Many years ago, I took my folks, visiting Sydney, to Chinta Ria in Darling Harbour. Even though we’d eaten a LOT of Asian food, Malaysian food wasn’t really familiar to us. It’s been a pleasure living in Sydney getting to know it better.
I read a review that Chinta Ria was moving to Double Bay, with the name Chinta Kechil, serving ‘Modern Malaysian Street Food’. Sounds good to me.
I happened to be in the ‘hood (to go to Dan Murphy’s: did you know a bottle of Campari there is $35 instead of $40 at Vintage Cellars?) and stopped in for a quick casual lunch. I should have peaked in the back of the restaurant; the front really does feel like sitting outside a hawker stall in KL, and that’s not a bad thing.
So, I had a simple Nasi Lemak with chicken curry and it was pretty much perfect. Nasi Lemak confused me the first times I had it. It’s so simple. So, it’s about the perfect combination of fried and dried anchovies, peanuts, a half a boiled egg, cucumber, a traditional chili paste, and in this case, a melting off the bone chicken curry. Considered Malaysia’s national dish, it’s kind of hard to go wrong with it, I think, but when it’s great, like this one, the combination of crunch, spice, oil and starch, is pretty good. Fourteen bucks. There you have it.
CHINTA KECHIL: Open 7 days
Lunch 11:30 – 3 Dinner 5:30 – 10, Sunday Dinner 5:30 – 9
amazing modern Japanese food) and lately, we stopped by Subcontinental (amazing modern sub-continental 
food). This guy is like my culinary godfather, filling my life with foodie happiness.
for a dollar or two which I found puff up magically in the microwave (rather than just frying them). But these ones were thick tasty crackers, a completely different form, and served with a fresh tomato sauce: marvelous.
The Sri Lankan black curry with pork belly and pickled banana blossom was amazing; the fish of the day came in banana leaves that were charred, it really was a ‘street’ flavour matched with coconut, mustard seeds and curry leaves. The biryani was the nicest I’ve ever had.
We’d stopped by one morning in Rozelle to poke around the Essential Ingredient, the upmarket and rather amazing kitchen supply store. And we were hungry. The very amusing shopfront ‘Egg of the Universe’ beckoned our attention. It’s a yoga studio and a restaurant, with a lovely courtyard way out back.
I’ve always loved little Japanese bars and restaurants. I love, in my visits to Japan, that some specialise only in a few kinds of food, and that the experience is an integrated one: have a drink, and have a delicious bar snack to go with it.
So, I love that Tokyo Bird has opened up in my neighbourhood, in Belmore Lane, near Commonwealth Street. Their specialty is yakitori, the delicious BBQ skewers of chicken, meat or vegetables, and they actually serve more than that. They have an interesting list of cocktails and Japanese whiskeys though I find it impossible to go past sake when it’s on the menu.
It seems to all be run by a young group of stylish and hip young Asian-Australians, and I loved the vibe. Found the lotus root chips a touch too salty, the skewers of chicken thigh and pork belly delicious, and I tried this weekend, but failed, to recreate the delicious creamy sesame dressing on a deceptively simple cabbage salad. Oh, and the 
