Sambal The Malaysian Food Experience
Shop 7, 285-297 Lane Cove Rd
North Ryde, NSW 2113
$$$–

Chris and I were driving down Lane Cove road a few weeks ago and I noticed the big SAMBAL sign. They’d just opened and are a bit closer than Alice’s, so we were keen on checking it out. Finally got a chance to pop in there today for some lunch. The decor is really chic and lovely – dark zen-style tables and chairs in an airy bright area. The open-concept kitchen is fun and service is super friendly and quick.

Chris immediately decided on his Char Kway Teow, “medium spicy with no bean sprouts”, before we’d even sat down and perused the menu. He was disappointed that it wasn’t very spicy at all – I pointed out that it was probably more catered to the Western crowd (there were more Caucasians there then Asians) and thus a bit mellow on the spice.. at which point he’d decided they probably weren’t that authentic since they didn’t use enough chilli. To his utter horror and disappointment, he also cried out “There’s no lup cheong or fried pork lard!!!” True, it had prawns and chicken instead.. which Char Kway Teow in Singapore doesn’t actually have. The noodles were really nice though, and nicely fried (but “not enough dark sauce”, according to Chris). He declared it approx 5-6/10.

Me? I had the Hor Fun with seafood and chicken in rich egg gravy. Decided on it because many other tables were chowing down on it, and it looked so lovely. It was the right choice, the dish was spectacular!!! The gravy was all warm and creamy, and all the ingredients were cooked to perfection – all soft and tender. Fantastic flavour and not too salty. It also came with a little dish of green chilli & sauce, which I discovered made each mouthful taste even better. Completely delicious!

Dessert was Chendol which we were amazed to see arrive at the table in a MASSIVE big earthen bowl. It was light, milky and sweet. Very nice. But the green jellies weren’t as tasty as the ones at Alice’s and the mega beans was a little strange 😛 It’s nice, but not something I’d go out of my way to order again.

We were also delighted to see that they make their own home-made kuehs, all of which they had out in little plates for free sampling. Yay!! After sampling everything, we decided on “Wu Tao Go” (aka Yam Cake). It was REALLY different to Alice’s – much softer and came with crumbled peanuts and Hoisin sauce instead. It was delicious as well :)~

All up, we paid about $30 for the 2 of us, which is fairly reasonable. I’ll be up for another visit to try their other dishes and see how they fare..

The sign that caught my attention a few weeks ago

Sambal The Malaysian Food Experience

The open-concept kitchen

Char Kway Teow

Hor Fun with seafood and chicken in rich egg gravy

Chendol

Wu Tao Go (aka Yam Cake)

After that, we adjourned to Macquarie Shopping Centre for some pottering around, and scored some great fresh fish to cook for dinner tonight – hurray! Also had some dessert & coffee. I have discovered THE BEST COFFEE IN THE WORLD – Illy Coffee. Our Vanilla Lattes came with this amazing creamy foam that I’ve never seen on any coffee I’ve ever had.. and it was all rich, full-flavoured and sublime. I just emailed their site contact, to ask for other locations Illy coffee is served at – I am so there 😛

Krispy Kreme cherry donut

Illy vanilla lattes – best coffee I’ve ever had