I rang a restaurant and said “I would like a chicken in 48 hours”. It sounds a bit crazy and the conversation wasn’t word for word but that is basically what I said when I rang Malaysian Chapter in Belconnen.
I had been here before (I didn’t get around to posting about it) but was disappointed to see that most things I wanted to try were from the ‘requires 48 hours notice’ menu, so I was determined to come back next time and give them a heads up.
I was a bit confused when I read the online menu, I didn’t realise that a ‘minimum of 5 pax charges’ meant a 5 person minimum, coincidentally I was going with four other foodie friends so that wasn’t a problem. I ordered the Hainan chicken from the ‘by special request’ menu which is charged per person and was told if we were still hungry on the day we could order more.
On the day…
Even though we still didn’t know if we were would be full or not from the chicken we still ordered more accompanying dishes. Of course we did *shakes her head slowly*
Curry puff ($4.50 3pcs). A Malaysian pastry snack filled with vegetables. Not your average pastry, it was a bit thicker like short crust but still very tasty.
Roti Canai ($3.50 1pc). Indian bread, served with lentil curry. A great flaky pastry that was served with a simple yet flavoursome lentil curry.
So fluffy and delicious.
Malaysian milk tea (cold)- this was sooo tasty, the best milk tea I’ve had in Canberra, a bit on the sweet side if you’re not used to it.
Char Kway Teow (Combination $19.50) stir-fried flat rice Noodles, bean sprouts, eggs, fish cakes and Chinese chives. Less salty than I’m used to but everything was stir fried well where the noodles and meat were soft but the bean sprouts and shallots were still crunchy.
Malaysian Curry (lamb – $17.50) – Lamb meat is cooked in a Malaysian curry paste blench and coconut milk. This picture is deceptive, it was a rather small bowl of curry but you just needed a little bit because it packed a kick and had lots of flavour. I thought the meat pieces were very small.
And at last, what we all came for.
Hainan Chicken Rice ($19.80 per person). Slow poached Chicken served with rice cooked in highly flavourful chicken broth, accompanied by soup and dipping sauce. The chicken pieces were juicy and tender, I really loved the dipping sauces which made it that extra bit tastier. The chicken broth just tasted like a saltier version of the soup base of a won ton soup and was slightly addictive. There were a lot of chicken pieces there and even though we all each individually received a portion of rice, broth and dipping sauces, I was grateful that we had ordered other dishes as well.
I definitely don’t think this would have filled me if we had just ordered this on its own.
I really thought it was sweet that they specifically asked if there was anything wrong with the Hainan Chicken when we couldn’t finish the whole dish (it was seriously only like one and a half pieces left, but we were so full). That shows that they have a great deal of pride in their food and I really like that.
Attentive service, great food and easy parking, what more could you ask for. Now I just need four friends to go with me to try their KL Chili Crab… Who’s free?
Venue: Malaysian Chapter
Address: 8 Weedon Close Belconnen, ACT 2617
Phone: (02) 62515670
Website: http://www.malaysianchapter.com.au
TALES OF A CONFECTIONIST 