like a rojak with lots of tofu minus the rojak sauce is the Malaysian Hawker-Type Deep Fried Bean Curd ($6.50). Eaten with thin strips of cucumber and blanched bean sprouts, this can be treated like salad.


I am a big fan of their Chee Cheong Fun which they call Steam Rice Roll ($6.80). Texture of the rice rolls covered in sweet sauce combined with the beancurd sheets, ah, perfect for a Malaysian-style arvo tea break. Every time I have this dish, I would recall the chee cheong fun aunty come round on her modified motorcycle with a giant brollie and a signature poh-peh-poh-peh honk. I would run out to flag her, run back in to grab a plate and then run back out to fill the plate up with awesome chee cheong fun and steaming hot chew bouncy fishballs!


I prefer their version of Chicken Satay ($6.80 for 4 skewers) to that of PappaRich's. The reason is because the taste of turmeric is not overpowering and the peanut sauce is of the right texture, one that is sauce-like and not jam-like.


Michael loves their Short Rice Noodle in Claypot ($11.80). I was excited about it too until I realise how oily (and fatty) it is! It is, however, a generous serving with a good amount of Chinese mushrooms and minced pork. The KL versions would give you a raw egg on the top of the heap for you to stir in on your own.


My favourite and most recommended dish would have to be their Char Kuey Teow ($9.50). It comes with big prawns, superb wok hei and of course, deep fried pork lard pieces. The duck egg version costs a few dollars extra.


Omelette Rice ($10.90) is a simple dish of fried rice wrapped up in an omelette. It's a tad spicy, if you're not into chillies.


But if you are big on chillies, the Sambal Kangkung ($14.80) would make you a very happy person. Crunchy and yes, very spicy.


The Sizzling Minced Pork and Bean Curd ($16.80) comes sizzling on a hot teppanyaki. My bro loves ordering this dish back home. Here, other than the price which is a little on the high side, it tastes exactly like home.


Fancy some Steamed Fish with Malaysian Soya Sauce ($14.80)? For the price, it actually is a pretty good catch. The sauce was cleared till the very last lick. Goes down very well with white rice.


To end any meal, do order their ais kacang ($5). It comes with a lychee at the peak of the colourful shaved ice mountain.


Petaling Street: Malaysian Hawker Food on Urbanspoon

760 George Street, Haymarket, NSW 2000, Australia
T: +61 2 9280 1006; E-mail: petalingsydney@gmail.com
Sunday to Wednesday 11:00am to midnight
Thursday to Saturday 11:00am to 2:00am
*Cash transactions only

No comments: