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.