Sambal, Lane Cove

This is what the place looks like at 6pm.

This restaurant is good, good. It's hidden behind KFC and McDonald's so you wouldn't really spot it right away, but at 6pm, the place was packed. They weren't seating anyone else until 8pm, luckily, my family had a reservation. There's a wide array of food on the menu making it ultimately suitable for anybody.

First off, Penang Char Kway Teow, it's a popular Hawker Dish. You'd think that serving hawker food in a restaurant wouldn't really work, guess again. It was every bit reminiscent of street food- the color and the oiliness of the dish contributed to that! It's a Malaysian version of the Chinese Beef Hofan.

Eggplant Stir Fried with Chilli Shrimp Paste

If you know me, you'd well know that I'd go for anything that has eggplant in it. This particular one was crunchy but silky soft inside- velvety. It was well spiced, but just in my opinion, I wanted more chilli.*

Deep fried chicken marinated with Nonya Spices
with Special Dipping Sauce

The favorite thing of the night might just be Inchee Kabin. I get annoyed with fried chicken cause most of the time, the marinade just soaks the outer bit- the skin. And I don't really like eating the skin, it might be crunchy but it could cause it's slimy as well. Anyway, the spices of this dish were thoroughly infused into chicken. It was bursting with flavor.

What would a meal be at Sambal without the sambal? We had a Sambal Squid, Shrimp, Eggplant dish. The squid was mildly coated with garlic, it was perfectly tender. This is where the whole love affair with sambal starts. Who knew that shrimp paste could be such an epic powerful thing?

Last on the savory list is the Gulai Tumis Fish. There are subtle notes of tamarind, the dish was clean despite being tangy and spicy at the same time. Slimy pieces of okra change the texture of the dish. And most of the spiciness takes charge after the mouthful. The sauce was really liquid-y, we were expecting a consistency along the lines of curry.

Ice Kachang!

And the Ice Kachang mixed!

Ice Chendol

The Malaysian Cuisine is fairly popular for their desserts. We had the Ice Kachang and Ice Chendol. The Ice Kachang was a mere counterpart of the Filipino halo-halo. The Ice Chendol on the other hand was very milky, there was coconut, red bean, and pandan that proved to be a harmonious trio.

PS. All of the dished would be best served with rice
with the exception of the Char Kway Teow- duh. 

Would I go back to Sambal? YES! I'm looking forward to go during lunch in time for the Hokkien Mie special which is one of the dishes that I love from Malaysia!

Sambal: The Malaysian Food Experience

Shop 7, 285-287 Lane Cove Road,

North Ryde, NSW

Tel: 9899 7977

www.sambal.com.au

Opening Hours:

Monday- Friday 11:30-2:30pm

Sat- Sun 11:00- 3:00pm

Dinner: Thur- Sun 6:00pm- 10:00pm

* Its not so often that I would want more chilli cause I'm not much of a chilli freak yet. So, if I say it need chilli, it probably does!