We had salmon thawed and ready to bake but burger boy & I’s good mate regetable was talking about his dinner plans and his favouite dishes at Hawkers for at least a good half an hour…so by the end of that half hour, I was having major cravings for Malaysian food.
So off we went to Yip Kee in Maylands, a very casual Malaysian restaurant that I’ve visited a few times with my parents. From the front it looks dodgy as anything as there’s always broken glass in their car park and interesting characters walking by but the food is authentic and good value.
I was pretty excited when they said they still had their weekend specialty chai tau kueh (radish cake) available - so burger boy and I shared it before ordering our own mains.
The chai tau kueh was delicious even despite being served with beans sprouts which I had requested to be removed. It was super crispy and tasty enough not to have with any sauce. My mum actually makes really good chai tau kueh so I was hoping it was just as good, which it was
My mum’s chai tau kueh below - how does it compare?
I felt like subtle flavours tonight whilst burger boy always likes super tasty dishes so we opted to have our own meals tonight rather than sharing like we usually do.
For my main I had the hainanese chicken rice, the sauce was nice & sweet and the chicken rice was yummy. Again my mum makes hainanese chicken rice so I have high expectations for this dish - everything was good but I think mum’s chicken rice is slightly better - perhaps because more chicken is used in her stock.
burger boy had the rendang beef which was tasty and mostly tender, though there were some chewy bits - unfortunately the piece I chose happen to be one of them! It was exactly what he felt like too so we were both happy.
For $33.30 we both left very full and with our cravings satisfied - there was no room for dessert and that’s saying something! I’ve taken a take-away menu so I remember Yip Kee next time I have a sudden craving for Malaysian food.
Yip Kee is cash only though so be sure to bring cash if you’re heading there
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Yum!!! I have to say that fried radish cake is one of my favourite Malaysian dishes, I have only found one place in perth (spencer village) that sells it. Now that I know this place does i will have to check it out!
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I’m soo glad my mum makes radish cakes as they seem to be hard to come by and Spencer Village is too far to drive for me. My uncle makes them too but his shop is at Southlands Shopping Centre which is not far off Spencer’s! Cool
let me know how you go - Yip Kee only have them on weekends btw.
Yummy…
It sure was!
Yummy. So glad there’s somewhere NOR for Chai tau kueh. I love your mum’s because she is always generous with all the ingredients! Another good substitute I’ve found is Dragon Palace for Radish cake in XO sauce and bacon bits =P
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Bacon bits!! Alright I’m sold
so when are we doing this challenge lmb?
you can get carrot cake from satay mu in kardinya as well, on south st.
hope all is going well with crust, i met you with laura @ cantina a couple of months ago
I went to try this chicken rice after reading your blog and seeing the photo. I am not exaggerating when I say it was THE WORST HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE I ever had in my entire life. The chicken was overcooked and dry and not as depicted here. It was also tasteless and had a sweet sauce. The rice was a joke - tasteless, and no different than a bowl of plain steamed rice. The only thing ok about the meal was the chilli sauce. My husband had the hor fun and it was the same problem - it was basically tasteless. The egg sauce tasted like it had been cooked with water instead of stock. This place is like those coffee shops in very small towns in Malaysia where there’s no competition and the food is horrible because of the lack of competition. When is Perth going to get AUTHENTIC chicken rice just like how it’s made in KL and Singapore??? The so-called best that people talk about is Tak Chee - which is also one of the worst chicken rice I have had. For me, the best chicken rice in Perth is at Ten Ten and even then, and yet it’s still not great.
I had it with the sweet sauce too which I didn’t mind & my chicken wasn’t dry - I must admit I was in the mood for something very subtle, I don’t usually order the Hainanese chicken rice as my mum makes it but the fried radish cake was super tasty. I haven’t had the hor fun and normally that’s my default order so I’ll know not to order that next time! I haven’t been to Singapore since I was 12 but I do remember the food being really tasty and cheap - heaps of restaurants & bars have been opened in Perth recently so I’m sure it’s just a matter time when a Malaysian restaurant which satisfies your taste buds open here. I don’t venture south that much but will have to try Ten Ten next time I head that way. My mum likes the Malaysian stall at the Cambridge food hall and Spencers Village for Malaysian.
I just tried lunch at Hoi Bo on Grand Promenade (Bedford?). My oh my, it brought me back to Malaysia. The food is authentically Malaysian. The Hainanese Chicken Rice was very good. There was a choice of white (steamed) or dark (soy) chicken. I ordered the white one and the chicken was smooth and succulent with a perfectly balanced sauce which had a hint of garlic oil. The rice was aromatic, fluffy and tasty - a generous portion for one person that was actually enough for two people. The chilli sauce was exactly right - just perfect, in fact. This really was a chicken rice comparable to any good chicken rice in Malaysia. It was also served with a large bowl of complimentary harm choy (pickled vegetable) tomato soup which gave it a lovely home-cooked Malaysian-Chinese touch. These Malaysian hawker/coffee shop specials are unfortunately only available on weekends.
I will not be going back to Ten Ten now! This is not as far to travel to, has better service and a much, much better chicken rice than Ten Ten. My husband had the nasi lemak which had a beautiful acar and very nice curry chicken but he said the sambal wasn’t quite right but he would order the nasi lemak again.
I will have to try the Cambridge food hall. What does your mum like to order there? Ask your mum if she’s tried the Penang Food restaurant on William Street in Northbridge. Their crispy yew meen is spectacularly good, and their Nasi Lemak is pretty good too. The normal serve has 3 options: curry chicken, beef rendang or fried chicken. The breakfast meal-set nasi lemak comes without any chicken or beef but with a teh tarik. The KL Pork Noodle Soup and Fried Hokkien Mee is served with “Chee Yow Charr”!
Sorry, supposed to be Crispy YEE MEEN! By the way, Happy Chinese New Year!
Hope you’ve had a great start to the Chinese New Year Bella. It was our Crust’s grand opening so I was working that night but mum & dad brought us take-away from Wing Bo in Maylands but I did have Dim Sum with my bro at the new Dragon in the woodside building which was quick & easy.
Cool we’ll have to try Hoi Bo next time
and it’ll be likely to be a weekend so all good. Yep we used to goto Penang all the time before all the roadworks/upgrades - I used to always have the hor fun and the lychee drink. And at Cambridge Food Hall - the dim sum place makes awesome custard salty egg steamed buns and the Malayasian place my mum & bro always go to nasi lemak and the radish cake.