Neptune PalaceGateway Building - Level 1
Cnr Pitt and Alfred Sts (entrance off Pitt St)
Circular Quay, Sydney
Neptune Palace has been around for quite a while, serving a very diverse and extensive combination of Malaysian and Chinese Halal cuisine.
The actual restaurant is a little hidden away and hard to find - in fact a lot hidden and very hard to find - but it's worth looking for. It starts on Level 1 of the Gateway Building and you get there up an escalator from a doorway off Pitt Street. Neptune Palace spreads over two levels - the smaller entrance level and the more expansive upper floor where we ended up.
The decor is pleasant - kind of retro in some ways - but very familiar.
But hey, lets face it, we weren't there to admire the fittings, we were there to try their Malaysian food.
We liked the fact that the menu clearly and separately listed the Malaysian dishes - it made it all so much easier. It was also a decent sized list of Malaysian dishes too - not just one or two choices.
The Murtabuk (also listed phonetically as Rusty Motorbike) caught our eyes straight away. The idea of marinated beef mince enveloped in Malay bread - like a toasted sandwich - tweaked our interest and appetite. It turned out to be all this and more! Mmmm - Malaysian toastie!
This was closely followed by a serving of Encik Kabin - two deliciously crisp and lightly spicy deep fried chicken drumlets. If you don't want anything overpowering then this is a dish for you, but if you like your spice levels through the roof there's plenty of other dishes.
We order roti pretty much everywhere we go - well at least at every Malaysian restaurant we go to.
The Roti Channai at Neptune Palace was one of the better ones too. The home made Malaysian bread was light and flaky and tasted great.
They even help the uninitiated on the menu by highly recommending it to go with curry dishes - but we also like it on its own or with the curry dipping sauce it gets served with.
The Roti Channai at Neptune Palace was one of the better ones too. The home made Malaysian bread was light and flaky and tasted great.
They even help the uninitiated on the menu by highly recommending it to go with curry dishes - but we also like it on its own or with the curry dipping sauce it gets served with.
We decided to head back to another old favourite - Daging Rendang - or as it is more commonly listed as - Beef Rendang.
The tender chunks of diced and stewed chuck beef dissolved when we ate it. The rich gravy that it was in, made with herbs, chilli and coconut cream, was delicious.
The next dish was possibly the dish of the night for us. It was fried butter milk soft shell crab (Mentega).
The tasty crab pieces were lightly coated in a nice batter and crisped to perfection.
Presentation was lovely as well - with big chunks of crisp crab dotted with fresh chilli and spring onion pieces and garnished with flowers. It was a great dish!
Neptune Palace has a long menu, very long in fact with a diverse mix of both Malaysian and Chinese culinary choices for the diner. You can basically dine on either cuisine or a mix of both.
We were concentrating on Malaysian cuisine again and found the quality to be very high.
Service was exceptional too - we had our orders taken promptly, assistance provided explaining various menu items, water topped up regularly, and always with a smile.
We couldn't fault the service or the food.
We were concentrating on Malaysian cuisine again and found the quality to be very high.
Service was exceptional too - we had our orders taken promptly, assistance provided explaining various menu items, water topped up regularly, and always with a smile.
We couldn't fault the service or the food.
Sir and Mlady's visit was supported by the Malaysian Kitchen Programme.
