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Monday, January 31, 2011

Aseana Food Village, Randwick



The proper way to prepare teh tarik is by pouring the strong milky tea at great height from one metal cup into another, a thunderous waterfall that creates a foaming bubble of froth. It's a traditional method not always practised in Sydney restaurants, and so I'm mesmerised as we watch the spectacular tea pouring process in action at Aseana Food Village.



Aseana Food Villages sits away from the main hub of Randwick, occupying the ground floor of a corner building. The menu is a mix of south east Asian cuisine, with a particular emphasis on Malaysian and Burmese cuisine.


Teh tarik $3.80

We start off with drinks first, the teh tarik arriving with an impressive head of froth.


Milo Godzilla $5.50

I've indulged my inner child instead, ordering the Milo Godzilla, a giant mug of cold Milo topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and liberally sprinkled with Milo powder. It's the super-sized version of the Milo Dinosaur, and must contain close to half a litre of milk.


Burmese tea leaf salad $7.50

I'd been drawn here primarily because of the Burmese offerings, and we make no hesitation in ordering the tea leaf salad, a dish not commonly found outside of Burma. The salad is a complex mix of pickled tea leaves, tomatoes, coriander, garlic, cabbage and chilli, an intriguing combination of sweet, salty, spicy, sour and bitter. Its rarity outside the country is due to the difficulty in obtaining its primary ingredient, pickled tea leaves.


Rojak $8.90

Fruit rojak is also hard to come by in Sydney, and I could not get enough of this addictive salad. Beneath the pile of sweet and salty belacan shrimp sauce encrusted with peanuts, you'll find a mishmash of cucumber, pineapple, bean sprouts and fried youtiao Chinese donut fritters. Usually eaten as a snack using toothpicks, half the fun is not knowing what you're eating, until you've bitten through the layer of tangy brown sauce.


Mohinga $8.50

Mohinga is informally known as the national dish of Burma, eaten at street side stalls throughout the day but most often as breakfast. Our bowl of mohinga came with a side dish of chilli flakes but we found the soup incredibly spicy already. The broth is made using chickpea flour, garlic, onions, lemongrass, fish sauce and ginger. Buried beneath the thick and hearty soup we found chunks of fish, slices of fish cake, a boiled egg and ribbons of rice noodles.


Assam fish $13.90

A jumble of fish, eggplant, tomato, red onion and capsicum greeted us in the bowl of assam fish, a tangy broth made from tamarind, pineapple and spices that was oddly refreshing in the heat of summer.


Lee's stewed duck $15

Lee's stewed duck was a popular dish at our table, perhaps because it was one of the few dishes without chilli. The duck is stewed whole and then served as fine slices doused with a sweet soy sauce. The meat was exceptionally tender, although I personally found the duck flavour disappointingly mild and the sauce a little too sweet.


Sambal kangkong $10.80

Sambal kangkong, on the other hand, had plenty of kick, strands of morning glory or water spinach stir-fried with belacan shrimp paste and a mouth-tingling amount of chilli.


Malaysian beef rendang $8.90

Our final main was the beef rendang, the meat slow-cooked so it fell apart easily at the touch of a fork.


Aseana sunrise $4.50

For dessert we order the prettily named Aseana sunrise, a cold pumpkin pudding made with coconut milk. The pumpkin flavour isn't as overwhelming as we'd initially anticipated, almost tasting like mango.


Muar chee $5

My favourite dessert is the muar chee, glutinous rice balls rolled in a mixture of peanuts and sugar. Crunchy and sweet, soft and chewy, we polish it all off, bar licking the plate clean. Ok, I admit it, we did lick the plate clean.

A great suburban find worth investigating.


View Larger Map
Aseana Food Village on Urbanspoon

Shop 1, 149 Alison Road, Randwick, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9399 7010

Opening hours:
Tuesday to Friday 11.30am-2.30pm / 5.30pm-10pm
Saturday and Sunday 11.30am-10pm
Closed on Mondays

Related Grab Your Fork posts:

Malaysian - Kopitiam, Ultimo
Malaysian - Makan at Alice's, Thornleigh
Malaysian -
Malay Chinese Takeaway, Sydney
Malaysian - Mamak, Haymarket
Malaysian - Temasek, Parramatta

23 comments - Add some comment love

posted by Helen (Grab Your Fork) on 1/31/2011 02:21:00 am


23 Comments:

  • At 1/31/2011 4:22 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Wow! Very cool, that drink looks AMAZING!
    Thanks for sharing!
    Jess : )

     
  • At 1/31/2011 5:08 am, Anonymous Maria @ Scandi Foodie said…

    I'm intrigued to try that dessert! I think I've only had Malaysian food once (at Mamak!)!

     
  • At 1/31/2011 5:12 am, Blogger joey@forkingaroundsydney said…

    Milo Godzilla sounds so yummy. Muar chee balls are so nice too! My mum used to make them for us as kids.

     
  • At 1/31/2011 7:39 am, Anonymous Simon @ the heart of food said…

    That's some head on the teh tarik!

    Tea leaf salad is rather intriguing. I wonder if it gives you the same sort of buzz that drinking the brew from its leaves does.

     
  • At 1/31/2011 8:47 am, Anonymous Tina@foodboozeshoes said…

    Woo hoo - and there's an Our Deal voucher for it today!!! The duck sounds real interesting, though shame it wasn't...

     
  • At 1/31/2011 9:07 am, Anonymous Annie@A Cook's View said…

    Next time I'm in Randwick I'll go there for lunch. Looks delicious. The Milo Godzilla I'm not so sure about however I think it'd be a hit with my youngest daughter. I agree with Simon...the tea leaf salad sounds intriguing!

     
  • At 1/31/2011 9:08 am, Anonymous Melissa said…

    muar chee looks delicious! oh yes i love milo too! that's a huge cup of sinful indulgence.

     
  • At 1/31/2011 9:16 am, Blogger gastronomous anonymous said…

    you had me at teh tarik! havent had one for such a long time and the muar chee looks fantastic! will have to check it out next time i am in randwick!

     
  • At 1/31/2011 9:24 am, Anonymous Betty @ The Hungry Girl said…

    What an awesome find! The pickled tea leaves salad sounds very intriguing and that Milo drink looks crazy awesome! I would drive to Randwick, just for that!

     
  • At 1/31/2011 11:51 am, Blogger Jacq @ Penguin says Feed Me! said…

    omg that muar chee! I didn't know there was anywhere in Sydney that had it - I always had to wait til I go to HK to indulge in that dessert but now I can get it here yay! The froth on that teh tarik is super impressive!

     
  • At 1/31/2011 12:37 pm, Anonymous Audrey said…

    Hello

    you should check out www.ourdeals.com.au/sydney today!!
    They are offering deals on Aseana Food Village till 2nd Feb :D

     
  • At 1/31/2011 1:16 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    fantastic as OURDEAL has it as the special for Today!

    $9 for $20 worth of South East Asian Cuisine at Aseana Food Village, Randwick.

     
  • At 1/31/2011 1:59 pm, Anonymous Hannah said…

    Pickled salads and chewy desserts with sugary peanuts? Yes yes yes. Also, high five for all that calcium strengthening your bones! :P

     
  • At 1/31/2011 2:11 pm, Anonymous Emily@NeedsMoreSugar said…

    The Milo Godzilla and the Muar Chee sound right up my alley!
    YUM!

     
  • At 1/31/2011 2:34 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Yummm...must try this, it's sort of local for me :)

     
  • At 1/31/2011 5:21 pm, Anonymous john@heneedsfood said…

    Ooh you can muar chee me any day. They look amazing! And that milo godzilla is like a step back in time for me. I've wondered about this food village and now that I've seen all this great food I'm eager to get there sooner

     
  • At 1/31/2011 8:27 pm, Blogger Angie Lives to Eat (and Cook)! said…

    Oh wow look at the froth on the teh tarik! I am a huge sucker for froth! You could give me two jugs and I can tell you I'd end up spilling it all on the floor. Mmm the Milo Godzilla sounds evil!

     
  • At 1/31/2011 10:37 pm, Blogger Audrey said…

    Oh and also jigocity.com.au is offering one bowl of laksa and one can of soft drink (worth $12.30) for only $5 !!

    deal ends at midnight so better action now!!

     
  • At 2/02/2011 8:20 am, Blogger Brian Ballsun-Stanton said…

    I eat there regularly. Make sure to try the Bah chor mee. It's fantastic and extremely reasonable.

     
  • At 2/02/2011 5:45 pm, Blogger Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse) said…

    I now feel like glutinous rice balls and teh tarik for dessert. Not that I've had dinner yet!

     
  • At 2/05/2011 11:53 am, Blogger Viv said…

    that first action shot is awesome! reading your posts made me realise that there are so many awesome restaurants in sydney to try!

     
  • At 2/05/2011 1:45 pm, Anonymous sara @ Belly Rumbles said…

    Will have to give it a go, some delicious and interesting looking dishes there.

     
  • At 11/09/2011 12:33 pm, Anonymous -Durga- said…

    Food here is good!! Esp the nasi goreng kampung...have you tried Sambal in Macquarie Park? They have good nasi leak too!

     

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