Last night we visited Okra in Hawthorn East, for dinner with John & Robert.

A couple of days earlier, I was once again scouring the net for a the ever elusive decent Malaysian restaurant. Miettas had a review from a couple of years ago for Okra, and I figured that if they were still around, they must have something going for them - so I recommended we take a look.

Okra has narrow street frontage so keep a sharp look out, but when it gets darker of a night you’ll be easily able to spot the neon sign.

There was ample parking in the Dan Murphy’s / Dick Smith carpark a few doors up, though with the amount of food we ate we probably should have planned a longer walk back to the car.

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Ambience, Asian, Casual, Ethnicity, Indonesian, Malaysian, Medium, Pricing, Thai, Trendy | 1 Comment »

Last night we took a trip up to Satay Inn (opposite the Vic Market) in Victoria St, for dinner.

From looking at their website, it looked like we would finally find some of the authentic Malaysian dishes we’d been searching for since we started this blog. Especially when I saw this claim - “…our cooking is done by a Malaysian chef who knows his craft well. Not a non-Malaysian who is doubtful about what the taste should be…”

Their website isn’t flash, but I hoped they put the real effort in where it counted - into the food. The pictures on the site had the feel of the kinds of dishes you’d be served at a Malaysian Mamak, so fingers crossed.

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Last week we were in the City around dinner time, so we wandered upto Red Silks, in Bourke St, for dinner. Well known amongst Melbournes’ student population for its large menu and fairly cheap pricing, it’s always busy.

Red Silks is situated upstairs in the Mid City arcade (above BreadTalk), so it’s pretty easy to find.

Upon entering we were shown to a table in the sunken ‘lounge’ area inside, (outside on the balcony is the smokers’ area) and were given a menu each. I noticed they’d just introduced a new menu, and were offering 10% off for their birthday special until the 7th. Bargain!

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Last weekend, the weather here in Melbourne decided to do its best to keep people at home. Drizzly rain and wind. Undeterred, we met up with a few friends and ventured upto King St, where there are more than a few restaurants popping up.

Amongst them, Taste of Malaysia beckoned with its bright red sign, a few doors down from the corner of Lonsdale St. Not yet having found a Malaysian restaurant we’d recommend to being on-par with real Malaysian food from a Malaysian mamak (despite obvious currency differences), we decided to give it a go.

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Affordable, Ambience, Asian, Casual, Chinese, Ethnicity, Indian, Malaysian, Pricing | 4 Comments »

We recently visited The Conservatory, for their “Rasa Malaysia Feast”, which was a Malaysian-themed food banquet on offer from the 11th to 25th July.

Here’s the official marketing spiel;

As Malaysia celebrates 50 years of nationhood, Conservatory welcomes celebrity chef Ismail Ahmad and master chefs Chiew Yean Teng, Lam Teck Seong, Sharun bin Ramil and Md Zamri bin Awaludin.
They will present a range of Malaysian specialties on the buffet, spanning Chinese, Indian and Nyonya cuisines.
Diners may also enjoy performances by a Malaysian dance troupe, who will perform during lunch and dinner.

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Ambience, Asian, Ethnicity, Expensive, Malaysian, Medium, Pricing, Trendy, Western | 1 Comment »

Once again, we set out in search of a decent place to have dinner. Tonight, we visited Golden Orchids, who proclaim to have been the first Malaysian restaurant in Melbourne.

This two-storey eatery, open since 1973, boasts three claims to fame: Its ’signature dish’, the Malaysian Chilli Prawns, its range of Malaysian Curries, and its Satays.

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Affordable, Ambience, Asian, Casual, Chinese, Ethnicity, Malaysian, Medium, Pricing | 13 Comments »