It seems only fitting to start with a picture of the dessert, because it’s the dish that is freshest in my memory. Ice Kachang is a great way to end any rich or spicy meal. A landscape of shaved ice topped with rose syrup, conceals a mixture of grass jelly, basil seeds, red beans and palm seeds. It’s light, palate cleansing and leaves you with a smile on your face. I can’t wait to have more of this during the hot summer.

However, we did not actually return to Sambal just for dessert. What I really wanted was to have more of that delicious Belachan Eggplant we’d had during our first visit, and to try some new dishes. Sambal seems to get conflicting reviews, depending on who goes when. As they are relatively new, I think they are still finding their ground. I notice that the current menu is slightly different to the copy I kept from my previous visit. Gone is the vegemite crab that apparently no one orders anyway. I’m glad to see that they’re tweaking things as they go. After this most recent meal, I still stand by my last assessment of the place. It’s serving very good food, and if you know what to order, you’ll manage to have a very decent, very reasonably priced Malaysian meal.

So what did we have this time round? In the company of a full set of parents, the brother, B, S and Calamari, we chowed our way through Beef Rendang, Belachan Eggplant, Mamak Rojak, Gulai Tumis Fish, stir-fried Kangkung and a starter of Loh Bak. The eggplant is as good as ever. Don’t visit this place without trying it. The Gulai Tumis Fish, one of my other favourite dishes of the night, was a spicy sour fish curry redolent with chillies, tamarind paste, and lemongrass, and topped with shredded ginger blossom. Another dish I quite enjoyed was the nonya salad called Mamak Rojak. Under a coating of spicy, slightly sweet sauce, we found a crunchy mixture (which is what “rojak” means) of sliced cucumber, yam bean, tofu cubes and prawn fritters. We also ordered a squid dish from the list of specials. I can’t recall the exact name, but Mom remembers it as being Yau Yee Ung Choy, which means squid with kangkung. The squid in this dish is actually dried squid which has then been soaked for several hours until it has reached just the right level of crunchiness (over-soaking would make it limp and soggy) – perfect with that carpet of crushed peanuts, as seen in the photo.

I don’t normally like Loh Bak – the quality of the spiced shredded pork wrapped up in those bean curd sheets can vary. There have been several times where I’ve tried it and discovered bits of gristle or cheap unpleasant cuts of pork hiding in there, but the version here at Sambal was great. At the start of our meal, S also ordered a grass jelly drink. Dad says that if you order a grass jelly drink with soy milk in Malaysia, it’s called a Michael Jackson. I didn’t believe him at first; not since he told me that elephants laid eggs, but surprisingly, Wikipedia says the same thing.

If you’re wondering how we managed to eat all that and still order dessert, well, we were actually too full, but somehow miraculously rediscovered our dessert compartments when two free bowls of the aforementioned Ice Kachang were brought to our table. Help – I need to be rolled out the door!

Sambal Restaurant
Shop 7, 285-297 Lane Cove Road
North Ryde 2113.

Approaching Hyde Park this blustery Saturday morning, the air was thick with the scent of sizzling sausages, stirfried noodles or maybe one of those popular mushroom and chicken burgers being cooked on the hotplate. Every empty stomach in Sydney would have felt compelled to converge to this point, where the Sydney Food and Wine Fair was just starting. Besides, the weather was so good that there wasn’t any reason for us not to be outside, soaking up some sun and calories. First thing B and I did when we reached the park was to join the long queues at one of the ticket booths where we ended up buying $80 worth of coupons – a bit gluttonous of us, but proceeds do go towards a worthwhile cause (the AIDS trust of Australia), so why not! Sadly, this was the only event we managed to make it to, during Good Food Month, but what an event it is!

The one stall we always visit every year, is Sean’s Panaroma, because they do the best nougat – usually white chocolate, with bits of candied peel and chopped pistachios. At Brasserie Bread, we picked up a loaf of Iranian sour cherry bread and one of Brasserie’s award winning sourdough rounds. The Delicious stall had showbags containing the November issue of Delicious as well as a dessert cookbook (I’ve had a browse through it and already see a few things I want to try), two bags of lollies, Barilla pasta, bottled water and some tea. Getting the magazine and cookbook alone was worth the $5.

The dishes I enjoyed most from what we sampled, were the banana leaf parcels of curried fish from Spice I Am, the vanilla pannacotta with caramelised bananas and coffee wafers from Kables Restaurant, and the pork and prawn pie with pickles (how’s that for alliteration!) from The Boathouse. Quirkiest item of the day would have to go to Marque : I’m not sure many people were enticed by the toasted marshmallow and strawberry skewers they were offering, as they seemed to be trying to give it away rather than sell it.

I think I’ve finally gotten over my addiction to soft shell crab. The first time I had it was in a Japanese restaurant, as tempura. I loved the crunch and the fact that you could eat the crab in one go, without having to negotiate bits of normally hard shell. Since then, I find that when you order it, it’s often a bit of a hit-or-miss affair. If done well, it can be lovely and crispy. All it really needs is to be dredged in seasoned flour, deep fried and served with a spicy sauce on the side. I don’t think I’ve ever tried local soft shell crab. Apparently they are of better quality, but are also almost three times as expensive as the imported ones, which usually arrive to our shores flash frozen in boxes all the way from countries like Malaysia. Defrosting them yields quite a bit of liquid, and if not patted well dry, can result in soggy watery bits of crab.

Tonight was a quiet family meal. The choice was between Vietnamese or Chinese, and as I don’t often get a chance to eat Vietnamese food, it seemed like the more interesting option. My parents frequent this restaurant on and off, and the owner greets them warmly when we enter.

Upon recommendation, we end up with two entrees of crispy salt and pepper quail and stuffed chicken wings – both substantial portions, and a main dish of the soft shell crab. With these dishes, we had tomato rice and stir fried chinese spinach. The quail was suitably salty and spicy, and quite tasty, but as my dad says, with a dish like this, you can’t really go wrong with deep frying – just ask the Colonel. The tamarind sauce on the crab was a sweet and sour type of number, which was actually quite nice, but it drowned out the slightly soggy crab which you could barely taste anyway. The stuffed chicken wings was probably the nicest of all the dishes. Deboned and stuffed with chicken mince, glass noodles and something else I can’t recall the specifics of, it was juicy and flavoursome, whilst retaining the crisp and crunch of the outer skin.

While not all the dishes were a success, it was still an enjoyable night, and a welcome change to what I’m normally used to, when it comes to having Vietnamese food – which usually involves sugar cane prawns, vegetable rice paper rolls and bowls of Pho.

Saigon Cuisine
Shop U2b, 2 Central Ave
Thornleigh 2120