Temasek71 George St
Parramatta, Sydney
Temasek is something of an institution among Malaysian restaurants in Sydney - and actually a legend outside the Sydney CBD in its home of Parramatta.
It's popular - a phrase that truly reflects this place. It's busy at lunch times and in the evening - even though they do little to promote themselves or advertise. They don't even have a web site! People come for the food!
We'd eaten here before and thoroughly enjoyed the food, so decided it was time for a revisit. Fortunately we managed to get a booking for three, as we were being joined by the Baroness on this occasion.
Our starters were fairly simple. We had their tasty and crisp beef curry puffs (they are also available in vegetarian) and an old favourite, the satay chicken skewers (that come in a serving of six which is ideal for sharing). The satay sauce is in a side bowl so you can add as much or as little as you want. Mlady, as usual, kept the remainder of this lovely sauce for later on.
Next was the kecap manis sotong (or fried calamari in sweet soy sauce). This was probably the dish of the night - even though it was so simple. We all loved it and almost fought over the last few pieces, even though it was a good sized serving. A lovely side of roti, a must here, went nicely and was also used to mop up some of the gravy that came with the curries that arrived later on.
Our final main courses were of course curries, as probably expected. Malaysian curry is just so good, and they certainly do it well here. We love beef rendang so it was a given, and the Baroness chose curry chicken with potatoes. Both dishes turned out to be great with rich gravies packed with flavour revealing tender meat swimming underneath. The chicken curry had quite a bite to it as well compared to the milder rendang.
While Mlady had had her fill, the Baroness and Sir managed to find a little bit of space to fit in dessert.
Two servings of sago pudding - tapioca pudding with palm sugar and coconut milk, served in a glass bowl - sounded perfect!
It turned out to be just that. This was great sago pudding - and even Mlady was a bit jealous that she hadn't ordered some!
If you like Malaysian food and your in or near Parramatta, head here for some great flavours and plenty of choices. It's a visit worth making!
Sir and Mlady's visit to Temasek was supported by the Malaysian Kitchen Programme.