http://www.albeeskitchen.com.au
Malaysian Delights
This cheap and cheerful place is the new Malaysian kid on the block for me in the league of Alice's in Thornleigh and Kopitiam Cafe in Ultimo. Reasonable prices, very generous portions and the decor, menu and customer base which shouts authenticity to me (outside Malaysia of course). I believe they are fairly new, I think they said around 9 months, and that's why I couldn't find any reviews or information on Eatability and food blogs to date — so I think I'm the first to blog them, correct me if I'm wrong. Searching out good Malaysian food is one of my passions since visiting Malaysia last year — Vietnamese food is another passion. The 'Authentic Malaysian Hawker Style' menu lists many tempting choices. Still no luck in finding a Fried Kuay Teow with blood cockles but on my next visit I'm keen to try their Hainanese Chicken, Chicken Laksa, Beef Rendang and Har Mee Prawn Noodle Soup.
Actually, please don't go to this place — I don't want it to get too crowded and popular like Alice's or then I won't be able to get a seat for myself! :-)
Other places tried for Char Kway Teow:
• 25 Jan 2012 - More More Cha (includes clams)
• 2 June 2010 - Wong Kee Fast Food
• 20 Jan 2010 - Yummy Cuisine
• 19 Oct 2009 - Sayong Curry & Laksa Malaysian Cuisine
• 2 Sept 2009 - Chili Hub
• 16 Aug 2009 - Albee's Kitchen
• 13 Aug 2009 - Jaya Malaysian
• 29 April 2009 - Malay-Chinese Takeaway
• 17 Nov 2008 - Little Singapore Restaurant
• 19 Oct 2008 - KL Kopitiam Malaysian Cuisine
Fried Kuay Teow $8.80
Malay Style Deep Fried Crispy Chicken $13.80
32 comments:
reminds me of Rose Garden in Melbourne. I love fried kuay teow!
I am sold on the char kuey teow and the lobak! Oh! And the sambal stinky beans on the wall! MUST GO!
NO! My family's favourite - an unusual dish is this salmon soup. But yes, v authentic.
you foodbloggers have to ruin everything, don't you? :D
The Char Kuay Teow looks good but the Laksa looks a bit watery. Did the Laksa taste good?
I want to try the Lo-Bak....it looks huge and really meaty
Looks like the secret is out - did you see my dad there? He was the one who discovered it and seems to eat there every second night ;)
lol. you don't have to worry about me going there until I take a trip up to Sydney :P
yummm!
What a great find! Campsie isn't an area I frequent often so it's good to know where to head when I'm there. Blood cockles? Why does their name have to be so creepy?
Hi penny, a good char kway teow is hard to beat. I'll have to remember Rose Garden in Melbourne if i'm visiting if it's a good place to eat.
Hi billy, the lobak was very generous in size. looking forward to hearing about your visit if you go.
Hi anonymous, glad to hear it's pretty authentic. they are hard to find in Sydney. hopefully it'll be too much out of the way for other food bloggers to get to and your family favourite will be safe :-)
Hi sydneyfoodie, the laksa was pretty good. had a decent amount of depth in flavour and was very large in size. Malay-Chinese still ranks as on of my favourites but this one was up there in the top 5 for me.
Hi brenda, it definitely was huge and meaty. the biggest version I've had in Sydney so far. More of a main meal than entree.
Hi caroline, went there for lunch so probably didn't see him but thanks for mentioning this place to me. I finally got there after all this time.
Hi iron chef shellie, keep me posted of any good Malaysian places in Melbourne.
Hi forager, blood cockles do sounds pretty creepy but i reckon if any place in Sydney starts using them they'll get a huge following of Malaysians looking for that authentic ingredient in their char kway teow – there'd be a blogging frenzy I reckon!
I was there when i went to Syd early this year. The food there was really awesome really make me missed home. Especially their buk kut teh, satay and their crispy fish... Something that i will want to eat again if i ever go back to Syd again...
The people there are very friendly like as though in Malaysia..they way they speak and communicate with the customer so warm and friendly. Indeed a place to recommend to others who really want authentic food.
Heard that the boss will travel to Malaysia to learn more new dishes, so look out for their new menu.
Hi...just went there and really really like the char kuey teow ... I also tried the Hainan chiken rice , it was nice except the rice was quite dry... but maybe just for today ... Thanks for sharing this place, I would never have try this place otherwise, since the resto is not very noticeable ...
hi anonymous, thanks for the update. glad you enjoyed it :-)
hi isyaantonius, i think my family enjoyed the char kway teow as well. chicken rice is always a gamble isn't it. even some places are good one time and then not so good the others when it comes to rice and tenderness of chicken. i've got a theory it's what time of the day it's ordered. i'm thinking the later in the lunchtime the dryer the chicken can get?
The best kuay teow in the WORLD was at Jen's restaurant in Hurstville, where we ate for donkey's years. We've spent a lot of time in Malaysia, but the only one as good was cooked by a VERY old street hawker in KL who must have hung up his wok years ago. Sadly, Jen's has closed, and if anyone can tell me where the cook is now, I'd love to know.
hi veronica, Jen's sounds great. i wish i knew about them before. let me know if you find out where the chef has gone :-)
this would certainly be my fav Malaysian food in Syd. I reckon its so authentic and even the setting is like a typical KL "tai chau".
MUST TRY:
Curry Fish Head
Assam Curry Fish Head
Sambal Petai
Loh Mee
EXTRA points for the nice "home-y" feel when they greet you in canto! lol...
KT
hi kindergarten with a difference, glad to hear it's one of the better ones in Sydney for you. i wish it was closer to where i lived so i could visit it more often to try all the yummy dishes. thanks for the recommendations. i'll definitely keep in mind for my next visit. :-)
Wow... those dishes look absolutely mouth watering! Char Kway Teow has always been my favourite Malaysian dish!!! Have heard of this place from some friends but have yet to try it.. now its a must after looking at all your pics! Mostly I've been frequenting Temasek in Parammatta(so busy that you can hardly get good service sometimes but food is good) and Satay Inn in Beverley Hills (Taste is good but I can't stand how slow they are - takes ages before a dish comes out and I'm often left starving for an hour before my food arrives) Looking forward to more great recommendations from you!
hi winnie, char kway teow is one of my test dishes for any malaysian restaurant along with laksa, har mee, laksa and chicken rice. hope you get to try it soon and please let me know how it goes and what you like and don't like. temasek is a bit far out for me but hope to revisit again. pity about the service isn't as friendly as it should be. i guess that's what happens when a place gets so popular. i haven't hear of Satay in Beverley Hills. i'll have to investigate. thanks :-)
Just went in today...I almost hyperventilated...the cuttlefish salad, the pandan chicken, the sambal petai prawns, and the chicken curry puffs...to die for!!! Admittedly I tried the supporting players and not the standard recognisable hawker fare like hainan chicken and the laksa...but the lesser known ones were bloody impressive,
And the Cendol? The closest ever to a Malaccan style cendol...sorry Albee's, you're gonna have to cope with the extra volume now...I'm catering curry puffs from you guys from now on!
hi Professor Paw Paw, glad to hear it has some gem dishes. i hope to revisit again to try those suggestions you've made. they sound great. :-)
Hi Simon and all,
A slightly overhanded subjectivity-theme caveat about my last post now that I've just visited Albee;s a second time today. Before I continue allow me to explain my reason:
I went with a different crowd today, a member of whom tried the Mi Rebus, a traditional Malay dish, available only on Thursdays. Before it was served, this friend reminisced about the many mornings that he had Mi Rebus for breakfast in a small town named Kulim in the Peninsular state of Kedah. When it arrived, he was gobsmacked and almost teared up. I had a sample of his dish and was nonplussed, realising I never got into Mi Rebus in my time.
It was then I realised the genius of Albee's is in the regional specificity and lengths of emotional tweaking the chefs had gone to in designing their menu.
So my earlier effusively-offered suggestions may or may not resonate with those who read the responses here- they were simply dishes that the elder women in my extended Hakk family made OR dishes we ordered from that ONE roadside stall at that ONE street in KL/Ipoh/Malacca etc, at around 11pm washed down with a watermelon juice or cendol.
That is risk-taking and I applaud the staff greatly.
Oh, and what did I have this time- the Nasi Lemak with Rendang Beef- once again the sweet and sour anchovy sambal mixed with dried anchovy and nuts made the dish.
The Rendang Beef on the other hand, typical fell into one of two camps- either moist and tender, which it was; or dry, fibrous and thick on coconut extract, which I personally prefer, but that's how my own mom used to make it..so there..
hi Professor Paw Paw, thanks for the update. sounds like you're still enjoying Albee's. I must revisit soon :-)
Man, you have good taste! Malaysian and Vietnamese are my greatest food passions. Loved Albee's, have you been to Temasek?
hi liv, i've been to temasek ages ago but need to revisit. is there anything on their menu you'd recommend? i've had the har mee and heard the chicken rice is supposed to be one of their signature dishes :-)
I observed most people just expected their food to be tasty, Nobody demanded their food to be both tasty and of good sanitary standards, given I am after all placing my health and wellbeing into the hands of the shop owner. I usually ask to go to the ladies each time I go out to eat, so that I can check out their resturant's kitchen on my way. I found this resturanat actually had kept its kitchen quite cleaned. Very rarely can I find a BUSY resturant in sydney meeting all these conflicting criteria: very tasty food vs excellent consumer value and vs very clean kitchen. Yep, this place is worth my time doing comment, My aim is, hopefully one day more resturants and shops will pay more attention to the sanitary standards behind the food we pay for !
hi Anonymous, thanks for checking the ladies toilet and kitchen. good to hear it's above board. i always check the toilets at restaurants and cafes to see if front of house and back of house matches. i hope to revisit Albee's as it's been so long since I tried it :-)
Hi Simon, first of all.. love your blog! I had a couple of interesting experiences with this restaurant because the first time I was there the waitress was not helpful, and the second time I was there I nearly had an argument with another customer due to their communal seating (the other customer was in aisle seat and did not want to get up when I was about to go out from my seat as I've finished eating).
Anyhow, the food is alright. I like their chicken curry and Hainanese chicken.
But they also have a new competitor now, a new restaurant called Spicy King Restaurant has opened at 140 Beamish Street (near cnr of Ninth Ave) and they serve excellent Char Kway Teow and nice laksa too. And the waitresses are nicer :)
hi anonymous, thanks heaps for the tip about Spicy King Restaurant. I'm always looking for a good char kway teow although i don't suppose they have clams in the them like they do in Malaysian. I noticed some reviews of Spicy King Restaurant in Broadway. I wonder if the same place and it's moved? Anyway I've now added to Urbanspoon http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/70/1605010/restaurant/New-South-Wales/Canterbury-Bankstown/Spicy-King-Restaurant-Campsie so hopefully some reviews and photos will be added soon :-)
Albee’s now has a website! http://www.albeeskitchen.com.au. You can check out the menu, daily specials and even book online!
hi john, thanks heaps for the link. will add to the post :-)
I Would not go back and would not recommend this place. I went last week, in June12. Not sure if the chefs left?
FOOD: kfc anyone? ask yourself if a Malyasian restaurant cant get Laska right plus they don't have roti bread! its more like a chinese style restaurant with sub par Malysian food
Probably the worst seafood laksa i tried in sydney, it was like a curry pasta chinese style soup. You get better laksas in food court, Not rich in flavour creamy coconut/chilli you get at chinese maly on hunter st city.
The nasi lemak beef the rice was luke warm and beef not that tender. I Would not go back and would not recommend this place.
SERVICE: more friendly if you buy a bubble tea, if you order water forget it.
AMBIENCE: i didnt expect white table cloths but I am use to asian bistro dining but seriously....more comfortable squatting in rufugee boat from Vietnam, my girlfriend and I had to walk past the kitchen to sit cramp with 6 ugly mainlanders table in like refugees.
hi the taste master, wow sounds like you had a terrible time and there were no positives at all. i'm not sure if the owners have changed but i'm suspecting not. i hope to revisit again one day. are there any places you can recommend for Malaysian/Chinese?
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