A step closer to authentic Malaysian cuisine at PappaRich Malaysian Delights, Northbridge

Disclaimer: HungryAgainPerth was invited as a guest to PappaRich, however all thoughts and musings expressed hereon are true ramblings by me, to me, and anyone who wants to listen.

It is easy to go OTT with the satay flattery...

PappaRich, Northbridge

Just as I thought Perth's sunny winter skies were indicative of Spring, flowers, blossoms and hayfever ahead (Winter, where WERE you!), it rained. It rained hard. I wasn't particularly keen on leaving the comforts of my bed or my pyjamas, but hey - when PappaRich is in town, nothing comes between Pappa and I.

I battled the heavy rain, Friday traffic, city parking and the hoards of impatient and angry after-work commuters on the road for an hour before reaching Perth's newest Malaysian food haven in the middle of Northbridge. Despite opening over a fortnight ago, PappaRich is evidently still wildly popular with a queue snaking out of its entrance for the entire night.

PappaRich wall decor and the bar

Inside the bar stood around 2 handfuls of staff members who pumped out endless drinks the whole night. It is easy to understand how the food and drink orders arrive no more than 10 minutes after ordering - the amount of people working is pretty mind boggling. As I drooled through the entire menu (starting from the dessert section first of course), a table sat down next to us, ordered and got both their mains before I even placed my order.

This is efficiency at its most efficient!

Division of the menu into various sections

Names of dishes in the menu are accompanied by large, vibrant pictures of the dishes themselves. The speedy process at PappaRich is definitely helped by the very independent ordering system, whereby diners write down their dish number from the menu and press a button at the table to flag a waiter's attention. Sure it's sacrificing the personalised touch of service, but the 'no fuss' approach here is all a part of the overall experience.

Tropical Lime and Open Sesame - $7.50 each

I'm the type of person to never order drinks with my meals but looking at the huge selection of beverages on the menu (there's apparently 60 of them!) made it pretty hard to resist. The drinks pages are saturated with coffees, teas, milks, juices, shakes and all sorts of other beverages that you may have never seen before.

I really loved my summery tropical lime concoction, which was a fusion of refreshing lychee juice with a creamy dollop of ice cream and mint. The Open Sesame was a much thicker beverage bursting with the aroma of sesame - similar to drinking the Chinese black sesame soup dessert in a mug. These drinks are categorised under 'Pappa's Delicious Concoctions' in the menu and are desserts in their own right.

Curry Seafood Laksa - $14.90

The noodle section includes many classic Malaysian dishes which are served in soup, wok-fried or with soup gravy. With every intention to try something new and different from the menu, I still couldn't stray too far away from my beloved laksa but I'm definitely wanting to hang out with the Asam Laksa next time. I didn't surprise myself too much and ordered a curry seafood laksa, which came brimming with prawns, mussels, fish cake, fried tofu, bean curd and eggplant.

I like the level of spiciness of the soup and am pleasantly surprised by the eggplant, which I initially envisioned as a lump of gradually disintegrating mush in the soup. I nearly mistook it as a big fish fillet as it holds its shape so well after being lightly fried, which also gives it a slightly crunchy batter.

Laksa Eating 101: Lean close, breathe, slurp, repeat.

Oriental Chicken Chop - $15.50

Being a staple food in Asian cuisine, the rice section in the menu is the biggest and mightiest. There are different combinations of proteins and vegetables that are served with 3 different rices - chicken rice, coconut rice and biryani. The chicken chop is a large fillet that is breadcrumbed and deep fried, giving it a slightly crunchy exterior. Served on the side is a small medley of vegetables and an aromatic portion of chicken rice with the fragrant scent and taste of ginger throughout.

My love for rice has earned me my affectionate nickname, Rice Bucket, given to me by my parents. I have not felt a love so true - indeed my favourite part of this dish was that fragrant rice, which I could devour on its own.

Roti Canai - $7.50

The one golden rule I personally have for eating at PappaRich is to order the roti canai. I urge you to experience the goodness of hot and freshly made, flaky, yet fluffy, yet crispy roti for yourself, as it is glaringly one of PappaRich's in house specialties. Towards the end of this post I've included some pictures and an animation compiled of the photographs we took of the roti sifu in action haha.

Close up of the roti canai

There is something so simply satisfying about diving in with your bare hands and tearing apart a hot, flaky piece of roti, feeling the warmth between your fingers before you dunk it in the accompanying sambal, dhal and curry sauces. It is one of my all time favourites - the feel, the aroma, the taste. I've finally found the answer to that annoying question, 'What would you take with you to a deserted island?'. Roti it is.

Mixed Satay (6 pieces)  - $13.90

Another golden rule of life is diversification, which I have followed completely by choosing the option of mixed satays. This gives you homemade satay peanut sauce, cucumber, sliced red onion and 3 skewers each of beef and chicken, both deliciously marinated and grilled. A pet hate of mine is very dark, charcoaled skewers of satay which supposedly give it a rich, flame-licked taste and aroma, but to me tastes of bitterness. I quite like PappaRich's satay skewers, which are perfectly (perfect in my eyes anyway) marinated with fresh lemongrass and turmeric before being grilled to give it a deliciously warm aroma.

Chicken satays

Beef satays

I know it is easy to go OTT with the satay flattery, but I truly did enjoy the satay skewers. Both were great in their own right, as both meats were juicy and tender.

Which was my favourite?

Hmm. Both.

Biryani rice with beef rendang and sambal prawns

There were quite a few instances during dinner where dishes were being delivered to our table which weren't actually ours - though for a split second I did wonder if I subconsciously ordered another main meal and another roti canai without realising I did. We would have dug right in into this biryani rice dish that wasn't actually ours.

See sometimes, it's lucky that I have an obsession with taking photos of my meals. I didn't eat this, but here's a photograph of it. Just because.

Sago Pudding - $5.50

What made me LOL during ordering was after Andy told me to order the sago pudding and the tau foo fa dessert, then followed this up by asking, "So what are you having for dessert?" Quite naturally, I answered with "YOUR dessert!" as I was somewhat sure we would have quite possibly imploded by the time we got to dessert.

Just as well, the sago pudding is a small, delicate dessert of sago pearls topped with a sweet red bean mixture and sugar syrup. Surrounding the pudding is a moat of coconut milk that adds an overall creamy texture to the dessert.

Tau Foo Fa King with Gula Melaka - $5.50

Another famous dessert that reigns in the world of Asian desserts is the tau fu fa, or tofu/soybean pudding in a more Westernised context. This is a favourite of many, winning hearts and bellies over with its soft, silky texture that quite literally slips and slides down your throat. 

Tofu pudding dessert

With a name that is at risk of looking like those you see in internet memes, PappaRich's 'tau fu fa king' is as silky as I had expected. The tofu has a nice glossy sheen and is served in a bowl of palm sugar syrup. I would have loved it even more if the tofu had a texture that was slightly less firm and if it were served at a warmer temperature.

Whilst some prefer it cold, my personal preference for eating tau fu fa is a toasty, comforting and warm temperature whilst it is pelting buckets just outside the door.

PappaRich drinks service area

The making of roti

Just before we take ourselves and our loaded stomachs and roll out the door, we get an up close experience watching roti being made by a staff member who had been flown interstate to receive training in this very important skill. We watch as a small disc of dough very quickly turn into a large, paper thin sheet as it is kneaded, flipped, whacked, pounded and goes through a series of aerobatics.

Whilst these may appear as very large movements, the art of making roti itself is a fine and delicate process to ensure that perfect roti canai is served flaky and fluffy every time. I admit describing the process using words such as whacked and pounded does not do it justice very well haha, but hey, here's what I mean:

I'm kinda close, right?

A bright, welcoming interior

 I'm quite in love with the interior design of PappaRich, which features a lot of deep, earthy colours contrasting with the many light sources that brighten up the dining space. It is very much an 'Order-Eat-Leave' eating environment, but the warm smiles from the many, many staff members still help to fuel Perth's voracious appetite for Malaysian cuisine.

Yay for PappaRich making little old Perth its big new home!

PappaRich, Northbridge

PappaRich
Sun - Thurs: 10.30am - 9.30pm
Fri - Sat: 10.30am - 10.30pm

Tel: (08) 6361 1766
101 James Street, Northbridge WA 6003

Freshly barbequed satay sticks at Bibik Chan's Satay Garden

It may well be the best coconut rice I have ever had...

I had every intention in the world to get along to the Claremont Showgrounds a few weekends ago, which was hosting the Festival of Lights in Perth. The Diwali Mela is a significant festival celebrating the triumph of good over evil, and while this alone is more than enough reasons to rejoice, the large quantities of food typically present at all Diwali festivities adds so much to this important cultural festival. After all, the harmonious effect that food has in bringing all people together is one that is very strong, and one that is truly worth celebrating.

I was ogling at all the food options available at the festival, however thought it best to forgo these desires seeing that we were almost stationary in traffic for 20 minutes right outside the destination. While I can tolerate crowds and queues, hunger is not as patient. I hate the congestion and navigating through masses of people, but I love how the people of Perth are really starting to embrace the city and all its cultural happenings!

Bibik Chan's Satay Garden Restaurant

Being stuck at the same set of traffic lights five times and even being front row witnesses of a car crash at the intersection later, we did a U-turn and looked for a new dinner option. I remembered our visit to Bibik Chan's a while back, though what I remembered most of all is how much the meal disappointed. I crossed my fingers and toes and hoped this was our second time lucky.

Restaurant seating

Upon stepping indoors, the sight was no different from the last time we were here - every table and chair is occupied and the place is packed with diners who are all closely wedged together. The room is small so voices and conversations rebound off each other, and by the end of the night I could probably write a small biography of the people sitting next to us based on everything I unintentionally heard. The restaurant's size makes it cosy, but is on the verge of being cramped as we feel a little restricted in our seats.

Chilli Seafood - $13.50

Remembering the lukewarm (and some parts, even cold) chicken curry we ordered the previous time and hence even asking for it to be microwaved, I didn't really want to take the gamble with round two of cold curry. Instead the option of seafood appealed so I chose the Chilli Seafood, which was an assortment of squid, fish and prawns tossed in a thin chilli sauce which became a spicy broth intermingled with a tamarind sourness. Among the seafood were also pieces of what tasted like a crunchy pickled vegetable of some sort, but we left these behind as they left an unpleasant and slightly bitter aftertaste.

Chilli Seafood, another angle

Andy's tolerance of chilli is as low as you can go, but for the last five times we have eaten out I've unintentionally ordered dishes which are unexpectedly hot (how on earth could an innocent sashimi rice turn out spicy, seriously!) I've done this so much that I've coined this occurrence as "Chilli Fridays", which is the day we typically eat out (and I typically happen to order chilli meals).

As fate would have it, the spiciness of this dish is hotter than I had guessed and I end up finishing most of it as Andy prods around his rice and cucumber pieces, which were pretty much the only items that were not hot. Ooooops, I did it again.

Nasi Lemak - $10.50

Similarly, the beef rendang was also very spicy but had such a strong, fragrant aroma and taste that I hissed my way through the four large chunks of stringy beef. The ikan bilis were moreish; they had a delightfully crunchy texture and I kept on picking it up with my fingers and eating them as I would with chips out of a packet. With our mouths burning up at this stage, the cucumber was a godsend at providing a much-needed cooling effect against the seafood, rendang and chilli sambal. The true humble star of the nasi lemak however, is the rice - infused with a rich coconut flavour and aroma that I almost ordered another serving to have on its own. I think it may well be the best coconut rice I have ever had in a restaurant!

Assorted Satays with pineapple and onion (6 skewers) - $9

Satays are a big thing at Bibik Chan's, considering their whole restaurant name is dedicated to their satays. The only saving grace of last time's mediocre dinner were the satay sticks, which have a note on the menu guaranteeing the meat to be tender with a juicy, succulent finish. The beef and chicken satays are marinated and barbequed over an open fire for a charred and aromatic flavour, however this is compromised with the dryness of the beef satay. I fix the problem by first dunking the meat into the cup of peanut sauce then lathering on more of that same nutty sauce on top to completely saturate it with moisture. That sauce my friends, is good stuff.

Interior, taken after the busy dinner rush

One lone chair for the pre-dinner queues, or post-dinner dawdlers

The secret garden of Bibik Chan's Satay Garden

A quick bathroom visit led to the discovery of the garden behind the restaurant's name, which is a large outdoor seating area hidden behind the small restaurant. It is like an enchanted little forest plastered with greenery - so full of trees, plants and charm. I'd imagine it would be quite the experience to sit outside in the warm summer air under the blanket of night sky, if it wasn't so eerily silent and abandoned for squishy indoor seating.

Mini lanterns strung across the front window

The reason why I come back to Bibik Chan's despite their mediocre food is the real, unpretentious aspect of the restaurant. The place can pass as a place for a quick meal if you are in the vicinity, though I would not make an effort to come specifically to satisfy any food desires. With that, I would consider coming if I had any pressing satay cravings, as I have yet to find a restaurant that grills a mean satay stick worth my cravings.

The tight, rickety entrance

The style of cooking at Bibik Chan's is a very home style way of cooking, with influences from Chinese, Malaysian, Indian and Thai cuisine. Sure enough, feelings of deja vu surfaced when I was eating a chilli seafood stir-fry at home the following night, which tasted like an exact replica of what I ordered at Bibik Chan's. Home style alright!

Bibik Chan's Satay Garden, Nedlands

Bibik Chan's Facebook Page
Dinner: Open 7 nights from 5:30pm
BYO

Tel: (08)9386 8492
134B Stirling Highway Nedlands WA 6009

Did not find love at Home Town's Kitchen

I tried to love this place, but you just can't force it...

If Perth in Western Australia is not your home town, you probably wouldn't be familiar with the ongoing feud between 'Northies' and 'Southies' about the better side of the river to live on. There's a great sense of pride for your own side of the river, but I (a lifetime North dweller) am one who often wishes I lived down under in our Land Down Under. There seems to be a severe lack of great local eateries up my end!

(If you think that's complete rubbish, or you know some neighbourhood gems, or you ARE the neighbourhood gem, please for the love of good food let me know!)

Home Town's Kitchen

As a complete case in point, I spied an advert for Home Town's Kitchen in the newspaper which immediately piqued my interest. I had high expectations as they gained a finalist position in SBS Feast's 2012 'Taste Global, Eat Local' Food Awards, a celebration of international cuisines. Last year's focus was to nominate the best places to find famous international dishes such as pho, gyoza, pad thai, baklava and a favourite I had to try here - curry laksa.

To cut straight to it, it was a disappointment. Every dish on the menu looked promising and the restaurant's furnishings were tastefully dotted around yet while I slurped the last strands of noodles into my mouth, I felt that this meal at Home Town's Kitchen was definitely not worth venturing 45 minutes away from home for.

Chicken Satay Sticks (2) - $4

I requested satay sticks, thinking this was a good way to test the waters of authenticity. It came halfway through our main dishes, and frankly they did not make me want to throw down my chopsticks and claw at these with my hands. The chicken satay sticks are fleshy, but here's a good example where quantity wins at the expense of quality - they're visibly dry and sadly not cooked via grilling as I had crossed my fingers and toes for. Sadly, not very impressed with the deep-fried batter, or the overall run-of-the-mill tasting satay chicken.
The satay sauce is not even its saving grace.

Hainanese Chicken Rice - $10.80

Home Town's Kitchen's Hainanese chicken rice is not on its normal menu and is only available to order on weekends. I was really looking forward to a plate of smooth, juicy serving of chicken only to be presented quite a dear plate of Hainanese chicken rice which fell direly short of my expectations. You are able to select either chicken breast or thigh with your order but even my thigh pieces were not succulent, and I found myself dreaming of biting into the chicken from Tak Chee (If you haven't heard the gossip, Perth's best Hainanese chicken rice probably resides here!)

What adds to the dish's mediocrity the most is the chilli sauce, which I feel more inclined to call a dish of water with chilli colouring added to it. Bland and flavourless; I'd regard it as being there purely for aesthetic appeal, not taste.

Tom Yum Mee Fun Soup - $9.80

The Tom Yum rice noodle soup that we ordered was a good level of spiciness with just the right acidity to make me keep drinking it. Home Town's Kitchen uses thin rice vermicelli, chicken, baby corn and tinned mushrooms, which I actually adore. However in comparison to the memorable Tom Yum that I ordered from the Malaysian Hawker store at the Cambridge Forum International Food Court, that certainly comes out as the victorious one of the two.

Seafood Curry Laksa - $12.80

The moment the curry laksa was set on the table was the moment my anticipation had been building up to the entire meal. The vibrant, vicious looking colour of the soup was a good indication of the spiciness factor of the laksa, which was setting off alarm bells for Andy, who orders Lemon and Herb basting from Nando's, because even the Mild option is too much for him. Even I had tiny beads of sweat on my nose as I slurped up the egg noodles, with minimal soup intake.

I'm used to a milder laksa, but I'm sure this would be a winner with chilli fiends who can't get enough of the stuff in their food. I enjoyed the variety of ingredients used in the laksa; an assortment of seafood including prawns, squid, fish, fish paste, deep-fried tofu and a hard boiled egg.

Claypot Yee Mee - $10.80

Being overwhelmed with the extensive choice of dishes available from the menu, we asked our waitress for her recommendations and suggestions on their specialty dishes, or the dish that was most popular with the customers. We went with her suggestions and ordered the claypot yee mee, which came out boiling hot, the sauce spitting and bubbling in all its glory.

Immediate thoughts: How big is this thing!

We gave the egg yolk a good stir into the noodles and sauce, which was quite abundant. Another thing we thought there was a lot of was salt - the sauce was slightly salty and we couldn't get away from it as a thick layer of it coated every strand of noodle in the claypot.

The noodles ended up being unfinished, but I did scoop out every piece of chicken, mushroom, baby corn and broccoli that were all liberally coated with the brown sauce. I have to admit, the sauce got sickening towards the end of the meal - too much of something is not always a good thing!

On the walls in this home town

Upon stepping into the restaurant, the first thing that striked me besides how spacious the interior was, were the walls. There was a comforting, cluttered feel about them, being decorated with different sized picture frames, paintings, shelves with flower vases and empty wine bottles and a beautiful vintage looking clock that I would much rather have in my own room!

What wasn't particularly striking was the food, which to me had more misses than hits. There are other places for good tasting, good value Malaysian dishes if South of the river is your preference, especially with the popularity of Malaysian cuisine in Perth in general.

I spied their dessert selection, which seems to be full of yummy options such as banana/pineapple fritters, red bean pancake and bubur cha-cha, a Malaysian dessert consisting of coconut milk, sweet potato, yam and tapioca pearls. My brain shouted YES but my belly cried out no, so if you get around to trying it, I'd love to know your opinion :)

Ample seating

Before we left, we were given a card which works like their loyalty system: Collect ten stamps to get 10% off your 11th bill. But the catch is, you must spend over $50 to receive a stamp, meaning you would have spent over $500 to get $5 off - a considerable amount spent on dishes if you ask me!

I tried to love this place, but you just can't force it - love's got to come in the form of great food.
My opinion aside, Home Town's Kitchen seems to be doing well on the foodie forefront, serving up Malaysian dishes that's winning taste buds over. To me, Malay cuisine is my go-to happy food; it's good, it's value and most importantly it's delicious, and it's enough to put a smile on my face :)

Home Town's Kitchen, Parkwood

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Home Town's Kitchen's Facebook page

Lunch: 11am - 2.30pm

Dinner: 5pm - 10pm

Closed Tuesdays

Chinese tea $1 per head, minimum charge $3.50

BYO Beer and soft drinks: $1 per head

10% surcharge on public holidays

(08) 94578889

Parkwood Shopping Centre, 6/78 Vellgrove Avenue, Parkwood WA 6147

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Feeling a little claustrophobic at Goreng2

Make sure you lean in close to prevent a satay-flavoured shirt...

Goreng² is a small but bustling restaurant situated off the popular eating strip of Mt Lawley, one of the neighbours of popular gourmet pizza chain Crust. It's a great little spot with the added convenience of free 1-hour parking next door, which might not be enough if you join the queue of people waiting to get a feed from Goreng².

Goreng²

This very highly-rated restaurant on Urbanspoon seems extremely adored by both locals and every other person who flock from near and far to Mt Lawley, a suburb which has developed quite the foodie reputation. Goreng² is a valuable asset to the suburb's growing collection of Asian eateries, contributing a menu of mainly Indonesian and Malaysian fare and featuring all the words I love to hear - well-priced, tasty and generous.

I can't believe it has taken my cheap and tasty food loving, generous self to finally getting around to trying a restaurant that has been in existence since 2005.

Phad Thai, one of many dishes from Goreng²'s varied menu

Although they serve the usual suspects of nasi goreng and kway teow, there is also the surprising and unexpected aspect on the menu named "Teriyaki Corner" with dishes such as teriyaki chicken and ginger beef. These Japanese cuisine dishes are scattered throughout the menu, as you can also order tempura vegetables, yakitori, udon laksa and miso ramen noodles amongst the favourites of mee goreng and stir-fried rice noodles.

Although this Phad Thai is not at all spicy, the cut chilli on the peak of Mt. Bean Sprout is a reminder that every dish can be made spicy upon request.

Make Your Own stir-fried egg noodles with vegetables and chicken - $11.90

We joined the queue and made our order, only to want to switch from our order of nasi goreng to the Make-Your-Own rice version. The staff were very accommodating and allowed us to change our order to a chicken and vegetable stir-fry. We chose satay sauce, out of a choice of Asian BBQ, Szechuan, Goreng²'s oyster sauce, sweet chilli and ginger soy.

Its also worth taking note that "Make your own rice" with chicken and vegetables does not mean fried rice, but simply stir-fried ingredients with a serving of jasmine rice on the side. Although we misunderstood, we were served a make-your-own stir-fried egg noodles instead, which we were fine with. This mistake-on-top-of-misunderstanding possibly was a mistake well-made, as we quite enjoyed the saucy noodles loaded with chicken breast, cauliflower, broccoli, carrot and choy sum. Make sure you lean in close to prevent a satay-flavoured shirt.

Phad Thai - $11.90

I had a hankering for Thai and made the easy (probably my personal fastest) choice of their Phad Thai. I really liked the sight of my dish, which was a deceptively healthy looking combination of wok-fried rice noodles, tofu and with an abundance of mixed seafood including fish, squid rings and prawns, which were all cooked just right.

My kind of comfort food :)

The rice noodles had a great charred flavour from the wok, but unfortunately were overpowered by a strange, slightly bitter taste in the tamarind sauce. It lacked that slightly sweet and tangy kick that I love in pad thai, and after a while of eating it I was glad to do a dish-swap to the satay noodles to mask that bitter aftertaste with satay. Although I loved the springy, well-cooked seafood and textural crunch from the chopped peanuts, I would probably stick to their other dishes if this is their normal pad thai flavour.

The limited but cosy seating inside Goreng²

The interior of Goreng² is extremely clean and cosy, but can get a little claustrophobic at peak dinner time when all its limited seating is taken and a queue trickles down the centre of the restaurant. It can also be a little awkward to swoop into a table when there is no number system to ensure an orderly way of allocating seats - you kind of have to just stand your ground and mark your territory.

I do think one of the most attractive things about the restaurant that lures people in are the extremely reasonable prices and generous portions. So next time you go walkabout on Beaufort Street, do wander a little further and a little wider, to discover places like these.

Goreng², Mt Lawley

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Goreng²
Tues - Sun: 5:30pm - 9.30pm
Thurs & Fri: 5:30pm - 10pm
Closed Monday & public holidays

73 Walcott Street, Mt Lawley WA 6050
(08)9328 2811
(No reservations due to limited seating available)

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