One chilly evening, after missing the tram and at least half a dozen taxi's that suddenly claimed…read moreto be occupied (with no one in them), we decided to stop at The Old Raffles Place in Johnston Street. It was actually meant to be a drink-stop but the greedy pigs in us couldn't resist the sweet aromas coming from the open concept kitchen. And so we ate. Our intended "drink-stop" began with the Lobak ( deep fried chinese spiced pork wrapped in beancurd skin) and soon followed with an order of chai tau kueh (fried carrot cake). Not only did we enjoy both dishes but let's just say, if The Old Raffles Place had a Facebook page - we would definitely be clicking on "like" - but since it doesn't, this is the next best option. Since that first visit, we've been back a couple of times and highly recommend trying everything on the menu - go slow and work your way through. I love that the restaurant is old-school with the walls adorned with black-and-white newspaper clippings with stories and photographs of people and places in Singapore. Even though it's just a restaurant, there's a certain element of charm and authenticity about this place that just keeps customers coming back for more.

I've walked past The Old Raffles Place so many times in so many years, and thought "I must go there…read moreone day." I finally made it last weekend when my family and I had walked up and down Smith Street trying to find somewhere to eat out, then decided to try a Thai restaurant on Johnston Street. As we walked past Raffles, I suggested we go there as I figured Singaporean food is generally milder than Thai and therefore more acceptable to a fussy four-year-old's palate. It was a Saturday night, but we were pretty early so it wasn't very busy and they let us take the stroller into the dining room (which is usually too crowded). I was tempted by the laksa (next time...), but ordered their signature dish: Hainanese chicken rice. My partner ordered stir-fried chicken noodles, and we also got some spring rolls. Warning: objects in the menu may be larger than they appear! I was surprised by how generous the servings were, having made assumptions about their size based on the low price and small photos in the menu. All tasted great, mild but full of flavour. Very happy with the meal and the service - the restaurant is run by a lovely Chinese Singaporean couple who fussed over my son and the wait staff were friendly and efficient. The kitchen is totally visible from the dining room and you essentially walk through it when you enter the establishment (as well as when finding the toilets which is a bit scary). Other than that the atmosphere is charming, plenty of relics and photos of colonial Singapore on the wall. The food was great, and being so nearby to my house I will definitely will be back to try the laksa, and the lobak, and... well, pretty much everything else!

Friends from NYC ate at Mamak in Melbourne and highly recommend it, so I had to go. It is part of a…read moresmall chain but the menu reads like a small family owned restaurant. The food was simply delicious; packaged with yummy Malaysian flavors. If you like Nasi Lemak, this is the place for you. Service was average as it is the case in Oz.

Always good food at Mamak - have tried the Sydney establishments multiple times and Melbourne does…read morenot disappoint. If you are looking for ambience or a romantic experience this is not the place for you, but if authentic Malaysian food is your thing then get along here!

I was craving for something Indonesian/ Malaysian/ Singaporean and that's how I ended up here. I…read moregot here before the lunch crowd did so, I had the place to myself...but not for long. You order your food and pay at the counter. They give you a number. You find a table and wait for your food. They have so many good options to choose from. I was so torn. I wanted sambal, nasi Goreng, mee goreng, roti, laksa...pretty much everything on the menu. But I had to calm myself down, clear my thoughts and focus on getting 2 entrees, kaya toast and teh. Sambal Fried Fish: Different chilies + deep-fried fish = amazing! Pass me the rice! 4/5 Singaporean Laksa: They have different varieties of laksa. I picked this since it has everything in it: tofu, fish, chicken, hard-boiled eggs, noodles in a coconut curry broth. 4.5/5 Kaya Toast: Basically, butter + sugar on toast. This reminds me of what my nanny would make for my afternoon snack when I was little. This is what made them famous (their tea and coffee are good too). 4/5 Teh: Hot or iced. White, black or green. With or without condensed milk. I got mine iced, black with condensed milk. 5/5 They have lots of dishes, drinks and desserts I remember having as a kid living in SouthEast Asia. Milo, longan, durian, lychee, mango sago, etc. I would have ordered more but I realized I had Canadian dollars left in my wallet instead of AUD. Mother of all failures!

Came here with partner and auntie. We ordered a signature vermi, chili crab and kung po chicken…read more The vermicelli was a single portion and spread pretty thinly for three people. The kung po chicken barely had any flavour (despite having dried chili) and was less than a portion. The chili crab2 (2) had a really nice sauce, though no taste of chili - but were $45 for the dish. This last was the best of the three. My partner mad to order more food, though, so went for a set meal for himself: Singapore laksa, grass jelly drink, and durian pancakes. The laksa was apparently good, but the durian filling of the pancakes appeared to be a flavoured cream filling.

Very genuine noodles and rice dishes. Love the kway teo and nasi lemak. Look out for cakes when…read morethey have them.

Char Kwee Tiaw after hours, no cooking needed…read more A long day, BoxFit session done around 8:30pm, now I'm hungry for some quick goodness to satisfy this craving. Woohooooo, Eureka this place is still open, we were the last customers. As we walked in two Ceiling fans were working hard, I don't think the AC was on, it was HOT, steamy, the room is filled with South East Asian aromas and it's not even a 40 degree Melbourne day, lots of goodness has been cooked and served before us, humidity, smells & sweats, reminiscence of a Hawker street somewhere in KL, Kuala Lumpur. I can feel my sweat from the BoxFit session has a new flavours now. From the Street level, this place is nothing fancy, the bright Green Jade colour is the only attractive feature about it, BUT what they are serving are incredible for what they are charging, they could and should charge more. Started with the CKT (Malaysian and Singaporean loves to abbreviate words) or Char Kwee Tiaw, Fried Rice Noodles, then Char Hor Fun, Combination Fried Rice Noodles with Egg Gravy sauce and lastly some Curry Puffs or Samosa (Indian) or Pastel (Indonesian). This pastry varied inside, but has common ingredients; Potatoes, Curry and Chilly. It was the right decision, not sure whether my muffin top would agree, worry about that later. In under than 5 minutes after we ordered, those goodness were flying onto our table .... so QUICK .... they served the best first ..... CKT - Char Kwee Tiaw, easy 8.5/10 ....VERY strong aroma of the Pork Crackling and Chinese Sausages, BIG Prawns just needs that burnt-wok taste, makes it a little drier .... That was a joy for around $12 Char Hor Fun 7/10, not quite there, rice noodles needs to be fried more but the Egg Gravy Sauce was tasty, it can be better and traces of the egg yolks still prominent, that tasty runny eggs .... about $12 Curry Puffs easily 8/10, fried to perfection, balanced ingredients and served hot, very important in my opinion, the aromatic flavours lingers as you bite into it, $5,50 for three. All these flavours plus Sambal & Chillies makes my palate sings. Life doesn't get much better than this after a long long day. Simplistic Joy and no drugs needed, just some CKT. A decade ago or so we might not be able to get these kind of offerings, so I must thank & commend the Chef and proprietor of the business for bringing that Hawkers' spirit and providing these goodness for us to enjoy.

Food was tasty, and the dining environment was great, better than most of the other Chinese…read morerestaurants in Melbourne where they squeeze the tables in and it is super noisy. Style is Cantonese Singaporean/Malaysian. Mud crabs are their speciality, and the chilli crab was superb. Pricing is not cheap - its about $140/kg here, and each crab is about 1.5kg, so make sure you do the maths before you commit!

Very busy and popular place. We used a Groupon voucher and got a good deal. I found the food was…read moretoo spicy. But my friend thought the food was excellent.

Whats not to love? You combine great, affordable food in Abbotsford and add in a few other factors…read morelike tastes good and clean! Btw, i may be biased because new yorkers dont get the insane amount of variety of south asian food as Australians do!

This is my favourite restaurant in Melbourne. Having eaten Char Kuay Teow all over melbourne, Kuala…read moreLumpur, Perth, and LA, I can safely and happily say that the seafood char Kuay Teow here is my favourite iteration of the dish. The spice is bonkers. The seafood is juicy and fresh and the noodles have the perfect amount of flavour. I want this place to open up more venues!