CCU Undercover: Taste Of Malaya

So, CCU was reviewing her own reviews (ironic no?) and was a little devastated. She had yet to under-18-wine and dine at an Asian restaurant. She started imagining noodles, Szechuan sauce and hot, steamy spring rolls. Yep, definitely not good enough on her part. Dragging along her mum (have you met CCU senior? Ok senior is a little drastic, I can imagine her shock right now ;), CCU rushed over to the nearest fabulous Asian restaurant she knew and loved.

Rushed as in after 2 hours of dress shopping… 😉

review title
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Ok, so yes, this is a much loved restaurant of mine 😀 – I think I have been here 3 times before at least and you all know I don’t go to the same place or try the same recipe unless it’s fabulous 🙂

Taste Of Malaya does not have a website, is not a high flying fancy place. It is a beautifully decorated yet simple place with one of the friendliest staff I have ever had the pleasure to be served by. They are all so cute and 100% smiley!

taste of malaya 2
Malaysian food, how can I describe it. To be honest, their authentic cuisine to me seems like a mishmash of a variety of Asian cuisines and I love it. This means on their menu, they are serving Chinese with Thai twists and so on. It is fabulous to have so much choice and everything having a vegetarian option 🙂

I also mentioned they have a wonderful interior.They have the perfect balance between cultural like an awesome lucky cat (:)) and then this wooden theme, brightened up by flowers and adding a touch of elegance by their beautiful lamps. I just absolutely love it!

taste of malaya 3
They also have an open kitchen, so while waiting for the food, you can watch them cutting and frying and smell your food being generously doused in oil 🙂

I suppose you want the hard stuff, the core facts… the food 🙂
Which I am more than happy to provide 😀

taste of malaya 4
Fun fact: My family eats ‘apparently’ ridiculously early, especially me, so it came to no surprise we were the first guests in the restaurant. We were seated, with good lighting and warmth surrounding us, and promptly given menus.

First up: Drinks 🙂

My mum of course went for her water. Me? I decided to try a little something different. I was opting for apple juice but then saw an appletiser – huh?

Appletiser ($3.90)

Appletiser ($3.90)

Being in the non-alcoholic section, it certainly attracted my attention! I asked my server and she said it was a sparkling version of apple juice. You know sparkling mineral water? Yep, just apple juice.

I was a little apprehensive, true, since I am not a fan of sparkling mineral water but took the risk and it paid off! The apple juice was delicious and the ‘sparkle’ gave it a little zingy kick which was fantastic 😀

taste of malaya 6
Next up came the entree! Being only ma and myself, we decided for one plate of something, and what is an Asian eat without the crispy crunch of spring rolls no?  We ordered the vegetarian ones which came on a bed of fried rice noodles, served with some salad which mother kindly disposed off and the most delicious sweet chilli sauce. It was silky and perfectly dippable!

taste of malaya7The spring rolls in themself were perfectly made. They were crunchy on the outside as desired and the vegetables were perfectly soft but not mushy on the inside, and with great flavouring too. I do not know how they do it but I wish I knew their secret 😀

taste of malaya9
taste of malaya10
Being true blood Indians, mum and I ordered an extra of chilli paste and chopped chillis in soy sauce. Don’t look at us like we are crazy 😉
You can imagine we did though, go a little over the top with it…

Free of charge

Free of charge

Polishing off spring rolls is not difficult so before we knew it, the main course was served.
We got two dishes and decided to share them.

*Cue to awwwww at mother-daughter loving*

My choice were some vegetable flat noodles with vegetables and two kinds of soy sauce, all cooked in a wok over high heat. Just the thought makes me smile 🙂
We did get it without egg but it certainly did not take away anything from the flavour. The noodles were slippery from their flavouring and melted in the mouth, working perfectly with the sprouts and shredded vegetables.

taste of malaya11taste of malaya14
Mum ordered the Szechuan vegetables covered in the sauce with tofu. This dish of pure vegetables is usually our staple at any Asian restaurant but it is spectacular here. I loved the colourful presentation and the crunchiness of the vegetables, attesting to its freshness despite being covered in a perfect sauce.

Stir Fried Mixed Vegetables w/ Tofu, Szechuan (Medium) ($14.50)

Stir Fried Mixed Vegetables w/ Tofu, Szechuan (Medium) ($14.50)

And I love Bok Choy. Crazy love it. Especially when it is swimming in chillis 😉

taste of malaya 17

After our meal, which was actually not too heavy, we grabbed two lollies which they keep as in their after dinner sweeteners bowls at the registr. Cutest idea ever! Loved it!

I waved goodbye to the lucky cat, which always seems to be waving ;), and mum and I decided to counteract our burning throats and chilli laden stomachs with some ice cream, so we headed off to Baskin Robbins 🙂

taste of malaya19I would say I could review Baskin Robbins but like Max Brenner, one day I will have amassed enough photos to actually review these places… I promise 😀

Mum had the Caramel Chocolate Crunch :D

Mum had the Caramel Chocolate Crunch 😀

I had the Very Berry Strawberry :D

I had the Very Berry Strawberry 😀

What a fabulous evening! Thank you mummy!

General Information

  • Friendly, efficient service
  • I love the lolly jars, seriously, second mention love
    taste of malaya16
  • Clean plates and glasses, well sized tables
  • Maybe next time keeping a jug of water on the table would be better? I am just saying this because of our intense heat hits 😛
  • Little details :)

    Little details 🙂

    Provided cutlery because mum and I are not cultured enough to use chopsticks 😉 – it came quickly and the waiter placed it so beautifully on the table!

  • I love that they have a bowl and plate to use in case of sharing – it is so nice not to ask the establishment for extra plates (you will not believe how common it is!)
  • Very reasonably priced

Rating: 9/10

Booking: Unnecessary unless weekend and having a late dinner (7pm-onwards)

Address:

taste of malaya91Castle Towers Piazza, Shop 5
Castle Street
Castle Hill 2154
NSW

Phone Number: 9634 8967

Taste of Malaya on Urbanspoon

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Just before I start my post, I would like to give a big shout out to Amy from A Melbourne Girl At Heart! I was very lucky to win her giveaway and received a delicious Vietnamese sweet package with a just as sweet a note 😀

IMG_0029Can you believe this delicious fudge even has edible paper?

Thank you very much Ames, I am digging in as I type 😉

IMG_0034

In even further good news, I was lucky enough to be Foodista’s Food Blog of the day on August 3rd 😀
it was so exciting to receive that email!

taste of malaya41Check out past winners here – they are all fantastic. In fact, a wonderful blogging friend, Balvinder from Simple Gluten Free Kitchen received it one or 2 days before me!

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Moving far from the land of noodles and stir fry, today I am bringing you a simple but flavour LOADED recipe.

You see, we have boxes of cake and sweets in the house right now, and while I am the last one to complain, it does however mean I am limited in how much sweet I can make.

roast potatoes 12Now I don’t usually do this but why not make savoury? 😉

It is actually ridiculous – if you see my list of bookmarked savoury it is in a 0.0001:100 ratio… guess which is the 0.0001 😀

Anyway, back to it, I am making Roast Potatoes. But these are good, solid, crispy but soft, flavoursome potatoes, not a slop of mushy potatoes which look like a mix between mashed and roasted 😛

roast potatoes14I changed the recipe to add a little more oil and a touch more salt because honestly, if you are eating potato, don’t go halfway on me 😀

Each bite has this ‘crack’ and then the perfectly cooked inner just melts you… or it did me 😉
Enjoy!

IMG_0193Roast Potatoes
Adapted from: Exclusively Food

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

  • 1 kg potatoes (I used Desiree), washed and dried
    roast potatoes1
  • 1 generous tsp salt, divided
  • 1/4 cup + 2-3 extra tbs olive oil
  • Dash of Italian herbs/chilli (any desired flavouring)

Method

  1. Peel potatoes and cut in thick chunks all roughly the same size to ensure even cooking
    roast potatoes2
  2. Place in a large saucepan with cold water just covering them
    roast potatoes3
  3. Add in 1/4 tsp of salt
  4. Cover the saucepan, leaving the little crooked to allow steam to escape, and bring the water up to the boil on high heat
    roast potatoes5
  5. Return to medium and cook 5-7 minutes or until the potato chunks are soft but still offer a little resistance when pierced
    **You have to make them semi-cooked as they will be cooked again in the oven
  6. Preheat oven to 190 degrees C fan forced, 220 degrees C normal
  7. Drain the potatoes once cooked and leave them at room temperature until you can handle them in your hands
    roast potatoes4
  8. Using the tines of a fork, scratch grooves in gently on every side of each potato piece (do not be too hard otherwise you will split the potato)
    roast potatoes6
  9. Place your oil into a long large baking tray and spread all around – put in preheated oven for 5 minutes to let it heat up
  10. Place potato pieces carefully on it, spreading them out slightly and season with remaining salt
    roast potatoes7
  11. Bake for 40-50 minutes, turning them every 15-20 minutes or until the skin is golden and the inside is soft when a skewer is inserted
    **Keep an eye out, different sized potatoes have different cooking times?
    roast potatoes8
  12. Remove from tray, sprinkle with more seasoning if desired and eat away!
    **Drain them on a paper towel to remove excess oil

roast potatoes 11Bon Appetit!

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110 Comments

  1. Carolyn Chan says:

    That restaurant sounds pretty authentic ! It’s great that you can get good Malaysian food in Sydney now – it’s taken a while, but think there finally are some great places to eat there. Let me know if you want a few recommendations – my family’s from Malaysia and live there and are always in search of good places 🙂

    Those roast potatoes look YUMMY.

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  5. Daisy@Nevertoosweet says:

    OMG WOW you have a new layout! So sorry it’s taken me so long to come and visit! Things have been crazy! I love the new layout hehe this sounds like a great place for dinner! Wish i could make some of the dishes at home!

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  6. Nami | Just One Cookbook says:

    First of all, the flat noodle made me so hungry and I must eat this tomorrow otherwise I’d go crazy craving for it. I love that you scratch the side of potatoes – I’m going to use that technique next time. Very berry strawberry is my #1 pick at BaskinRobins! 😀

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  12. Balvinder says:

    Hi Guru Uru, You are so good in writing restaurant reviews and taking food pictures. I just had my slice of cake with tea but you have made me hungry by posting pictures of spring rolls. Its been long and I almost forgot the taste. I should try making these rice wrappers.

    Your par boiling the potatoes before roasting has given a nice golden colour, which I like.

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  15. thelady8home says:

    Those spring rolls look heavenly!! I adore spring rolls. Love love love them. But I love the look of your baked potatoes even more. Yummmmmm…..

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  16. Katherine Natalia @ Green Thickies says:

    I adore Malaysian food, especially spring rolls, yum! That restaurant looks amazing.
    Thank you for this roast potato recipe. I’m much more a fan of simple recipes than complex ones as I’m much more likely to actually make them, and even better if I can remember them by the time I get into the kitchen. I adore roast potatoes and make them at least once a week. You just can’t beat them!

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  19. applec says:

    What a wonderful looking meal. Wish that restaurant was around the corner from us.

    As for the roast potatoes, can’t beat them. Simple, nutritious and delish!

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  24. My Inner Chick says:

    –I love that you go out for DElish dinners with your family. You must be the best daughter in the ENTIRE world ❤
    the Vegetarian Homemade Mini Rolls look Out of This World.
    Keep well, Dear. Xx

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  25. Abby says:

    where do I start!? I love asian food..so your review has left me craving it! 🙂 Max Brenners chocolate store is heaven, I’ve only been to the one in Singapore but we went twice in 1 trip. An I will have to try the groove trick in my next roasted potatoes. Great post friend!

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  27. Hannah (BitterSweet) says:

    That tiny little detail of making grooves in the potato makes a whole world of difference when it comes to texture! Seriously, I never thought a plain potato could be anything special, but these could end up stealing the show at dinner.

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  31. Barbara says:

    I love spring rolls, so my mouth was watering at that photo! Sounds like a restaurant I would like too.
    (Going to have to try that ice cream flavor your mother tried….sure looks good.)

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  40. gourmetgetaway says:

    All that glorious food!! It looks so tasty I could happily get stuck into it all. I am impressed with you tatters too, I noticed the roughing up with the fork on the outside to add more crispiness, good job 🙂

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  41. Blackswan says:

    U’re such a darling & I’m glad to find more things in common. I’m glad u like Chinese food too. BTW, I’m a huge fan of Baskin Robbins 🙂 We’re big kids, aren’t we??

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  48. annesturetucker says:

    Yum!!!! Looks fantastic!! We just went to a Malaysian restaurant in Vancouver and it was SO good!!
    Your potatoes look delicious 🙂
    Big congratulations on being featured on Foodista – so well deserved, my friend!!
    XX

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  53. kathleen1richardson says:

    I always look through the photos before reading, CCU, and love the look of the potatoes! Any juice with sparkling water is a favorite around my house. All the foods at the restaurant look and sound delicious (I can almost smell them, too!), but I’m particularly drawn to the salad (like your mother!), the Char Kway Teow and the Tofu w/veggies. Another great job of getting my attention, CCU.

    Keep writing…

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  56. Maureen says:

    Love this restaurant and wish it wasn’t a gazillion miles away. Of course, now I want to go over to Baskin Robins and get a chocolate peanut butter cone. It’s your fault.

    Your potatoes look perfectly cooked and I’d like some of those after the ice cream.

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  58. Kristy says:

    I hope that Miss A and I have as much fun as you and your mom as she gets older. 🙂 This restaurant looks like it has great atmosphere too. And I would have had the very berry strawberry too – it’s my favorite! And has me drooling now. 🙂

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  61. Marina@Picnic at Marina says:

    Congratulations, well deserved Uru! Love your potatoes,
    After asking for forks and knives at the Asian restaurants for about a decade, I finally learned how to use chopsticks and need to tell you, I love it. I just ask myself why I refuse to try it for such a long time? 🙂

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  62. Asmita (@FoodieAsmita) says:

    Hi CCU,
    The potatoes look so delicious! I love potatoes, in any shape or form.
    The food shots at the restaurant look amazing! I am so hungry now. Wish I could dig into those noodles and have that delicious, creamy ice cream.

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  63. Mich - Piece of Cake says:

    Your roast potatoes look absolutely gorgeous, CCU! Thanks for sharing the steps on how to achieve that beautiful golden brown colour. The food in that restaurant is very tempting, 2 hours to lunch and my stomach is rumbling reading your post LOL

    And a big congratulations on being featured on Foodista! Well done!

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  64. thekalechronicles says:

    You are making me hungry, CCU with all of those gorgeous photos of noodles and vegetables and spring rolls and ice cream. It is almost dinner time here and we will be having turkey-vegetable soup, peach and plum crisp and garlic bread.

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  65. Chung-Ah (@damn_delicious) says:

    Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve visited but I just have to first say that I love the blog redesign! Looks great! And that restaurant you went to – you have to take me next time! I seriously want everything, especially those flaky egg rolls. And those roasted potatoes look so easy yet so flavorful. Well done!

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  66. kitchenriffs says:

    That lucky cat is awesome. Sounds like a nice place. And your roast potatoes are great – one of my favorite ways to prepare them. Good tip with the fork thing – that’s new to me, but it makes a lot of sense. Thanks.

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  67. Jennifer Eloff says:

    Sounds like you have special times with your mother. You are very blessed!

    The restaurant sounds super and 100% smiley – doesn’t get better than that. 🙂

    By the way – your comments are coming through on my old commenting system and I have to add them manually.

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  74. Food Stories says:

    Can’t believe you referred to your mum as senior … I’m laughing so hard and surprised that your still alive to tell the tale … Happy Sunday 🙂

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  75. kalamitykelli says:

    I love the potato recipe. I have some red potatoes here and i will make them with the ribs I’m making today. So delectable! Your review of the restaurant, has now made me hungry for Asian food – Must talk my daughter into going for lunch today! 🙂 Great excuse to see Rocket too!

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  76. Parsley Sage says:

    Hey! First time I’m seeing the new spread on your site 🙂 Looking good! Great restaurant review. You know, there are ZERO good Asian restaurants in Cayman (not counting sushi) so I was totally drooling.

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  79. An Unrefined Vegan says:

    The restaurant photos are killer, CCU! Makes me want to run out and eat Asian food (it’s breakfast time, however…). Congrats on the Foodista spotlight, my dear – well-deserved. Finally – I’m curious about the grooves on the potatoes! Have never seen that before. Must try.

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  80. Louise says:

    I know this is going to sound rather odd, Uru but I think I remember my online friend, Selby doing a review on this restaurant last year. So funny because as you know, I’m no where near such a restaurant as this but I surely wish I was. Everything sounds so delicious although I don’t really care for sparkling apple cider, the rest you can fly over to me anytime you like, lol…

    Thank you so much for sharing your day with your mother with us. I’m sure it was quite special. And yes, roasted potatoes are the best!!!

    Which reminds me, I haven’t been over to see Selby in a while. I think I’ll head over there right now. She often does restaurant reviews:) Just in case you want to stop by her blog, here’s the link.

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  82. apuginthekitchen says:

    Great review of the restaurant, wish I lived close so I could try, the food looks great. I am intrigued by the candies you recieved, Durian??? wow, the incredibly stinky fruit that even Andrew Zimmern can’t stomach, I am sure they are delicious and would love to give them a try never could get the courage to try a fresh durian. The potatoes also look delicious! As always and entertaining and informative post! CCU rocks!

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  83. navane64 says:

    You mean the type of food from where I am, Malaysia??? oh yes, everything looks so splendid and the fried kuey teow. Sorry I don’t mean to brag, the original Malaysia food is truly tasty and you must come to my country to find out for yourself.

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  84. Hannah (BitterSweet) says:

    I can’t think of a single Malaysian restaurant within 50 miles of my house, so I must admit I have absolutely no understanding of the cuisine. However, this post makes me wish I could change all that, because those dishes look wonderful! Those thick, chewy noodles are making me especially hungry.

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  85. cookingactress says:

    Ooooooh those potatoes look delicious!
    Also-I totally forgot there’s a Max Brenner’s in Australia-we have one in NY and it’s one of my faaaaaaaavorites! MMMM it’s amazinggg 😀

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  88. Ramona says:

    I love this restaurant you went to with your Mum! It’s my kind of favorite food… hot spicy and Asian. 🙂 I was drooling over the spring rolls and your noodles especially. Wonderful roasted potatoes… I could just eat potatoes like that… no need for a main course. 🙂 Have a great week my friend. ~ Ramona

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  89. Ames says:

    No worries, love :). Glad you enjoyed it! And I’m glad you got a chance to review an Asian restaurant and yay for family dinners :D. Congrats on the feature on Foodista and lovely little potato recipe ^^. xo

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  91. thecompletecookbook says:

    How lovely to enjoy a girly evening out with your mom. I have always known appletiser growing up and we also get grapetiser (red and white) and peartiser – all delicious.
    I have a lucky cat who sits on the corner of my desk. A gift from my husbands PA from when we were in Mauritius. I have taken the batteries out though as the little arm makes a loud ticking sound like a clock which can be a little distracting sometimes. I should place him elsewhere where he can wave uninterrupted.
    Nothing beats a good crispy roast spud!
    🙂 Mandy

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  92. viveka says:

    Your roast potatoes – look stunning – great job … *smile – can recall that I have eaten Malaysian food since I was there in 1978. Your photos are very good … very inviting.

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  93. Barbara Bamber | justasmidgen says:

    Wow.. so much in this post! First.. if I lived near you I would be at that restaurant this weekend! Second, it is midnight (almost) and now I wish I was near any restaurant that served this!! Finally, I was overcome with relief when you posted something sweet.. thankfully you always come through. I love the potatoes and I’m glad you’re eating your veggies.. but, *sigh* Baskin Robbins is where my heart lies.. xx Smidge

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  96. A_Boleyn says:

    I’m not a big fan of spring rolls but even this meat lover thought both the veggies dishes looked very tasty. I especially loved the noodle dish. It reminds me that it’s time to make pad thai soon. Chicken and shrimp is my favourite.

    Roasted potatoes are wonderful fresh out of the oven, crisp and crunchy on the outside and floury on the inside.

    You should really try to learn how to use chopsticks. It’s fun and easy with a little practice.

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