Kopitiam Malaysian Cafe, Ultimo

Roti canai with curry sauce $3.50

In spite of, or perhaps because of, the queues at Mamak, I still prefer to head to Kopitiam anytime I need a Malaysian fix. It's poky, small and simple in furnishings but that's partly why I like it so much.

There's no spectacle of roti production in the front window like Mamak, but a serve of roti and curry sauce is a steal at $3.50. And whilst the Malaysian flat bread isn't as soft or flaky as that Mamak or Cafe Kasturi, it's hearty enough to quell our growling stomachs whilst we wait for our mains to arrive.


Hokkien noodles $9.00
Saffron noodles fried with seafood, chicken and vegetables
in a sweet soy sauce

Hokkien noodles glisten with the burnished glaze of kecap manis sweet soy sauce. In contrast, the nasi goreng looks decidedly healthy, a mound of rice mixed through with chicken, eggs, prawns, carrots and peas.


Nasi goreng $9.00
Malaysian-style fried rice with spicy prawns, vegetables,
seafood, chicken and egg served with prawn crackers


Char kuay teow $9.00
Flat rice noodles fried with seafood, chicken, egg and bean sprouts
in a special garlic and soy sauce

I've gone for the char kway teow, a huge platter of flat rice noodles stir-fried with slices of fishcake, strips of chicken, ribbons of egg and crunchy bean sprouts. The sauce is reasonably sweet, redolent with garlic and soy, and livened by green onions and the satisfying fatty crunch of pork crackling. The curls of crackling are dangerously good at first, but as I reach halfway, the delights of blistered pork skin become a little too much. It's a rich hearty meal as it should be, originally served to labourers in Malaysia and Singapore.


Malacca chendol with shaved ice $4.00

The other reason I like Kopitiam is its malacca chendol, a sweet and addictive concoction that's a cross between a drink and dessert. Green starch noodles are piled with masses of shaved ice, then drenched with coconut milk and a thick palm sugar syrup of gula malacca (or gula melaka). It's icy cold and deliciously sweet, a caramelised coconut slushee with green worm surprises.

Cheap and satisfying. Like good hawker food.




Kopitiam Malaysian Cafe
594 Harris St, Ultimo, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9282 9883

Open 7 days for lunch 12pm-3pm
Open 7 days for dinner 6pm-9.30pm (till 10pm Wed-Sat)

Related GrabYourFork posts:
Kopitiam, Ultimo, April 2007
Kopitiam, Ultimo - April 2006

Malaysian--Makan at Alice's (Feb08) and (Jun07)
Malaysian--Malay Chinese (26 Apr 07) and (3 Apr 07)
Malaysian--Mamak (Nov07) and (Oct07)
Malaysian--Mc Lucksa
Malaysian--The Malaya
Malaysian--Tan's Malaysian
Malaysian--Temasek

MasterChef Australia

Have you ever dreamed of becoming the next Gordon Ramsay?

By some random glance at the TV guide, I serendipitously noticed last month's screening of MasterChef Goes Large, the UK game show where non-professional cooks battle it out for the title of MasterChef. I only caught the final five episodes (it was the 2007 season), but I did watch the final three contestants cook three-course meals for: soldiers (using army rations), the cast and crew of a tv soap, Michelin judges and Tony Blair (in the kitchens of 10 Downing Street!).

It was compelling viewing (and I do love my reality tv) so I'm looking forward to seeing the Australian version which is casting for applicants now. Know someone who would be perfect for this show? Entry rules and conditions are here. Applications close on 9 January, 2009.


And don't forget it's the final Good Living Growers Market at Pyrmont for 2008 this Saturday. The next one isn't until 7 February 2009, so roll on in and stock on up!

Guylian Belgian Chocolate Cafe, The Rocks, Sydney

Red delight $13.50 ($9.00 takeaway)
Belgian chocolate buche filled with raspberry fruit cream

First the Lindt Cafe. Now it's Guylian's turn to open its own chocolate cafe. Are these chocolate giants attempting to diversify, or are these cafes being leveraged as a branding tool, especially for the public's gift-shopping loyalty?

With Chocolatesuze making the trek into town for the Vibe Entertains cookbook launch, we met up a little earlier to partake in some chocolating beforehand.



The Rocks branch is the second Guylian cafe to open, joining its nearby sister cafe at East Circular Quay. Much of the furnishings are very similar between the two, with a giant cascading glass bubble feature overhead, distinctive gold light fittings hanging from a timber ceiling and huge chocolate seashell fixtures on the wall.

The glass cabinets at the front are groaning with a gluttonous selection of cakes, slices, pastries and chocolates. We do a quick check that photos are ok, given that both our cameras are quite large and the cafe is quiet. "Sure! go ahead", says our waitress, much to our glee.


Dark choc raspberry cheesecake $38.00


Enjoy in $13.50 ($9.00 takeaway)
Hazelnut diacquoise and raspberry cream with Guylian 70% chocolate bavarois


Guylian choc raspberry financier $3.50 takeaway


Guylian chocolate twists and wraps 70c each


Beethoven cappuccino cream chocolates


Dark chocolate raspberry cheesecake $13.50 ($9.00 takeaway)
Slow-baked Guylian Aztec 65% chocolate with raspberry cream cheese


Milk chocolate hazelnut torte $13.50 ($9.00 takeaway)
Devil's food cake with Guylian milk choc and hazelnut praline ganache


Guylian tiramisu $14.50 ($9.00 takeaway)
Sponge ladyfinger, espresso syrup and mascarpone sabayon

After much discussion and deliberation, we finally agree to share the chocolate degustation plate, even though Suze really really really wants to try the Ice cream taste pallet. "A pallet!" she says with eyes widened. "Maybe it'll come on a paddle like they do with beers!"

As we wait for our dessert plate, Suze passes me a plastic bag. "Happy birthday! It's a little late and only small," she apologises. Small? It's the coolest thing I've ever seen!


Birthday pressies



It's a tiny bowl of mung bean soup. Kawaii!



And the breadou? It's a bun but you can't eat it, cos it's made of spongy rubber! The paper on the bottom suggests it be used a mouse wrist pad or stress reliever. It even smells like a sweet bun. So very cool. Thanks Suze :)


Guylian dark and milk hot chocolates $7.00 each
(or included with the chocolate degustation plate)

Our hot chocolates arrive soon after, a square of chocolate resting in the bottom of the cup, metal jugs of frothed chocolate milk alongside them.



Our sugar bowl contains an extra chocolate each. If only all sugar bowls arrived like this.



We each take turns pouring so we both get the all-important money shot.


Guylian dark hot chocolate

Whilst it looks promising, I find my dark hot chocolate not very cocoa-y but painfully sweet. The square of chocolate is a cute gimmick, but it doesn't really melt into the milk very well, creating thick strands of molten chocolate that really need to be eaten with a spoon.


Chocolate degustation plate $30.00
Selection of cakes, desserts, chocolates and ice cream with hot chocolate

Our chocolate degustation plate arrives on the table but no explanation is given as to its contents. We take photos and finally manage to flag down a staff member five minutes later in order to get some details on what we're eating. One cup contains a chocolate mousse, the other has a praline ice cream. The cakes include the red delight, a macadamia brownie and the baked chocolate cake. The three chocolates are variations on hazelnut and toffee.


Praline ice cream

There's plenty of dessert on our platter but I find there's not much of a 'journey' in flavours or textures which is a little disappointing. Bizarrely, we both think the macadamia brownie and chocolate mousse have a super sweet honey-like flavour. My favourite is definitely the red delight with its thin crisp shell, soft foamy chocolate mousse and contrasting raspberry centre. The chocolates are also lovely, although the toffee one is again a tad too sweet.


Red delight
Belgian chocolate buche filled with raspberry fruit cream

It's great to have a cafe devoted entirely to desserts though. More chocolate? Bring it on!



Guylian Belgian Chocolate Cafe at the Rocks
91 George Street, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 8274 7500
Open 7 days from 8am til late


Guylian Belgian Chocolate Cafe is also open at East Circular Quay
Shop 10, Opera Quays
3 Macquarie Street Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 8274 7900
Open 7 days from 8am til late


Related GrabYourFork posts:
Adrian Zumbo Patissier and Cafe Chocolat, Balmain
Lindt Cafe, Darling Harbour
Lindt Cafe, Martin Place
Max Brenner, Bondi Junction
Max Brenner, Paddington

Vibe Entertains cookbook launch, Vibe Hotel Sydney

Lychee and midori cocktails

What does a hotel have to do with a cookbook? I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that the new Vibe Entertains cookbook by the Vibe Hotel group is all about promoting a lifestyle that is one part party to two parts glam (try saying that after three cocktails).

In order to find out more, Chocolatesuze and I attended the "exclusive launch" of said cookbook at the Vibe Hotel Sydney on Goulburn Street last week. Free food, drinks and goodie bags had nothing to do with our rsvp of course.

We arrived to find the ground floor bar cleared of furniture and filled with cocktail-sipping guests mingling the room instead. The lychee and Midori cocktails were a fluoro green, poured in sugar-rimmed martini glasses with flashing multicoloured stems. It felt very New Years Eve.

After downing our first cocktail, we gathered around the demonstration tables to watch a few recipes put into action.


Squeezing lime juice into pork mince


Pork and rambutan canapes


Slicing the pepper-crusted seared tuna


Peppered tuna salad

Much more entertaining was the cocktail-making session, an impressive display of balance, showmanship and crowd-pleasing fire.


Not quite a flaming Moe






Breathing FIRE!

We kicked on with more cocktails, canapes and desserts, all from the cookbook of course.


Vibe sunset cocktail with white wine, strawberry liquer and soda water


Tempura vegetables with chick pea dip


Crystal bay prawns with wasabi


Crystal Bay prawns with chilli voda shots


Crystal Bay prawn and hokkien noodle stir fry


Blue cheese and blueberry bites; shortbreads with mascarpone and toffee;
and cinnamon-dusted mini pavlovas

The Vibe Entertains cookbook will be included with Vibe Entertains accommodation packages.

Vibe Hotel Sydney
111 Goulburn Street, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 8272 3300