PappaRich1/63A Archer St
Chatswood, Sydney
PappaRich are a hugely successful group of Malaysian restaurants that have over 70 outlets in Malaysia and now have several across Melbourne. They have now moved into Sydney - starting with suburban Chatswood on the North Shore.
Judging by the 70 metre queue outside when we arrived and a full house inside they must be doing something right! For the record the queue moved quite quickly as people came inside, ate the tasty food on offer and left looking very satisfied.
Every meal here is appetisingly presented and even though it's freshly made it arrives very quickly after you order.
Who doesn't like roti? It's certainly a favourite of ours and we have our favourites. This one was up there with the best of them.
The roti canai was described in the menu as a fluffy and slightly crispy hand tossed bread. Some versions in other places come already ripped up but this was the whole disc.
It was freshly made just before it arrived on our table and at only $5.90 it was good value as well.
Because there was a variety of roti's on offer we decided to order a variation.The roti telur bawang caught our eye as it had one of the more interesting fillings.
It was listed as roti canai with a lovely combination of both egg and onions throughout the bread.
This again was freshly made and tasted great with plenty of filling for only a dollar extra at $6.90.
We love satay skewers and here you can get six or twelve chicken or beef skewers - or half and half - which is a very nice touch to add to the variety of your meal. We chose six satay chicken skewers that were simply described as six sticks of grilled satay chicken. They came served with Spanish onion, cucumber and a rich satay sauce that you added yourself to suit your own taste. At $12.90 for six it was again good value for very tender chicken and a great peanut satay sauce.
We were in a real entree type of mood while here - and to be honest there are plenty of options if this mood happens to hit you!The vegetarian shui kau (dumpling) looked great in the menu - so we grabbed some.
They arrived in a serving of three and were fresh and steaming hot with a lovely light noodle casing wrapped around a tasty vegetable filling.
The sweet chilli dipping sauce also complemented the dumplings nicely.
At only $4.90 for a serving of three it's certainly not going to break the bank!
We both like Char Koay Teow and it was always going to be one of our dishes.
It's such a good benchmark for any Malaysian restaurant.
The Pappa Char Koay Teow was described in the menu as wok fried flat noodles with prawns, egg and bean sprouts.
While they also say that the dish is mildly spicy it really is very mild and won't offend those that don't like any heat.
At only $12.50 this is a full meal on a plate and great value for what is a lovely dish.
I think Mlady could have survived on mostly mixed or vegetarian dishes but I fancied some more meat.
The pictures in the menu give you a very good idea of what to expect so the dry curry egg noodles with Curry Chicken jumped out at me.
Mlady liked the sound of the rich curry gravy while it was the hefty pieces of chicken that caught my eye.
It was described as egg noodles doused in rich curry gravy and served with curry chicken.
This hearty serving was again very reasonably priced at only $12.50.
Mlady loves apple juice so the fresh apple juice was her first and only choice! The serving was huge - it came in a very large glass and it was certainly very fresh. It cost $4.90.
I love mango so the mango mania grabbed my attention. It was so much more than a drink. It was a drink and a serving of fruit salad all in one!
There was so much fruit in this that you could almost order it as a refreshing dessert if you wanted to. And it was only $6.50.
Mlady spied the egg sago pudding which looked a bit like a creme caramel. It arrived served in an elegant tall dish and she said it was a wonderfully light and refreshing way to finish off a meal. Again it was so reasonably priced at only $5.90. The Tau Foo Fa King was recommended by one of the managers here - Muru - as it's one of their best sellers. It's easy to see why too. It was delicious. It was described as soft and silky and it was all this and more. We had it with palm sugar syrup and this gave it a lovely sweet kick.
My dessert of choice was the spectacular Pappa canai with ice cream, chocolate and banana. This was fantastic and just what I had hoped it would be like.
A freshly made roti canai arrived topped with fresh banana, vanilla ice cream and chocolate topping.
It was great and only cost $8.90.
PappaRich is a very popular place for good reason. The food comes fast and fresh and tastes great. Serving quantities are generous and service is friendly and efficient. You choose what you want from the menu and mark your order on an order slip from the pad on your table. You then press the buzzer and they take the slip away and soon afterwards your food arrives. It's that easy. The decor is pleasant with plenty of dark timber and an indoor/outdoor feel. Cutlery and condiments are on the table. Chairs are comfortable and tables are well spaced out. There are quite a few bright spacious rooms here - they hold about 170 people when full - but its nicely set out. An open kitchen provides a view to where tantalising creations are being made.
Sir and Mlady dined as guests of PappaRich. Special thanks to Wui Keat Chen for arranging our visit and many thanks also to Managers Yeoh and Muru and to Nimit for looking after us on the night.
