PappaRich, Parramatta

I have been to PappaRich in Parramatta about 10 times now. All but our last meal with PappaRich ambassador Poh Ling Yeow has been paid for by ourselves...just FYI.

PappaRich has been open in Parramatta for a few months now and I have slowly been making my way through the menu. It's slow going as every few weeks I find a new favourite and have to have that dish multiple times before moving onto the next thing!

I like PappaRich as it's the kind of place you can go to on your own for a quick meal (which I often do if Dave is not around) or with a group of friends for a big rowdy lunch - the table piled high with delicious Malaysian food.  I know the basics of Malaysian food, but I think the big picture menu really makes the food accessible for everybody...a picture paints a thousand (yummy) words as they say. That might go someway to explaining why PappaRich has been so successful in Sydney.

And just as an aside, PappaRich is a series of independently owned franchises operating under the PappaRich banner. Each restaurant has an owner who's invested his (or her) hard earned bucks into their business hoping like heck it works. It's good to know this as I had actually thought it was a big evil "chain". At a recent blogger gig at PappaRich here in Parramatta I met the owner who was very nice and he was so keen to know if we all thought their outlet was doing a good job. Two thumbs up from me mate! I've always had great service and nice food.

The menu options and ordering style are the same at all PappaRich outlets so if you've been to one before you'll know the drill. Peruse the menu, mark out the items you'd like on the chit provided and then ring the buzzer. Within moments the waitstaff will appear to rush your order off to the kitchen. It doesn't take long for the food to arrive...always a good thing I'd say. As your items get put through the ordering system the staff bring back the bill to your table which happens before your food arrives - it's not an invitation to get up and leave already, it's just the way it works. I remember the same system from the diners I've eaten at in America.

Whilst the menu has A LOT on offer there is A LOT I'm yet to try. With that all said and done here's what's floating my boat at the moment...

Chicken skin (of course) though I only order this if I am with other people. Whilst I'd love a WHOLE plate to myself my dream in life isn't to become the fattest woman on earth! You don't get a figure like this eating plates of chicken skin all to yourself people! Anyway...back to the skin! I notice that the flavour here is a bit different to the skin I tried at Chatswood -- a bit more "five spicy" perhaps? The last few times we've also noticed that there have been some chewy pieces on the plate too...not sure what that's about, but Dave eats the chewy and I eat the crunchy (see you HAVE to share...it works out better).

Nasi Lemak with Beef Rendang because IT'S FREAKING AWESOME and it comes with Ikan Bilis + peanuts which together form one of the best things on the planet (not including Messina and Mappen that is)! Mostly the beef is fall apart tender and I just love mixing everything together for a spicy, meaty, crunchy plate of deliciousness. I save the cucumber 'til last as it helps to offset the burning that the sambal causes to my poor delicate mouth. The egg is kinda random but I save that til the end too...dipped into a dash of sambal.

The Char Kway Teow here is pretty good. It has a nice, delicate smokey flavour and is the most beautiful colour. The CKT is studded with fat prawns, bean sprouts and other bits and bobs. I've only had this here once but I'll be back for more!

I had NO interest in the Chilli Pan Mee until a guy next to me was eating it and I thought "hey, that looks pretty good". And you know what, it IS pretty good (though a friend of mine tells me she's never had a Chilli Pan Mee that doesn't have some sort of broth in the bottom - I've never had it before so I'm not sure what is legit).

The idea is to mix everything together so that the whole lot is coated by the soft egg that's hiding under all that sambal.  The "mixed" product looks pretty gross - but in the interest of blogging transparency that's it below. I really like the mixture of textures in this dish: soft noodles, fatty mince, gooey egg, crunchy Ikan Bilis and fresh crunchy greens. A word of warning though, the sambal IS HOT! I once ate this when I had a sinus/throat infection and I thought I'd set my nose on fire!!!

I've had the Roti Canai a few times, again because it's awesome, though I think the roti here is a little sweeter than I've had at other Malaysian places. It's not so noticeable when you dunk it in the curry sauces and I actually didn't really notice this until someone pointed it out (my tastebuds are obviously highly susceptible to suggestion and are totally ignorant at all other times).

The chicken skin because it is DELICIOUS! Oh wait...I've said that already. Whoops!

Each time I come to PappaRich I order the Lychee Soda. It's quite sweet so after I've had a few sips I top it up with water and keep doing so right until I cannot drink anymore. It's the never ending drink!

Dave always orders the Milo Dinosaur because he is a man child I'm sure. Does anyone know why this is called a Milo Dinosaur? Anybody?

Oh look, here's PappaRich ambassador Poh having lunch at PappaRich in Parramatta. Dave and I were lucky enough to be invited along to have lunch with Poh and a bunch of other Sydney bloggers in Parramatta last weekend. And...we got to sit right at her table which at first freaked me out as you know...she has her own TV show and all that jazz BUT she was very easy talk to, a really engaging, honest and intelligent woman. Go Poh!

Have you been to a PappaRich restaurant yet? If so what do you think? What's your favourite dish?

PappaRich is at Store 2185A, Level 2 (which is street level), Westfield Parramatta. It's right where all the buses pull up at the interchange.

PappaRich, Chatswood

I celebrate the opening of Pappa Rich in Parramatta (yay for another Malaysian food option in my ‘hood..and just another food option in general) by heading over to Chatswood (as you do) for an epic Malaysian feast.

Whilst I’m all about supporting the business in my suburb the lure of meeting Pappa Rich’s newest (and first) ambassador, Poh (aka Poh from Masterchef) was too hard to resist.

Poh is as lovely in real life as she has always appeared on TV.  Her energy and bubbly nature are infectious as is her love for Malaysian food (she was still fully devouring the banquet as "her people" were trying to drag her off to the airport for the flight home - love a gal who loves her food as much as I do)!

And here's Poh and I...we're totally BFFs now!

Our feast kicks off with LOADS of different dishes that include Roti Canai – a flatbread that is quite theatrical in the making with the dough being tossed and spun like a circus trick to achieve its soft, fluffy texture.

Roti Canai with Tandoori Chicken - served with a side of spicy sambal and a cooling yoghurt raita (I like how these two balance each other out, hot vs cool). The tandoori chicken is so tender and flavorsome and you’ll be left with pink fingers as you try to pick every bit of meet off the bone. 

Roti Planata – a sweet style Roti Canai with margarine and smidgen of sugar sprinkled throughout the bread. It’s interesting to eat a sweet roti with the savoury, spicy accompaniments and surprisingly (to me) it works.

Roti Canai with Beef Rendang – my favourite as I basically love Beef Rendang, it’s my all-time favourite curry (closely followed by a Thai yellow curry as I love the potatoes in that dish).

Satay – a HUGE platter of satay beef and satay chicken is accompanied by housemade satay sauce, red onions and cucumbers. The satay is marinated in fresh lemongrass and turmeric (not sure if this is an authentic Malaysia style or not, but it’s tasty).

Chicken Curry Laksa – the most popular style of laksa in Australia (until recently I had no idea there WAS any other style of Laksa) cooked in a spicy coconut gravy with chicken, tofu puffs, beancurd skin, beansprouts, fish cakes and the kitchen sink! If you’ve dined in a food court you’ve probably had this version of Laksa.

Pappa Asam Laksa – I cannot enough of this dish!!! Until last year I had NO idea Asam Laksa was a “thing”. I am now so in LOVE with the sour flavor that comes from the tamarind broth topped with shredded pineapple, mint and shrimp paste. Another soup with just about everything in it plus the kitchen sink – we have lettuce, chilli, cucumber, red onion. This is now my laksa of choice. Two hoofs up from me.

Pappa Special Nasi Lemak with Curry Chicken and Sambal Prawns – I LOVE LOVE LOVE Nasi Lemak, probably as it always comes with Ikan Bilis (little dried, crunchy, salty anchovies) and peanuts. I love mixing the Ikan Bilis and Peanuts in with the rice and incorporating some of the hot hot hot spicy sambal for good measure. The cucumber provides the right amount of “coolness” for the mouth if you overdo the sambal (which I always do).

Fried chicken skin - really not much to say about this other than "OMG, IT'S INCREDIBLE, LIKE THE TRUE ESSENCE OF CHOOK...AND NO I DON'T WANT TO SHARE THIS WITH ANYONE. EVER".

This is just a really a small sample of the food on offer at Pappa Rich. There menu is HUGE and I’m dying to get back ASAP to try the Kaya Toast with a side of soft-boiled eggs. Come to mumma!

The Pappa Rich menu also has a TONNE of drinks on offer, from Kopi (that's coffee to you and I), Teh (Tea) and a range of fruit based drinks. You won't be left thirsty here that's for sure with the drinks menu being almost as long as the food menu. I LOVE this as I find the drinks (and deserts) on offer in SE Asia always so colourful and appealing.

Pappa Rich Chatswood is at 63A Archer St, Chatswood. Phone them on 9411 3207.

 

Langkawi Night Markets (Malaysia)

One of my favourite parts of our (now distant) holiday to Langkawi was visiting the nightly food market. As Langkawi is quite small the markets move location each night of the week - a roving troop of food vendors delivering tasty happiness to locals and tourists alike.

Depending on the location you may get more or less stalls...but there always seems to be fried chicken and let's be honest, that's all I care about!

Our first trip to market is on a Saturday night - probably the biggest market night of the lot given that it's held in Kuah Town, the major town on Langkawi. Every taxi driver on the island will know where the markets are but if you're driving keep your eyes peeled for this pretty snazzy looking building....

The markets seem to kick off at around 7pm (ish) each night. Again, we're on island time here so I think it's more like "the markets start when we feel like it". Thankfully once the sun sets on Langkawi the temperature becomes bearable and it's really nice to wander the markets stuffing your face. Bring the Aeroguard though - the mozzies are up for a feast too!

On our first visit I little spazz out at all the amazing food and + drink and make a pig of myself by eating nearly everything in sight including three pieces of fried chicken (pass on the Durian though). Dave and I also bought some things to take back to the villa for lunch the next day. All in all we spent around AUD$15.

The satay chicken was AMAZING, fried chicken was artery cloggingly GREAT and anything on a stick gets two thumbs up from me. Like I said we gave the Durian a wide berth but made multiple visits to the drink stalls to top up on Coconut Juice or Sugar Cane Juice - both are super refreshing and help to de-grease your tummy if you've eaten too much Ayam Goreng.

Our second market visit is on a Sunday night, to the much quieter Padang Matsirat. The market is set in a carpark nestled up against rice fields and a mosque. It was really nice wandering the markets (eating fried chicken, ahem) as the call to prayer rung out.

 
There wasn't a lot of food on offer as this location (espeically when compared to Kuah Town) but we noticed that Durian is EVERYWHERE!

We basically ate fried chicken here and took home some tasty Mutabak to have for lunch the next day. Our villa didn't have a microwave but this is suprinsgly nice eaten cold...

Your hotel or villa should be able to tell you were the markets are each night -- but if not here is a little list:

• Sunday at Padang Matsirat - in large car park area near the Field of Burnt Rice
• Monday - Ulu Melaka
 • Tuesday - Kedawang
 • Wednesday - Kuah Town
 • Thursday - Pantai Cenang (Tamoyong Village)
 • Friday - Padang Lalang (Air Hangat) • Saturday - Kuah Town

Langkawi (Malyasia)

During the Easter/Anzac Day break this year Dave and I jetted off to spend six nights on Langkawi, a small island in Malaysia.

 

Unlike other places I've visited in South East Asia Langkawi was SO laid back. There's a notable absence of touts trying to sell you everything and anything as you headed out for a walk. This made window shopping for fabric (and other goodies) an absolute pleasure!. During an entire stay we only had "taxi" shouted at us twice (and one lot of taxi drivers told us they couldn't take us right now as they were eating...love it. It's always makan {eating} time in Malaysia)! 

We stayed in a quiet area on Langkawi, Pantai Tengah, that is a short walk from the main beach (and most developed area of the island, Pantai Cenang). We stayed in a lovely, and very small villa which means we had to head out for lunch each day (breakfast was provided and they had two restaurants for dinner...but at lunch you're on your own). Sounds simple right? Wrong! On our first day we walked for 1km in the stifling heat and humidity and hardly anywhere was open. It was so bizarre and so unlike anywhere else we'd been to in South East Asia! I think many visitors stay in large resorts here, which they never leave hence they have no issue getting themselves fed.

Never fear...we didn't starve. We did find a nice, open-air, place for some "proper Malaysian food" (at tourist prices) not far from our digs...

Speaking of breakfast, our villa offered a selection of cooked Western Style or Malaysian style fuel to get you going for the day. Any guesses what I went with each day?

Our villa was home to about 6 kitty cats and it was always a highlight if they came to visit us during breakfast!

Malaysia is pretty famous (to me anyway) for it's Ayam Goreng (fried chicken)...and we made quick work of sampling every piece of it we came across.  Newsflash: in Langkawi your KFC is served on a PLATE! Mind. Blown.

Whilst we're on the "junk food" side of things shall we have a look at what's on offer in the local 7-11s (yes I like chips...a lot)!

We found a very good restaurant one night that was in a villa not far from where we were staying. The restaurant, Fat Cupid, served a small collection of super delish Nonya-style Malaysian food. I think the highlight of the meal though was watching a herd of water buffalo stampede through the field not too far from our table!

Isn't it always the way that you discover the best thing on your last night. For us it was this great bar right on the beach...just 500m from our villa! We headed down to the beach for a sunset walk and saw this place buzzing. We sat, had some nibbles (Ikan Bilis for me and and satay for Dave) and a drink whilst we watched the sunset along with a myriad of parasailers take off and land on the beach.

Oh, and here's a tip for young players. That coconut you buy to drink on the beach whilst admiring the view. It's probably warm!

Langkawi has an excellent night market which I'm going to write about in a separate post...so stayed tuned! I think we've all had enough to eat for now.