Nearly 2 years...

How time flies. It was not too long ago when these children were only 3 or 4-years-old when they first attended our centre. I remember how some of them came in with their parents to visit for the first time, how some questioned our curriculum, how they cried pitifully during their first two weeks with us.

We not only grew with the children, we also grew with the family. As some of these children spend more awake time with us than with their parents, we formed close, genuine bonds with families. It has been a humbling journey  working with these families.

Some of these children stayed for a year. Some for 2 years. Some for 3 and some for 4 years. Some of their parents also enrolled younger siblings, which meant that our face-to-face interaction with them go on for more than 4 years.

How time flies. It was not too long ago when all they could say were, "I want mummy" or "sheeshee". Although we have many children attending every year, it still amazes me at how much they learn. In only a few weeks, "I want mummy" would become "Mummy, bye-bye!" and "sheeshee" would become "May I go to toilet please?"

For this particular batch of students, it has been 2 years since they graduated to primary school. While some of them have lost contact with us, many of them still keep in touch with us through Facebook or saying hi during drop-off and pick-up time.

We are very pleased and proud that many of them have adapted very well to primary school life, some even making a name for themselves for excelling in story-telling, wushu, gymnastics, track and field, basketball, poetry, calligraphy and singing. Hopefully, the experiences they had with us will continue to come in handy in their lives.

Economy rice

I miss this terribly!!!

Economy rice, also known as mixed rice or chap fan (什饭) is commonly found throughout Malaysia in food courts, hawker centres, street vendors and local kopitiams. Depending on each proprietor, there could be anywhere from 10 dishes to 20 dishes available to customers each day who customise their combination of dishes with a portion of rice or porridge. Customers are charged according to the type and amount of dishes selected.

The food is presented in open troughs kept warm by warm water or electrical heater below. Typically, the proprietor would also sell chicken rice on his premises and in such cases, customers could opt to have their portion of rice swapped for the oil rice normally served for chicken rice. Also, customers are free to take complementary soup.

Economy rice is one of the quickest, most convenient and most economical options for a meal, hence its name. It is also a 'home-cooked meal outside of home', if that makes sense. At many places, economy rice stalls are frequented daily by the local population, forming friendship bonds after a while.

I really miss the stall at Taman U, where I grew up. Their lemon chicken, curry chicken, braised pork belly, as well as sour and spicy pork ribs are amazing. I also remember one really efficiently-managed one in Desa Petaling, where I almost always chose their brinjal and potato. Another stall is situated near our childcare centre, where Dad sings high praises for their yong taufu dishes. Further away in SS2 is a vegetarian economy rice restaurant, which I visited every weekend during my high school and college years.

Vegie Hut Vegetarian Restaurant

During one of my many annual visits to rellies in Melbourne, my aunt and cousin brought me to Vegie Hut for a wholesome vegetarian dinner.

The place was simply decorated with earthy colours and was bustling with diners.

I enjoyed the variety of flavours present in the Oriental Entree Platter ($24.10).

I laughed myself silly at the thought of ordering a Veggie-Fin Soup ($5.40). Talk about not supporting shark fin soup!

The Braised Chinese Mushrooms on Vegetables ($15.10) was a simple dish. I liked the juiciness of the mushrooms.

The Honey Veggie-Prawn ($17.80) was crispy and my young nephew, little Kevin, absolutely loved it. Kids and fried stuff, sigh.

I was surprised that imitation meat/seafood would cost more, just like the real deal. A plate of Steam Fish with Enoki Mushrooms set us back $19.60. Hm, a little pricey, in my opinion. It did taste very fishy, though.

Ah, and complementary tong sui always tastes sweeter. ;)

Vegie Hut Vegetarian Restaurant
984 White Horse Road, Box Hill, VIC 3128, Australia
Tel: +61 3 9898 2287, Fax: +61 3 9898 9419, Email: yvonne@vegiehut.com.au
Wednesday to Monday 12:00pm to 3:00pm, 5:30pm to 10:00pm

Petaling Street: Malaysian Hawker Food @ Haymarket

My Melburnian friends used to take pride in the countless Malaysian makan places they have down south. One particular place that I constantly hear is Petaling Street. Therefore, when they were opening an outlet here in Sydney, I was keen to give them a try. Even more so when I found out that a friend is one of the shareholders.

They sure know where to place themselves - the busiest street in Sydney, George Street and facing Market City. Definitely going to call out to the local Chinatown and visiting backpacker crowds.

Ranging from $10 to $30, I personally think that pricing is a plus point for the portion and the taste. Another plus point is the ambience, as it reminds me of home because of the constant Manglish/Singlish conversations jabbed with random words in Canto, Hokkien, Hakka and Malay. Here are some of the things I have tried over multiple visits:

Something like a rojak with lots of tofu minus the rojak sauce is the Malaysian Hawker-Type Deep Fried Bean Curd ($6.50). Eaten with thin strips of cucumber and blanched bean sprouts, this can be treated like salad.

I am a big fan of their Chee Cheong Fun which they call Steam Rice Roll ($6.80). Texture of the rice rolls covered in sweet sauce combined with the beancurd sheets, ah, perfect for a Malaysian-style arvo tea break. Every time I have this dish, I would recall the chee cheong fun aunty come round on her modified motorcycle with a giant brollie and a signature poh-peh-poh-peh honk. I would run out to flag her, run back in to grab a plate and then run back out to fill the plate up with awesome chee cheong fun and steaming hot chew bouncy fishballs!

I prefer their version of Chicken Satay ($6.80 for 4 skewers) to that of PappaRich's. The reason is because the taste of turmeric is not overpowering and the peanut sauce is of the right texture, one that is sauce-like and not jam-like.

Michael loves their Short Rice Noodle in Claypot ($11.80). I was excited about it too until I realise how oily (and fatty) it is! It is, however, a generous serving with a good amount of Chinese mushrooms and minced pork. The KL versions would give you a raw egg on the top of the heap for you to stir in on your own.

My favourite and most recommended dish would have to be their Char Kuey Teow ($9.50). It comes with big prawns, superb wok hei and of course, deep fried pork lard pieces. The duck egg version costs a few dollars extra.

Omelette Rice ($10.90) is a simple dish of fried rice wrapped up in an omelette. It's a tad spicy, if you're not into chillies.

But if you are big on chillies, the Sambal Kangkung ($14.80) would make you a very happy person. Crunchy and yes, very spicy.

The Sizzling Minced Pork and Bean Curd ($16.80) comes sizzling on a hot teppanyaki. My bro loves ordering this dish back home. Here, other than the price which is a little on the high side, it tastes exactly like home.

Fancy some Steamed Fish with Malaysian Soya Sauce ($14.80)? For the price, it actually is a pretty good catch. The sauce was cleared till the very last lick. Goes down very well with white rice.

To end any meal, do order their ais kacang ($5). It comes with a lychee at the peak of the colourful shaved ice mountain.

Petaling Street: Malaysian Hawker Food

760 George Street, Haymarket, NSW 2000, Australia

T: +61 2 9280 1006; E-mail: petalingsydney@gmail.com

Sunday to Wednesday 11:00am to midnight

Thursday to Saturday 11:00am to 2:00am

*Cash transactions only

Mr. Han's Traditional Restaurant

First of all, I have to apologise because I did not take down the names of these dishes. However, I did make a mental note that they all tasted quite good.

All the orders were served piping hot, especially this plate of brinjal. This was full on veggie with capsicum, cucumber and potato. Just a tad oily but we had to be careful with the heat when we bit.

Then there was a chicken dish. I think this was Shandong chicken, which was done well. Not too salty and the meat was juicy and tender.

The steamed fish had thumbs up from us, too. Sometimes, simple dishes are sufficient for a hearty meal.

The only (and our biggest) setback - we do not read Chinese. Thankfully, I am conversant in Mandarin, so that helped.



Mr. Han's Traditional Restaurant
261 Rowe Street, Eastwood, NSW 2122, Australia
T: +61 2 9804 0288

Mamak Village Chinatown

Located strategically along the busiest stretch of Chinatown and adjacent from Mamak is Mamak Village. No, not the same. At all.

Other than the set up of the place, everything else did not hit the right note for me.

I ordered a plate of nasi lemak and when it arrived, I spot a few misses. Since when nasi lemak comes with carrots? Also, does that look like authentic sambal to you? More like sambal out of a jar! Disappointed much.

Rachel's roti canai also had the same sambal. The roti itself was too oily and too thin. The curry and dahl did not look very inviting and were quite bland. Gosh, disappointed much again.

Okay, drinks are pretty straight forward so they should taste better, or so we assumed. The cold teh tarik did not taste like it was properly 'pulled' in any way. The warm Milo, too sweet.

The waitstaff were apologetic for the long wait for the food, which perhaps triggered my 'this place is not as good as the establishment across the road' radar. To top that off, we witnessed how a waitress dropped a trayful of food and drinks on the floor, causing a loud crashing sound to reverberate through the whole place. I felt sorry for her but also for myself for the sub-standard food.

Argh. And when I checked-in on Facebook, a friend immediately commented: Oh no! You should have told me you were going. Too late to warn you not to go!

At least someone else shared the same sentiments.



Malay Village Chinatown
Ground Floor, No. 1 Dixon Building, 1 Dixon Street (corner Goulburn Street), Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
Tel: +61 2 9264 4780
Sunday to Thursday & Public Holidays: 11:30am to 10:30pm
Friday & Saturday: 11:30am to late