This restaurant has a bit of an identity crisis kind of like an interracial baby. It serves both Asian and Western food, but I must say it does a pretty good job on both fronts.
It's situated at the bottom of the Seasons hotel on St Kilda Rd which may explain why it does both menus - it's a Malaysian restaurant but perhaps the predominantly gweilo hotel guests might find the food a bit spicy.
I've been here a couple of times and tried both the Asian and Western dishes, and I've enjoyed both times. The first time I had the seafood linguini which I always get if I see it on a menu anywhere, because it seems to be a dish that's impossible to stuff up. The second time I had the nasi goreng which unfortunately was a tad spicy for my liking but I also had the twice cooked mandarin stewed duck which had an amazing flavour.
Robert, the Malaysian owner, is a funny bloke who knows his wines and engages in friendly banter with the guests. I asked him how do you make the twice cooked duck and he reveals his secret: "Well, you know, the first thing is that you have to cook the duck, (pauses thoughtfully) and then you cook it again, and so you have twice cooked duck lah." Funny guy.
He then told me sorry he was just joking and then SMSed me a list of all the ingredients inside the dish sans any instructions: oyster sauce, soya sauce, dark soya sauce, cinnamon sticks, szechuan pepper, star aniseed, angel root, sugar, bay leaf, ginger, tea leaf, mandarin skin, garlic, onion, yoke chook, duck bones, & kumquats. Thanks, genius.
This place is tastefully decorated with large prints of Asian women from the 1950s lining the walls which provides a nice little charm and has a great ambiance. Staff provide excellent service and there's a great selection of beer and wine. read more
