As part of the Malaysia Kitchen Summit in August, I am one of 13 bloggers who will be reviewing 4 local malaysian restaurants each for a chance to win an all expense paid foodie tour to Malaysia. This is the third of my four reviews. I am slowly getting addicted to Malaysian food and I hope these photos convince you of the amazing flavours it has to offer.
On searching for Malaysian restaurants in the Northern Sydney area, I was surprised to find a listing for a cafe called Blue Duck in St. Leonards. Now this place is a hop skip and jump from Nick’s office and he has walked by it a million times in the last 6 years. So familiar it is to him that he could recall the logo and its colour in an instant. He said he had always wondered about it and the type of food it served. No better time to explore than the present. So we went there earlier this week for lunch.
I always do my home work before heading out to dine. It is nice if there is some information available either on the restaurant’s website or a reviewer’s blog. Blue Duck has a simple website with all the information you will need about their food, menu and location. Located a mere minute’s walk from St Leonards station, it masquerades as a cafe during the day serving limited Malaysian dishes along with some Chinese, some regular cafe fare and coffee to the lunch going office crowd. Come night and it transforms into an exclusive Malaysian restaurant with an extensive menu.
The Cafe is set a few steps up from the street and has a massive terrace which probably converts into open dining under the stars at night. One of the first things I notice is the pretty potted plants, the nice polished wood flooring, artwork of the famous Duck and the generous amount of dining space. There is a massive chalkboard above the coffee counter and on display are some $10 lunch time specials that look very tempting. After being seated, the menus arrive almost instantly. The waitress answers all our questions about the various dishes and suggests some dishes from the specials menu for us to try. We order 4 dishes and watch as lunch goers start trickling in.
We are pleasantly surprised to find our dishes starting to arrive out to our table, 5-6 minutes after placing our order. It is the same with orders at other tables too. We have a quick discussion regarding this, Nick and I. We conclude that they have very cleverly designed their lunch menu to facilitate quick service for the local office folks. We realise that all the dishes are prepped in advance and the putting together time is very little which enables them to send out fresh, delicious plates of food in a jiffy.
The Laksa ($13.90) arrives first. It is a big, generous bowl of the most traditional smelling laksa vibrant in its presentation of nicely cooked noodles and chicken pieces peeping out from the brightly coloured soup and topped with fried tofu, crunchy bean sprouts and coriander. A delicate, pink and white fleshed prawn sits atop the bowl. Nick has the first taste. It is spicy, he warns me. It has to be the most flavourful laksa I have ever eaten, he announces after the second spoonful. I raise my eyebrow at his announcement. "Really?" I ask him as he has had hundreds of bowls of laksa in the past especially when we lived in Singapore. "It has a real kick!" he says "Here, try some!". And so I do. He is right. The chill hits my nostrils before the spoon is in my mouth. But then the soup with its coconut, lemongrass and turmeric flavours soothes and teases my tastebuds that go on high alert after smelling the spice. It is spicy but oh so good.
The Char Siu Pork Noodles with Dumpling Soup ($10.00) are like a salve on our raging tastebuds. The pork is juicy and the dumplings glossy and plump in the delicate broth. The noodles are light and not at all gluggy. A big tick for this simple dish.
The Nasi Lemak ($10.00) from the specials menu comes with a choice of chicken curry or beef rending. We order the chicken version. The dish that is brought out to us is like an Asian bouquet on a plate. You have to see the pictures to believe the gorgeous amalgamation of colours. The yellow and orange pickle is full of flavour. The brown chicken curry has a Malaysian-Indian-Muslim twist to it. The fried peanuts and ikan-bilis have a lovely crunch. The rice is fluffy and soft.
The Mee Siam ($13.90) is light rice vermicelli tossed with prawns, chives and beans sprouts in tamarind sauce. Each cooked noodle strand is light and separate from its counterparts. The spice and flavour running throughout the dish is even and well balanced. With a squeeze of the lemon wedge that the dish comes with, this is a winner for me!
We chat briefly with the owners Mary and Simon. I also have the opportunity to photograph Simon in his element, next to the wok where he whips up these very tasty dishes. We order some takeaway coffee which is good too and head out into the sunshine.
One of the loveliest observation of our quick lunch is that the food despite being Malaysian is neither oily, nor very rich. I am amazed at how fresh and clean my palate feels with maybe the exception of the laksa, which was spicy as. It is a pity that there are no Asian desserts on offer for lunch. I can only imagine the fun we would’ve had if we went for dinner with their Malaysian lunch menu expanding to almost thrice its size for dinner. Having said that, I am happy to have discovered this little almost secretive place in the heart of North Sydney and can see myself going there more often for lunch especially when I meet up with Nick.
Blue Duck Cafe, Sydney Details
Cuisine - Malaysian
Address - 601 Pacific Highway, St Leonards, NSW 2065.
Phone - (02) 9906 4300
Disclaimer : Cook Republic dined at Blue Duck Cafe, St Leonards as a guest of Malaysia Kitchen.
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i am so happy to see sydney has very choices for asian food! in case we end up moving there, i know i would be just fine
have liked your post on the page! good luck
nags´s last [type] ..Blogs I Love – Nithi’s 4th Sense Cooking
Blue Duck… hmm..wondering if the chef is a fan of the Fat Duck restaurant..:) Everything there looks so scrumptious and I do love the setting – bright and clean.
Shirley@kokken69´s last [type] ..Chinese Chicken Pau – Following The Heritage Trail
Blue Duck doesn’t sound like a typical Malaysian restaurant but the food looks pretty good! No wonder a happy smile on your face
Such lovely photos. And I can never resist nasi lemak. Such a great dish of different tastes and textures!
Helen (grabyourfork)´s last [type] ..Salt Grill by Luke Mangan
Blown away (again) by the beauty of your photographs, Sneh! Very subtle chic. Love it, love it.
Pia @ Peppercorns in my Pocket´s last [type] ..Dances and details
Thanks guys! I am itching to get back here again, the food was amazing!