Through a series of restaurant deep-dives, come experience a taste of Malaysia with On the Record right here in Adelaide. (Image: Peter Fong)
By Jea Yi Yap | @jeayi__
I was sitting in my room scrolling mindlessly on Instagram (as one does on Sunday mornings) when I received a text from my mum. Glancing at the notification, I could see that she had sent me a photo.
It must be 7 in the morning there, I thought.
I was curious about what she had sent me so early in the morning, now that we live on completely different continents with a 2-and-a-half-hour time difference—me residing in Adelaide, and her back home in Kuala Lumpur, the place I grew up in.
I clicked on it and a photo of curry laksa popped up. Not just any curry laksa. It was the one from the hawker store I used to frequent when I was living in Malaysia.
For those who aren’t familiar with this remarkable Malaysian delicacy, imagine a sizzling bowl of noodles luxuriating in thick yellow soup spiced with turmeric, fenugreek and cumin, topped with fish and prawns.
The photo ignited my longing for a taste of home; it didn’t help that I hadn’t had breakfast either. My stomach started grumbling and I was dying for a bowl of curry laksa.
Being away from home makes you appreciate the things you used to take for granted and food is undoubtedly one of those things.
This ignited my quest to hunt for the best Malaysian restaurants here in Adelaide—what better way to show your appreciation for it than to go enjoy it?
Luckily for me, one of the great things about living in Adelaide is its excellent selection of cuisines from various cultures.
I’ve always believed food to be its own kind of language that plays an important role at the heart of people’s stories.
So, let On the Record guide you on a tour of some of the must-visit Malaysian restaurants right here in Adelaide, each of which have unique stories.
Lai’s Pantry
The first stop on this adventure is the family-run Malaysian joint, Lai’s Pantry, which serves home-style Malaysian food. The restaurant is owned by the Lai family: co-owner and chef Jimy Lai, his wife Amy Kerk and their three sons, Nelson, Admon, and Gavin.
However, this is not their first restaurant. You might remember Chef Lai Noodle Café on California Street that closed back in 2019, breaking many hearts and leavings fans yearning for their hearty home-style meals.
Lai’s Pantry is the iteration of the former restaurant and relocated to Hanson Road, Mansfield Park in 2021.
“My parents wanted to take a break as they’ve been in this industry for a very long time but I guess somewhere down the line, they decided to give it a go again,” says Nelson, the eldest of the three brothers.
Sporting just four wooden tables covered with protective plastic and a stainless-steel open kitchen, the new spot sits among a block of shops on Hanson Road.
“The area that we’re in is very diverse but it’s largely dominated by Vietnamese and Indian cuisine and pizza shops so we wanted to offer something different down that way,” says Nelson.
Lai’s Pantry offers an exceptional menu featuring a variety of authentic home-style Malaysian meals that as a Malaysian, I can proudly vouch for.
The home run on the menu is the chef’s homemade yong tau foo, a Hakka Chinese dish with fish or meat paste that is stuffed in tofu and bean curd skin, deep-fried and served with soup—hence the name, which translates to “stuffed tofu”.
“I feel like this dish is something that represents my dad’s passion and work ethic,” says Nelson. “He makes it from scratch when he’s available and it’s really popular with our customers.”
Hailing from Seremban city in Malaysia, Jimy Lai, the chef and head of the family, has been cooking since he was a kid and boasts years of culinary experience. He and his wife moved to Adelaide many years ago and have since embarked on their culinary journey and started their own family.
“Growing up, he has never been an academic type of person so he dropped out of school and pursued his passion in cooking instead,” says Nelson when asked about his dad.
The other top-listers on the menu are the char kway teow, with its stir-fried flat rice noodles adorned with cockles, prawns, lap cheong sausages, bean sprouts, Chinese chives, and chilli; and their Hainanese chicken rice served with fragrant white rice and poached white chicken.
With dish names like yong tau foo, char kway teow and Hainanese chicken rice, you might be questioning whether these foods are really Malaysian.
What many don’t seem to know about Malaysia is that it holds a large population of descendants of Southern Chinese immigrants who arrived there between the early 19th and the mid-20th centuries and have since developed their unique cuisine, incorporating local herbs and spices.
Many would point out that without the Hokkien, Teochew, or Hakka immigrants bringing their wok-frying techniques and flat noodles to Southeast Asia, many of our beloved Malaysian street foods would never have existed.
The Lai family, being the descendants of these Southern Chinese immigrants, are continuing their culinary tradition by providing us with their home-style meals.
“Being involved in a family business surrounding Malaysian food has really helped me feel closer to my identity,” says Nelson.
However, growing up as a child with immigrant parents in the 00s, Nelson’s relationship with Malaysian food wasn’t always the best.
“I remember kids used to make fun of me for taking the food my mum made to school because they thought it was stinky but right now, they’re eating the same stuff they used to make fun of me for and loving it,” says Nelson.
“It’s good to know that times have changed and that people now have a lot more acceptance for the diversity we have here in Adelaide.”
“I do feel like we had a part to play in exposing the people here to Malaysian food and it’s great that my parents are continuing to do so by being back in the game,” says Nelson.
“In the past, we’ve had restaurants on a bigger scale but I think with Lai’s Pantry, it wasn’t necessarily to make big money, we just wanted to serve the community because, at the end of the day, it’s about the people.”
Truly Malaysian Village
The next stop on our list is an eatery owned by a Malaysian couple, which is located along Port Road at Allenby Gardens.
Prior to visiting Truly Malaysian Village, I had heard many great reviews about this place’s amazing food. So, taking this golden opportunity, I decided to pay a visit and see for myself what the hype is all about.
Truly Malaysian Village was started by the husband-and-wife duo, Amzar Hariz and Najihah Wahab, back in March 2020. It started in the comfort of their own home, where they worked their magic in their private kitchen and only received a small number of customers.
As business gradually improved, they realised their kitchen could no longer support the number of enthusiastic customers who were eager for more. Hence, they decided to set up a commercial kitchen to accommodate more customers.
“It has always been my husband’s dream to open up a restaurant and I’m here to support him along the way,” says Najihah.
Truly Malaysian Village provides a normal menu on Thursdays and Fridays but on weekends, only the weekend specials are available.
“If I could only choose one dish that everyone should try, it would be our beef rendang,” says Najihah.
If you’re ever craving something spicy and savoury, their beef rendang will be right up your alley. The beef is simmered with coconut milk and a mixture of lemongrass, galangal, garlic, turmeric, ginger and chillies, then left to stew for a few hours to create explosively flavourful bovine goodness.
This spicy meat dish is a popular delicacy in many Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. It was introduced to Malaysia when the Minangkabau merchants, an ethnic group who are native to the Minangkabau Highlands of North West Sumatra, arrived in Malacca – a small Malaysian state on the other side of the Malacca Straits – and introduced this delicious dish to their Malay brothers.
As an expert in Malaysian cuisines (if I do say so myself), my personal favourite was their nasi lemak ayam berempah. The fluffy coconut rice accompanies the deep-fried chicken perfectly; its crisp coating enhances the dish. The spices in the coating give the chicken a flavourful taste and combined with hard-boiled eggs, cucumber, peanuts, fried anchovies, and chilli sambal, the dish becomes a festival of flavour and texture.
Before opening the restaurant, the couple worked many odd jobs such as window cleaning and Uber driving; however, ever since their business kicked off, they have been focusing solely on the restaurant.
The restaurant has evolved into a family business; the head chef is Najihah’s cousin and a friend Najihah went to university with helps manage the restaurant.
“I’m grateful that everything worked out for us and I get to work with the people that I’m closest to,” says Najihah. “It feels great to know that customers are enjoying our food and are continuing to support us.”
MamakBoy
If you ever feel hungry after some shopping at Rundle Mall, be sure to check out our third restaurant on the list, MamakBoy, which is nestled in the Myer Food Court.
MamakBoy is Daniel Chu’s third restaurant after Mr Chu Eatery in Norwood and Chu Chu on Waymouth Street.
It is a homage to Daniel’s childhood and is inspired by the amazing home-cooked meals he enjoyed growing up in Sabah, the enchanting Eastern state of Malaysia. Daniel aims to provide soulful Malaysian street food to Adelaideans.
Speaking to Jayvin Tang, the manager of MamakBoy, he tells us that Daniel was inspired to start up his own restaurant after noticing the lack of authentic Malaysian restaurants around.
“A lot of Malaysian restaurants here are catered towards a more western taste and Daniel wanted to offer something more authentic that is closer to how it is back home,” says Jayvin.
Daniel moved to Adelaide in 2010 to study cookery and business and has always been passionate about being a business owner. After he graduated from university, he decided to combine the knowledge he acquired and open a restaurant.
If authenticity was what Daniel was going for, he got it right down to a tee, especially with the fan-favourite laksa noodles. The slurp-worthy bowl of goodness serves as the ultimate comfort food and its rich flavour will be sure to tickle your tastebuds.
This spicy, tangy dish is a concoction of multiculturalism in Southeast Asia from centuries of long-distance trade. Trace the origins of laksa, and you’ll find its roots in Chinese cuisine, specifically the Peranakans, a community deriving from a centuries-long history of interracial marriages between the Chinese settlers and the locals.
The descendants of the Peranakan community are now known as Baba and Nyonya and have mainly settled down in the state of Malacca. Word has it, the laksa was invented when the Peranakans decided to add coconut milk and chillies to a basic form of Chinese noodle soup.
Situated at the heart of Adelaide CBD with a major university nearby, MamakBoy is also a perfect place for university students to stop by.
“It’s really convenient for students and Daniel wanted it to be a place where Malaysian students can come to if they’re missing home and craving some cheap home food since most of them live in the city,” says Jayvin.
“Back when I was a university student, there weren’t a lot of options for Malaysian food, especially in the city so I think MamakBoy is the perfect antidote to that.”
Daniel’s love and appreciation for his culture is evident in his food.
If you’re in search of an authentic Malaysian food experience without having to travel over 5,700 kilometres from Adelaide to Malaysia, these restaurants are the next best thing.
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