As always, the hunt for good Malaysian hawker food was on. When you are so far from home, you tend to crave home-cooked food. Even if they do cost you an arm and a leg.
Prowling through the net, I stumbled upon this place: Straits Cafe located in Wantina South, which is right next to Knox city. The urge and pull were too strong: I headed there for dinner that very night.
Straits cafe is a small little cafe; one of the many in the strip of shops that is along Stud Road. The little area is called Studfield Shopping Centre, and I nearly missed the place as the sign to the restaurant was really small. The place was almost empty, but it was slightly late for the usual dinner crowd (8.30pm) so I’m definitely curious to see what the place would be like during your usual dinner rush.
Settling down in a corner, my friends and I had a look at the menu where many familiar names sang out to us. A decision was made somehow and we started the impatient wait for our dinner. Service was really fast, and the food even faster. It definitely matched the hawker speed of things, back in Malaysia/Singapore! And to add to the feeling of authenticity, we overheard the kitchen staff chattering to each other in Hokkien with a rather distinct Malaysian accent. We were delighted.
The first dish to come was the Sar Hor Fun
Fried flat rice noodles with seafood, chicken and vegetables topped with a creamy egg sauce.
It was divine. One of the best Hor Fun dishes I’ve tried in Melbourne that’s for sure. The creamy egg sauce was just nice, and very tasty. I didn’t order that, and to make up for it, I ordered that for takeaway for lunch the next day. It was just too tasty to resist!
My dish came next: Hainanese Chicken Rice.
Boneless pieces of tender chicken steamed to perfection, served with the chef’s famous chicken flavoured rice.
Now this really hit home. The portion was generous and by the end of it I was struggling to finish it as I was almost bursting at the seams. The chicken was incredibly tasty and tender, and the rice seasoned just right. It really brought back memories of home, and instantly won it’s place as Number 1 Chicken rice in Melbourne.
The next to arrive at the table was: Curry Laksa
Rice vermicelli and egg noodles served in a fragrant curry and coconut soup with chicken, fishcake and beancurd.
The gentle taste of asam at the back of the throat was incredibly appetizing, and it was yet again a rather generous serving. They were not at all stingy with the meats! It smelt incredible as well, thanks to the coconut. And the best part being, it was again one of the most authentic curry laksa I’ve tasted around Melbourne.
The last to arrive on the table was the Fish Head Bee Hoon. We spied it up on the ‘Specials’ board as it was not normally included in the menu. My friend who had it was impressed by it, tempting me to take a taste despite me not normally being a fan of fish head bee hoon soups. (I love Fish head soup, but as a noodle soup seems a bit much). However it was incredibly tasty, and I fell in love with it instantly. We just couldn’t stop drinking the soup! There was no hint of MSG, which tends to appear more and more in hawker food these days; just good, homecook style food that was incredibly delicious.
All in all, this was an amazing dinner experience and totally worth the drive. It’s a little far away from the city, but if you have a car and feel like a drive, definitely go for it. I know I’m definitely going back. Next time I’m trying the Achar- achar!
BTstars: 9/10
Straits Cafe
Studfield Shopping Centre
241 Stud Road
Wantirna South 3152
Victoria, Australia
Contact Details
Phone orders and bookings taken
T: +61 3 9800 2001
To enquire about functions, please email at functions@straitscafe.com.au
[...] It’s Hor Fun, if anybody’s wondering. I do like a good plate of hor fun but I think Straits Cafe does a way better rendition of it. Oh well. [...]