Plate up: Malaysian Chapter
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If you’ve ever been to Malaysia, you will know that Malaysians love food. I discovered this on my last visit there in 2001. While I’m sure I saw lots of cultural things, the main thing I remember is eating. A lot. Now as you know, I also love food, but a full hot meal at breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and supper pushed even me to my limits (our hosts insisted this was the Malaysian way. And to be fair, sometimes afternoon tea was fresh tropical fruit. But still!) In Canberra, we are lucky that one Malaysian family has decided to share that love of food with us through their restaurant, Malaysian Chapter in Belconnen.
[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Rrp8HWOUXKQ/VBHAoXU3EZI/AAAAAAAAI3Y/yt2Dmiz10OM/s144-c-o/2014-09-08%25252017.52.47.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108454826374315674707/MalaysianChapter#6057834773478838674″ caption=”Malaysian Chapter in Belconnen” type=”image” alt=”2014-09-08 17.52.47.jpg” pe2_img_align=”center” pe2_caption=”1″ pe2_single_image_size=”w614″ ]
The owner, Siva, his wife Vila, his brother Satian, and Satian’s wife Heike, opened Malaysian Chapter 16 months ago, wanting to share their love of KL (Kuala Lumpur) hawker-style food with Canberra. To get you in the mood, the walls are decorated with touches of Malaysia, including batik artwork and old Malaysian family photos, and each table is also named after a Malaysian city (my friend and I were at Kuching for our meal).
Upon arriving, my friend and I were greeted by Satian and Heike, who are two of the friendliest people I’ve ever met (as a side note, I love stories like theirs, where people from opposite ends of the world are meant to be and manage to find each other: in this case a German met a Malaysian in New Zealand, and they now live in Canberra).
Heike ran us through the very extensive menu, which is divided into categories such as ‘The Nasi Lemak Corner’, ‘The Curry Corner’, ‘Hawker Style Noodle Dishes’, and ‘The Nyonya Corner’. Those of you who read Emma Bourke’s vegetarian-friendly restaurant post last week will also know that Malaysian Chapter has an entire menu dedicated to vegetarian dishes. And for those of you who are gluten-intolerant or coeliac, there are also a lot of gluten-free options.
After much perusing of the menu, my friend and I decided to start with an old favourite: roti canai. At Malaysian Chapter, it comes with a small serve of lentil curry. We found the roti deliciously flaky and crispy, with a lovely soft middle. The flavour of the lentil curry was perfect—strong but not overpowering, and the texture of the lentils was also just right, with the lentils cooked enough but not mushy.
[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-1d1gIIVvohg/VBHArWT0AgI/AAAAAAAAI3g/Y7EyS8C5y98/s144-c-o/2014-09-08%25252018.26.16.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108454826374315674707/MalaysianChapter#6057834824745615874″ caption=”Roti canai with lentil curry” type=”image” alt=”2014-09-08 18.26.16.jpg” pe2_img_align=”center” pe2_caption=”1″ pe2_single_image_size=”w614″ ]
My friend and I had also decided to try a traditional Malaysian drink with our meal, both of us opting for limau, a lightly sweetened, homemade freshly squeezed lime juice which we found very refreshing.
[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-T5cMjuhSyM0/VBHAu9ycipI/AAAAAAAAI3o/ZUlo1_FjFmg/s144-c-o/2014-09-08%25252018.16.27.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108454826374315674707/MalaysianChapter#6057834886882691730″ caption=”Limau” type=”image” alt=”2014-09-08 18.16.27.jpg” pe2_img_align=”center” pe2_caption=”1″ pe2_single_image_size=”w614″ ]
Next up was a serve of nasi lemak with beef rendang. Considered Malaysia’s national dish, nasi lemak consists of a serve of coconut rice with a meat or vegetable accompaniment, as well as anchovies, sambal (chilli), sliced cucumber, egg, and roasted peanuts.
[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-kHl2N32vU4M/VBHA9bY66aI/AAAAAAAAI3w/LBlDDmAEK94/s144-c-o/2014-09-08%25252018.36.05.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108454826374315674707/MalaysianChapter#6057835135346862498″ caption=”Nasi lemak with beef rendang” type=”image” alt=”2014-09-08 18.36.05.jpg” pe2_img_align=”center” pe2_caption=”1″ pe2_single_image_size=”w614″ ]
My friend and I both really liked the nasi lemak. The beef was firm and tender, the rendang flavour was delicious and the rice had a lovely flavour and a good texture (i.e. light, not gluggy) which was made even better when mixed with the fried anchovies. My friend really liked the sambal, and was persuasive enough to convince me to try some. It was interesting—on first bite it didn’t seem like anything, but then it seemed to just get hotter and hotter in your mouth and had a real kick afterwards (as I write this I’m thinking it kind of sounds like a chilli version of a toffee shock in the Magic Faraway Tree books). My friend also commented that you could tell that decent cuts of beef were used in the rendang, not just the cheap leftover cuts that can sometimes be used in curries.
A serve of chicken char kway teow (CKT) then arrived. Malaysian Chapter’s version of CKT is stir fried flat rice noodles with bean sprouts, egg, fish cakes and Chinese chives, with sambal mixed through it, although we’d asked for the sambal to be on the side. My friend commented that while CKT is necessarily a bit oily, the sambal worked really well to cut through and balance the oil. The noodles were possibly a little bit overcooked, as they were quite soft, but the flavour of the dish was great (I ended up taking the leftover CKT home and my brother demolished it, so he clearly liked it too).
[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-QyZ3oG_H-S0/VBHA_Tn37WI/AAAAAAAAI34/j6R8evsBQE8/s144-c-o/2014-09-08%25252018.36.44.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108454826374315674707/MalaysianChapter#6057835167621836130″ caption=”Char kway teow” type=”image” alt=”2014-09-08 18.36.44.jpg” pe2_img_align=”center” pe2_caption=”1″ pe2_single_image_size=”w614″ ]
Finally, we had the nyonya prawn and pineapple curry, with a serve of chicken rice. While I’d had variations of the other dishes before (including Indonesian versions, because of my background), this kind of curry was something I’d never tried. I quite like savoury dishes with a touch of sweetness, so I really liked it. My friend wasn’t quite so enamoured, but she isn’t a big fan of pineapple (thanks again to her for letting me order this one). She did note though that the prawns were a decent size, and there was a fairly generous serve of them, which was a plus (unfortunately this isn’t always standard—I remember ordering a prawn pad thai from a Thai restaurant in Canberra once and it must have been called that because it had one prawn in it. One. And it still cost $14).
[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-_nYSjSwsR_A/VBHBGuayPbI/AAAAAAAAI4A/nmkf7KMs8zE/s144-c-o/2014-09-08%25252018.38.49.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108454826374315674707/MalaysianChapter#6057835295073779122″ caption=”Nyonya prawn and pineapple curry” type=”image” alt=”2014-09-08 18.38.49.jpg” pe2_img_align=”center” pe2_caption=”1″ pe2_single_image_size=”w614″ ]
As for the chicken rice, we both loved it. It smelt amazing, and it tasted as good as it smelled. The texture, like the nasi lemak, was just right, light and not gluggy, and honestly, we both would have happily eaten a whole bowl of the rice on its own.
[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-9DWkYoql6jE/VBHBNYu4x0I/AAAAAAAAI4I/pc9HagHw77s/s144-c-o/2014-09-08%25252018.39.30.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108454826374315674707/MalaysianChapter#6057835409511597890″ caption=”Chicken rice” type=”image” alt=”2014-09-08 18.39.30.jpg” pe2_img_align=”center” pe2_caption=”1″ pe2_single_image_size=”w614″ ]
Unfortunately we were too full for dessert, or even a teh tarik (black tea with condensed milk), but we just decided that was a good reason, amongst many, to come back.
For those of you with a bit of an appetite, Malaysian Chapter has an all-you-can-eat special on Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 12-1.30pm. The added bonus is that if you clean your plate, 50 cents for every empty plate is donated to The Yellow Food Van Rescue, a social program that rescues excess food from food retailers, event caterers, institutions and corporate offices and provides it to more than 60 charities and refuges.
So if you like Malaysian food and you haven’t yet tried out Malaysian Chapter, it’s well worth a visit. Plus if you partake in the lunch special, you’ll also be helping a good cause.
The author and her friend dined courtesy of Malaysian Chapter, but they will definitely be going back!
The essentials
The place: Malaysian Chapter
Where: 8 Weedon Close, Belconnen
When: Lunch: Tues-Sat 11.30am-2.30pm, dinner: Mon-Sat 5.30-9.30pm
Food: Malaysian, including a full menu dedicated to vegetarian dishes.
Drinks: Malaysian drinks, wine, beer, soft drink
Contact: Phone (02) 6251 5670, visit their website or find them on Facebook.
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