IndoLicious @ Lygon St

Last Friday, while it was raining, we walked through the winds to have lunch at a new place (such an effort to walk outside in the wet and cold!).  IndoLicious is located at Lygon St, next to Lazzat.  I suppose the restaurant isn't that new because the owner said that they have opened for a year (or maybe they just recently opened 'there', I didn't ask).  WWM hasn't visited any new halal eateries for quite a while, so I was thrilled to visit it and have lunch there (thanks to friends who asked me to join them for lunch).

Prices for ala carte are pretty much similar with other Malaysian/Indonesian restaurants.  They do have Nasi Campur (sorry, didn't get the price).  We wanted to try the ala carte menu, so IndoLicious recommended us to try their Nasi Iga Penyet - that's rice with deep fried beef spareribs and sambal.

There it is!  Looks delicious, right? Yummy...  The serving of the ribs were very generous I would say, and they were very tender, so you'd have no problem eating them with fork and spoon.  The sambal could've been spicier for my liking (suka pedas2!), but it was still good. 

 So if you want to try out IndoLicious, it's just a walking distance away from the CBD.


Indolicious is located on 114 Lygon St, Carlton.



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Mama Wong's Kitchen @ Corner of Flinders St & Exhibition St

We visited Mama Wong's Kitchen back in May, after a Khatib at RMIT informed the Friday Prayer Jama'ah that it is another Halal restaurant in the city. The photos have been in my iPhone, and I really thought that I've uploaded them, but actually, I haven't (lucky that they're still there!)

Mama Wong's sell a range of Chinese and Malaysian food. You can check out their website for more details. Go to http://mamawongs.com.au/

So here are some images from our visit.







Mama Wong's Kitchen is located at the corner of Flinders St and Exhibition St - exactly at the corner and it will be pretty easy to spot.




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Pasar Malam Chinatown

Here are some snapshots from our visit to Pasar Malam Chinatown. Sadly though, we didn't see any stall with a Halal sign. Maybe in the future there could be at least one Halal stall?

* * *

In conjuction with Asian Food Festival in Melbourne this month, I was thrilled to have read from a poster in the trams about a Pasar Malam in Chinatown. ‘Pasar Malam’ is Bahasa Malaysia for ‘Night Market’, and it is also the same in Bahasa Indonesia. Either way, I was thrilled that it was called ‘Pasar Malam’, which suggests a strong link to the Malaysian and Asian culture of night markets.

So here we have Heffernan Lane in Chinatown, a small lane that connects Little Bourke St and Londsdale St.

And last Saturday, Heffernan Lane was transformed by a row of 18 tents - turning it into a Night Market. Niches in between buildings and in front of steps and doors became spots where friends gather, and also shelter from the brief drizzling rain.

By night time, Heffernan Lane became a full-fledged “night” market. The narrow sidewalks were common spots for people to stand, eat and chat with their friends.

Temporary events like this, particularly if they revolve around food, are always great ideas to liven up the city from time to time. Will Melbourne adopt this at least once a month or once every season, and embrace the potential of a night market in the city?

Asian Food Festival in Melbourne this Month!

We were in the tram today, and we saw a poster about Asian Food Festival going on in Melbourne this month of September 2010! And when we browsed through their events via their website, it was great to see that there will be a "Pasar Malam" at Chinatown. This will surely be an event to visit!

Together with Chinatown Precinct Association, the laneway will be packed with simply deliciously scrumptious food, dumplings, rice, noodles, satays, Asian tea and coffee, cakes and souvenir stalls, launching the Chinatown Market – “Chinatown Pasar Malam”. The whiff from the hawker-style stalls will entice you to stay till the night, where you will see the transformation of the laneway – the “Magical Mirabella Globes” will certainly light up this laneway, bringing with it a true Night Market (Pasar Malam). Come and join in the hawker-style eateries and Asian stores. We have even invited our neighbouring Greek Precinct to showcase their renowned coffees and cakes. East meets West – what a hustle and bustle in this little brightly lighted place – just that perfect little “laneway”, with a whiff of the aroma from the hawker food in the open air – truly an Asian Bazaar!

Let's check out the Melbourne version of Pasar Malam at Heffernan Lane, on Saturday, 18 September 2010, from 12 noon to 12 midnight.



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Secret Recipe @ Chapel St.

Finally, we visited Secret Recipe at Chapel St. Secret Recipe is a well-known cafe-restaurant in Malaysia, famous for its cheese cake and other range of cakes. But they also have meals on their menu - food for breakfast, lunch and dinner alike. We asked them before sitting about serving Halal food, and they said that all the meat and cakes are Halal, which makes everything in the menu Halal. We also found this article on their opening and Halal status online.

You can easily identify Secret Recipe located on 247 Chapel St., Prahran.



We like the spaciousness and light-filled interior.



You can find a selection of Malaysian and Western dishes on the menu. It's a bit pricey, I must say.



Nasi Lemak with Rendang Ayam, no sambal. Rendang Ayam was tasty :) I was delighted to see the banana leaf.



Nasi Goreng and Satay. Nasi Goreng was so-so but we enjoyed the Chicken Satay.



All in all, there's a lot on the menu to try... tom yum, lamb shanks, and more.

Secret Recipe is located on 247 Chapel St, Prahran.


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Madam Kay's Platz Cafe @ 139 Londsdale St

Through recommendation from a friend, we found yet another Halal Malaysian eating place in the heart of Melbourne city.

Meet Madam Kay's Platz. It's conveniently located on Londsdale St, between Russell & Exhibition St (only about 10 minutes walk from Melbourne Central). We quite like the size of the cafe as it's not too big.... "very cafe like". Cozy decor with warm lighting design makes it look a bit classier and very suitable if you want to bring special guests for a Malaysian lunch. The cafe is not too formal so we think it'll definitely suit families with kids as well.




They have a limited but pretty good range of Malaysian cuisine such as in the menu below. Prices are a little bit higher than the eateries at Swanston St, but the food that we tried were tasty. They also sell a selection of pastries and sandwiches, coffee and tea, and a selection of Western breakfast menu.




These are the two dishes that we tried... BBQ Chicken Spicy Sauce with Rice,


and Nasi Lemak Sambal Petai.


Yes, they do have Teh Tarik and Teh Ais upon request :)


Madam Kay's Platz is located on 139 Londsdale St (between Russell & Exhibition St).

Currently on weekdays, they open from 7.30 am until 6.00 pm; and on weekends they open at 8.30 am until 6.00 pm.



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Old Town Kopitiam Mamak @ QV Building

Another familiar Malaysian coffee shop in Melbourne. Mamak is a typical restaurant in Malaysia operated by mostly Indian-Muslims. One of the great things about Mamak restaurants is that they usually open till very late at night, and some even for 24 hours, and they sell a range of food at affordable prices - food ranging from roti canai, to mee goreng and to tom yum. It's great to finally find a very familiar and an almost-home feel at Old Town Kopitiam Mamak. Here are some of the updated photos of menu we've tried. So far so good and we really hope they maintain the quality of the food that we truly enjoy.

Cendol (shaved ice served with coconut milk, palm sugar syrup, red beans and jelly-like green cendol)

Kopi susu ais (iced white coffee)

Soya cincau (soy milk with grass jelly)

Prices were considerably fair according to standard prices of meals in the city

They even have kicap (soy sauce) and pepper on the table for those times that you'd want to have poached eggs

Mee Goreng Seafood (fried noodles with seafood)

Old Town Kopitiam Mamak is located at the center courtyard of QV Building in Melbourne CBD opposite of Max Brenner.


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* We have emailed Old Town Kopitiam Mamak to get a clarification on their Halal status, and they've replied "Yes, we got the halal meat supplier certificate at QV".

* However, Old Town Kopitiam at Chinatown (Little Bourke St) is NOT Halal.

Minang Restaurant

Minang Nasi Padang is located within a walking distance from RMIT Swanston St and Melbourne Uni. It serves Nasi Campur with side dishes familiar in the Nasi Padang menu. 1 set of nasi campur consist of rice and 3 dishes, costing AUD 6.50, which is pretty affordable for students and cheaper than Nasi Campur dishes located in the CBD.

Minang Nasi Padang is located at Pelham St, Carlton.



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More Halal Food to be Uploaded Soon!

Blok M near Chapel St - Makanan Order (Nasi & Ayam Bakar, Nasi Goreng, etc.)
10/176 Commercial Rd, Prahran

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KFC Flemington
230-242 Racecourse Road Flemington VIC 3031


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Malabar Hut - Nasi Briyani, Roti Canai, Roti Nan, etc.
868 Sydney Rd, Brunswick

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Minang Restaurant - Nasi Campur
Pelham St, Carlton

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Catches, Upper Level Food Court, Melbourne Central - Seafood & Chicken Bar

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Norsiah's Kitchen, Carlton - Nasi Campur
604 Swanston St

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Cafe Aneka, Elgin St (between Rathdowne & Nicholson St) - Nasi Campur

More Markets to Watch out For!

It's time to get some cross-cultural experiences!

SATURDAY, 12 DEC 2009: KULCHER FOODFEST '09
Organized by the Migrant Hub, this event will be held at Sistems Golf Complex, 240 Hoppers Lane, Werribee from 12 noon - 7 pm.




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SATURDAY, 12 DEC & SUNDAY 13 DEC 2009: CHRISTMAS AT THE ARTS HOUSE MEAT MARKET
On both of these days, the Arts House Meat Market Pavilion will be transformed into a vibrant Christmas Market. From 11 am - 8 pm, the market will be held at Arts House, Meat Market, 5 Blackwood St, North Melbourne.




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Footscray

Footscray is another place where you can get your Asian grocery stock. This area is inhabited by predominantly Vietnamese residents, so there's quite a number of dried goods and vegetables similar to the Malaysian culture. There's also a Halal butcher right opposite of the train station.

Footscray is located on the western side of Melbourne



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Selera Singapore Asli

Selera Singapore Asli is a feel-at-home restaurant located in Forest Hill. What attracts us to go to this restaurant from time to time, particularly on a Sunday morning is the Nasi Lemak served on banana leaf, reminding us of how Nasi Lemak is sold and served back home in Malaysia. Not only do they have Nasi Lemak, but also other Malay menu like Nasi Briyani and Lontong.

Selera Singapore Asli is located on 334 Springvale Rd, Forest Hill. 03 9878 0310
Opening hours are from Wed-Sun, 10am-10pm.



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Another place selling Nasi Lemak in Melbourne.