The Malaya must be one of the longest continuously operating Malaysian restaurants in Sydney. It’s been around since the 1960s in Chinatown. In 2001, it relocated to the current location at King Street Wharf. I’ve been to The Malaya for work lunches when it was in Chinatown and remembered them as serving pretty high standard food and catering very much to a corporate clientele.
The restaurant is a huge expanse with an open kitchen allowing dinners to see the frenetic activity. We’re dining on a Wednesday evening yet the place was close to capacity. Tonight noodlies Sydney food blog is trying seven dishes to get a good overview of what’s on offer.
Otak otak is a dish which I’ve only been recently introduced to since Malaysia Kitchen. Here the fish cake has a strong flavour but is so delicate that it almost melts in the mouth. Cooking it in banana leaves really does leave a lovely taste.
Without a doubt, my favourite dish of the night is the salt and pepper scampi. The saltiness creeps into the soft but firm flesh as well as the outer shell making this dish incredibly more-ish. But be warned, they’re only offered on weekends so plan ahead.
Laksa made with cow milk might sound clumsy, but substituting it for coconut milk makes a big difference. While still creamy, it’s not as overwhelmingly rich as coconut. It leaves you wondering why more places don’t do it. The soup still packs a chilli and lemongrass punch. It’s really worth a try.
Duck Perchik is a new dish for me. It’s described as “twice cooked duck Maryland, poached then deep fried and served with a Nonya style curry sauce made from lemongrass, coconut milk, fresh chilli and bay leaves”. The duck had a gamey look and taste which I like. While the curry sauce was also packing a punch. For me, this was the least successful dish because the duck and sauce, while delicious on their own, just didn’t combine for this dish.
Szechuan Eggplant is one of The Malaya’s signature dishes. For me it’s an intriguing dish. Of course, the spicy Szechuan sauce is expected but the eggplant is something else. These pieces glisten and is a tad crunchy on the outside while soft, like you’d expect, on the inside. So many wonderful flavours and unexpected textures. Highly recommended for vegetarians.. much better than the usual stir fried veggies options for vegos.
Singapore curry fish is a more watery version of curry. Here the surprise and delight is the sourness of the curry. Unexpected but works very well with the clean, white fish fillet.
Our final dish of the night, and by now we’re over flowing, is beef rendang. The colour is much lighter than the dark brown which I’m used to. But it doesn’t mean there’s any less flavour. The beef is melt in the mouth, but is not over cooked. The lovely sauce seems to soak into everything and works very well over rice. Possibly our second favourite dish of the night.
For those used to the fast and tasty food court Malaysian, the prices might be a shock, but The Malaya would argue this is is high quality food in a premium environment.
The Malaya is located in King Street Wharf, a waterfront fine dining precinct offering 16 restaurants and bars, close to Sydney’s CBD, Chinatown and Darling Harbour.
The Malaya
39 Lime Street
King Street Wharf, Sydney
9279 1170
Noodlies Sydney food blog and guest dined courtesy of The Malaya. Special thanks to our waitress on the night, Tina for being super friendly, knowledgeable and efficient.
Ah, nostalgia.
My memories of the Malaya go back to the early 80s when it was a small dark room, up the Broadway end of George Street, opposite Central Railway right next door to a seedy pub. It was a favourite place for detectives wanting a bit of a long lunch, and I learnt how to eat laksa and rendang and chilli chicken wings and kway teow there. It was affectionately called The Blazers – as that was the after effect.
Somehow, when it went up-market and moved into the two story place further north in George Street and then to the really upmarket digs down at Darling Harbour it never really felt the same. I’ll always remember watching a rather bald detective sergeant mopping the sweat from his scalp as he slurped down his laksa, and his sage advice that if you wanted to avoid the chilli splashing on the back of the throat and triggering coughing spasms, then then you swallowed, not sipped, the broth. Wise words, wise words.
Ahhh.. I love this story.. there’s so much history with the Malaya that I had no idea, thanks for sharing Pam.
use to eat at the Malaya when it was in George st many years ago there curry beef was abig hit with the guys at the Sydney Morning Herald reading room.. brings back memories
Yeah, it was a bit of an institution in George St.
We used to eat the Chilli Crab with lashings of cold beer at the North Sydney Malaya in the 70s. Those were the days of the big long advertising lunch!
Yum.. sadly the long lunches are gone 🙁
I remember eating at the dingy George Street restaurant when I was about 5. Many nights playing out on the footpath while my parents ate inside. I even brought a homeless man in for some dinner once!!
The two storey George Street was a school holidays lunch date with my mum to eat the yummy kapitan prawns and singapore noodles, but I am a little dissapointed that they moved to King Street Wharf. While the views are beautiful, especially on a summer evening, I dont see me being able to create the fond childhood memories that I have, with my daughter 🙁
hi …delicious