Since our initial visits to the old location of Albee’s Kitchen in Campsie, N had regaled me with enough stories of her adventures with T at their new location (50 m down the road) to have me second guess whether I’d visited the new location (I hadn’t). So, with D wanting to celebrate receiving his fellowship with some char hor fun on a weekend, we decided we visit Albee’s Kitchen over a more accessible Papparich.
The new location offers the same affordable prices, generous portion sizes and tasty food for which they’re known, with the added perks of being cleaner, more spacious, with no walking through the kitchen to additional seating area (there’s a second storey) and bound menus.
We start with drinks. D goes for their Iced Lychee (left, $4.50) with canned whole lychees and lychee syrup over crushed ice. He enjoys the prominent lychee flavour from the syrup, while I try the Ice Cincau Herbal Tea (right, $5.00). The drink is unsweetened with cubed chunks of canned grass jelly in a liquid that tastes like (palatable but not tasty) Chinese herbal medicine.
Not entirely satisfied with the herbal quality of the Ice Cincau Herbal Tea, I try the Honey Cincau ($4.50). The drink comes out unmixed and warm, so some waiting and mixing are required for the ice to cool it down. Once cool, though, the honey adds a pleasant sweetness without the unsweetened herbal flavour of the earlier drink.
N goes for her usual Teh Tarik (left, $5.00) with its prominent tea flavour and sweetness from condensed milk, while T gets the Kopi Tarik (right, $4.50) with its intense coffee notes and a thick mouthfeel and sweetness from condensed milk. I’d prefer both a bit less sweet, but then N tells me that there’s no consistency in flavour.
This is D’s much coveted Char Ho Fun (original combination, $12.00) made by ‘charring flat rice noodles in a hot wok with dark soya sauce’, then ‘stirfrying pork, prawn and choy sum’, then ‘adding broth thickened with cornstarch, then ‘streaking lightly beaten eggs into the gravy’ that’s then ‘poured over the charred noodles.
It comes in a deep dish rather than the more shallow plate we were expecting. The flavour itself, though, is just as good as we remember, with excellent wok hei in the noodles that slides down your throat with the egg gravy, making it the perfect comfort meal. We do miss the pickles that come with the dish at Papparich, though.
Having enjoyed instant mi goreng so much, I’m curious to try the House Combination Mee Goreng Mamak ($12.00), or ‘fried yellow noodle with special chilli shrimp paste, tofu, egg, tomato sauce, chicken cube, seafood, bean sprout and onion.
This dish is rather ordinary compared to the char ho fun. While the flavour of shrimp paste and tomato sauce bring enjoyable savoury notes, it’s rather oily and heavy and just not as light and satisfying to eat as the char ho fun.
Pipis are by far D and my favourite type of seafood. These here are Pipis with House Spicy Sauce ($18.80). We’re impressed by the portion size as we’ve received half the size paying more at other restaurants before. These have a healthy heat, with no grittiness, good flavour and all but two opened up. We’d eat these again in a heartbeat!
N orders the Char Siew Wanton (Kola Mee KL Style) ($13.00), described amusingly as ‘slices of char siu added to the dish, as well as the possibility of the soup and wontons in a separate bowl, the noodles being served relatively dry and dressed with soya sauce’. N enjoys the noodles, though the char siu is collateral to the…
…wonton soup that she only has a ‘possibility’ of receiving. T ninjas a few of her wontons into his own meal, so they must be good.
And this is T’s Hainanese Chicken Laksa ($12.50). It’s a homemade laksa mild curry soup made with coconut milk and served with dried tofu, bean sprout and Hainanese chicken.
On another visit, I’m curious to try Albee’s version of Spicy Pork Mince with Eggplant in Hot Pot ($17.80). This one’s not quite as moreish as the one from Emperor Garden BBQ & Noodles in Haymarket. While the eggplant is tender and flavourful, there’s a thick layer of oil skimming the top that traps the pork mince underneath, making it rather unappetizing to finish.
To go with the eggplant, we have the Nasi Goreng (house combination, $12.00), a Malaysian style fried rice, flavoured with shrimp paste, chilli, onion, egg, seafood and chicken. On its own, this fried rice has good flavour and an enjoyable variety of protein. Together with the eggplant, though, its savoury flavour amplifies the saltiness of the eggplant dish. Steamed white rice is the better option if pairing it with another dish.
On the wall behind the register is an interesting poster with illustrations of all kinds of Malaysian sweets.
I would love one for myself!
Albee’s Kitchen is located at 279 Beamish St, Campsie NSW 2194.