Yang's Food Truck - Pitt St Mall, Sydney CBD

Sometimes, it's rather difficult to be someone's partner. This is especially true when it comes time to decide what to eat. Both sides will try to gauge what the other wants and neither will be able to appropriately reach a compromise because both sides want to make the other happy. This is exactly what happened the other night. The Mrs asked me what I wanted for dinner out of two potential choices she gave me (dumplings or Malaysian) and I chose the one I thought she wanted...turns out she wanted Malaysian after all. This wasn't to say we didn't have an enjoyable first dinner...but it did mean that she was still in the mood for some Malaysian food.

Luckily, as we were shopping at Pitt St Mall, Yang's food truck rolls up and starts preparing for service. I jumped onto the opportunity straight away as I'd always wanted to try Yang's (also...rather convenient that we just so happen to want Malaysian as well). After a very short wait, the blinds go up and service began. The queue progressed really quickly and the food even quicker than that which is actually rather surprising because from experience, food trucks take a while. Even better when there's plenty of seating around!

Despite us having a full meal already, we still decided to order a feast as this was such a rare opportunity that we just couldn't pass it up. The mrs opted for the MFC slider and I ordered the soft shell chilli crab and prosperity slider (we also got drinks...milo dino and teh tarik). The Mrs has a knack for picking really great malaysian dishes and this is no exception. The perfectly fluffy and sweet milk bread sandwiched a delightfully crispy and juicy fried chicken fillet. The spicy slaw which was generously piled on top of the meat gave it a really hot and spicy kick. 

The prosperity slider brought back fond memories of late nights in Hong Kong over Chinese New Year. The double meat patty (cooked to perfection with a pink centre) paired well with the black pepper sauce which kicked up the umami tenfold. I also really appreciated the raw onions which provided the crunch that the slider needed. Finally, the crab was crisp and the sauce was incredibly spicy but appetising, though I did find myself feeling slightly bowled over by the  amount of grease consumed as aggregately over the three dishes.

I can probably say that we won't be doing double dinners again any time soon (our waistlines won't allow it) but for a rare treat, this experience was definitely well worth it. Thank you Yang's for filling our bellies with scrumptious Malaysian delights.

Mamak - Chatswood

The Mrs and I have been on a bit of a Malaysian food binge lately. I stand by my theory that my wife must have been a Malaysian in her past life because no matter how much we have it, she can never get enough. That is how we ended up at Mamak on Saturday night. As it was a Saturday night and we left for Chatswood quite late, the drive wasn't too bad. Parking though was horrendous....with the recent opening of Tim Ho Wan and all these other foodie joints, Chatswood really has become the hub of the North Shore.

After managing to find parking (all credit to the Mrs' keen senses and attention to detail) we headed over to Mamak and lined up in the cold. Although not nearly as ridiculous as it's other branch in the heart of the city, it was still impressive that they were pulling in a crowd at the hour that we arrived. We were seated almost simultaneously as another couple and although we were seated ever so slightly after them, we were the first to order because we already knew what we craved. Not gonna deny that we felt a bit pro.

The first things to arrive were our standard refreshments: Teh ice and Milo ice. The recipe is identical to the one they serve at Hawker (duh) and although it wasn't piled high with Milo powder, it was still creamy and refreshing. The Teh was as expected, absolutely delicious. Honestly wish they had an option to super jumbo size the drinks....I always polish my drink off in the first 5 minutes.

Next to arrive was the Kari Ayam (Curry Chicken). The curry itself was more viscous and spicy than we're used to but that's not to say it wasn't impressive. If I had an endless supply of that curry sauce and roti, I would be a very satisfied man. That said though, I personally wasn't a very big fan of the bony chunks of chicken, I prefer mine boneless.

When the next order came, we realised we may have overloaded on the chicken. We still gobbled up the Ayam Goreng (Malaysian fried chicken) all the same but it meant we neglected our curry quite a bit and had to take it home. This was my personal favorite meat dish of the night: the crispy exterior coated that juicy, succulent flesh perfectly with the delicious batter.

We each had an order of roti to ourselves (which was perfect because one dish of one type of curry as opposed to the other, no fighting over curry) and we ordered enough satay skewers to had 3 types of meat each. I still ended up having most of it though, not because the Mrs couldn't finish her portion but because she couldn't stand me constantly eyeing her food.

After dinner, we had thought about topping it all off at the choc pot. The Mrs fought hard to find the room for chocolate but couldn't do it. When we ascended the escalators though, our attention was immediately drawn to Miss Dipity. Ice cream was far too hard to deny. Good choice too as the Hojicha and Toasted Marsh mellow flavours were AMAZING.

I've very fond memories of Chatswood being that my father worked there for most of my life and I've had the opportunity to see it change again and again over the years. I'm happy to say I haven't lost any reason to visit. If anything, I've gained so much more reason to come back.

Hawker - Sydney CBD

About a week ago, I wrote about my lovely anniversary dinner at Papparich, one of Sydney's most accessible Malaysian restaurants. Now, they are good in the way that it's so easy to drive to your local branch and get some decent Malaysian grub. Not to mention their menu is simply staggering in the amount of options you have. So my point being: they're good.....not the best though. In my humble opinion, the best Malaysian restaurant is in the heart of the city. The place I'm referring to? Hawker on Sussex Street.

Hawker is the sister restaurant of the ever popular Mamak (the place in Chinatown that  pulls in a line no matter what day and what hour) and they opened up not too long ago. Primary difference between the two? Hawker serves a more Chinese-Malay fare. So expect great noodles.

The Mrs and I had actually decided to visit on a whim. We didn't plan way ahead on visiting this place but we sure were we did. The moment we sat down though, we already knew what we wanted to order (in part thanks to the short menu but concise menu): Laksa, Popiah and my eternal favorite: Char Kway Teow.

Food arrives lightning quick at Hawker, almost as quick as the Hawker centers in South-East Asia that they're named after. As usual, I just have to order the milo ice. Lets face it, it's really hard not to do it well and in that way, it's hard to differentiate a good one from a bad one. This one did it's job in that it was a nice, creamy beverage to go with your delicious food.

The popiah brought back memories. I'd scoured Sydney for good popiah but I was never able to replicate the delectable flavors I had back in the streets of Kuala Lumpur. My Malaysian friends would straight up murder me if I said this was as good Malaysia but I will say, it's good enough for Sydney.

The Laksa however was sensational. It didn't have creaminess of coconut milk (I almost thought it was omitted) I almost always expect from Laksa but that didn't matter. It was an absolute delight to eat. The soup was perfectly balanced in its spiciness and savoriness that it didn't matter that it wasn't creamy. The Mrs loved it.

The star of the show though had to be my Char Kway Teow. Almost ethereal in it's appearance, the dish was plated perfectly with the aroma of charred noodles and the banana leaf wafting through the air. One very welcome addition Hawker does that no body I know of does is the addition of cockles. Those chewy morsels of seafood take the dish to a whole new level.

Honestly, I'm so glad the Malaysian food boom along. Much like the ramen boom, our humble Sydney has turned into a food lovers delight. Lets hope Hawker is as successful as it's sister and eventually open up more locations closer to us.

Papparich - Parramatta

Time really does fly when you're having fun. For me, life is all about good food and even better company. In that respect, I couldn't have asked for a better partner. The Mrs may be tough cookie to please but I can't deny that she's made my life absolutely wonderful each and every second I spend with her. In light of our total 62 months that we've spent together, we decided to head out to Parramatta and enjoy a nice movie date.

Despite being pelted by rain and hail, we ventured out in hopes that we could score a good spot and enjoy a nice evening together. Fortunately, due to the extreme weather conditions, no one decided to go out! Not complaining as it meant easy parking and readily available seating at the Mrs favorite place: Papparich.

The Mrs LOVES Malaysian food, more than anything. As such, I've developed a theory that if reincarnation actually exists, our favorite foods must indicate to us what nationality we were before. In this case, the Mrs must have been Malaysian Chinese. She offered to pay for dinner so I decided to go a bit nuts and order everything I wanted.

First to come were our drinks, which we ordered as soon as we sat down. Nothing makes us happier than an iced teh tahrik and milo ice. The creamy, sweet beverages were much needed for the things to come.

Next came our kaya toast and eggs, now you may be a little wierded out by the fact that we're having a breakfast item for dinner but trust me, it works. The Mrs quickly got to cracking open the egg like a pro: a dash of pepper and soy sauce to taste, butter up the toast, lather on the kaya jam and there you have one of the most delicious things you can have. Almost over-indulgent in it's mix of flavors, the abundant butter and warm, silky egg yolk compliments the sweet kaya jam and makes it a delectable treat.

We also ordered my personal favorite: Char Kway Tiew. I'm almost ashamed that I discovered CKT so late in my life and although Papparich isn't nearly the best Sydney has to offer, they definitely do make it well. The huge portioning doesn't detriment it either.

The star of the night though has to be the roti. The Mrs will not share her roti, so being the smart cookie I am, I ordered an extra roti the moment we sat down. Even that may not have been enough for us as we devoured the crispy, doughy pancakes in mere seconds. It was such a shame that there was only so little curry chicken sauce...for me, that has to be the best thing to dip the crisp, buttery roti into.

After a delicious and satisfying dinner, we went back upstairs to the cinemas to watch The Avengers and then finished off the night with Gelato Messina. I really love how far Parramatta has come in terms of the amount of options it offers, lets hope that progress continues and the city flourishes in the years to come.

*Note: you may have noticed that we stopped doing the suggestions section, this is cause we felt as though we would only be able to give a relatively positive opinion on most places. If you, the reader decided to go visit one of the restaurants we recently visited, I'm positive you'd love it as much as we do. Let us know by leaving some comments if you'd like us to bring back the suggestions section.*