Living in Western Sydney, the considerable distance of Albee’s Kitchen in Campsie has always been a hindrance to how often D and I enjoy their generous portions of reasonably priced Malaysian dishes. So, when N told me about Albee’s Secret Recipe, a sister store that opened in Carlingford, we were stoked.
Albee’s Secret Recipe is aimed at a more upmarket crowd and that’s evident from both the furnishings and the slightly more expensive prices. Its reputation precedes it, so the waiting time for a table almost a month after it first opened in April remains about 15-20 minutes for a couple, and up to 40 minutes for groups of 4. Six weeks after opening, the waiting time for lunch has dwindled to around 10 minutes.
This is the Honey Jujube (cold, $5.50). It’s a refreshing drink to cut through the heaviness of the meal, but the jujube flesh is an unpleasant mushy texture.
On the left is the Kopi Tarik ($6.50), which has the prominent bitter and sweet flavours that seem characteristic of Malaysian coffees. On the right is the Ais Laichi ($5.50), which is a surprisingly enjoyable lychee soda with a generous number of (canned) lychees topped with crushed ice drizzled with creaming soda syrup.
This is the Roti Canai ($3.50). This arrives surprisingly fast and on tasting, It’s tasty, crispy and fluffy but much the same as the ones we reheat from frozen at home. When eating out, we prefer the ones made fresh to order at Mamak and Papparich.
This is the Char Ho Fun (house combination, $15.80), ‘flat rice noodles are firstly briefly charred in hot wok with soya sauce and set aside. Pork, king prawn, choy sum and broth is thickened with potato starch and egg then poured over the charred noodles’.
The flavour and ingredients are exactly as at Albee’s Kitchen, with great wok hei. The only downside is it’s a smaller portion size, which is the perfect size for a filling meal for me, but not quite enough to leave D as satisfied as at Albee’s Kitchen.
This is the Char Ho Fun (King prawns, $16.00), which doubles the usual number of prawns to eight. The portion sizes for this dish are inconsistent, varying from visit to visit as well as during the same visit when D and I ordered variations on the dish. That said, the prawns were plump and juicy and the flavour remains spot on every time.
We also try the Lo Mi ($15.00), ‘a bowl of thick noodles served with thickened soup made from egg, king prawn, pork slices, crispy pork lard and vegetables served with black vinegar’.
If we were disappointed by the size of the previous dish, this one blew our minds with its size at being easily twice the size of the char ho fun, while containing the same meat and vegetables. The dish has a prominent garlic flavour with the cubes of crispy pork lard adding pops of flavour (but not worth eating more than one or two, alas!). The dish is enjoyable, but it lacked the wok hei of the char ho fun that keeps us returning.
This is T’s Char Kuey Tiao ($15.80) with ‘flat noodle stir fried with thick soya sauce, Chinese sausage, king prawn, clam meat, chives, chillies and bean sprout’.
He enjoyed the healthy wok hei in the dish, although some of the prawns looked a tad under-cooked and its small size surprised us as we were expecting Albee’s usual generous servings.
This is N’s Hainanese Chicken with Dry Noodle ($17.00), which was a more manageable size than the more inexpensive ‘noodle soup’ version ($16.00) as it did not also come with the chicken soup containing the fried fish balls. The chicken was smooth and juicy.
These are the Satay Pork (6 skewers/$13.80), with marinated pork ‘skewered onto bamboo sticks and grilled on the fire served together with spicy sweet peanut sauce, cucumber and onion’.
D enjoyed the smoky flavour on the tender bite-size pieces of pork that were complemented well by the sauce, which was just a mild spiciness.
On a more quiet afternoon, I have the Spicy Pork Mince with Eggplant in Hot Pot ($19.80). The portion is generous and went well with steamed rice. Overall, I enjoyed the dish even though I’m not a big fan of the prominent flavour from the shredded ginger which was easy enough to avoid. The eggplant could have also used a little less cooking for a little more bite.
Albee’s Secret Recipe has worked it’s way up to being our favourite restaurants in the time since opening in early 2019. Indeed, we probably visit more often than we do all other restaurants combined. While D continues to go for his tried and true House Combination Char Ho Fun, I’ve been dabbling in the rest of the menu.
This is the Pineapple Fried Rice with Egg ($11.00, +$5.00 for BBQ pork). The portion size is massive and could easily feed two. We like to visit on an empty stomach, though, and this fried rice was surprisingly easy to eat despite the size. The acidity and freshness from the pineapple — which didn’t have the overly syrupy sweetness of the canned fruit — cut through the richer flavours of the soy sauce and pork.
This is the Hainanese Chicken Rice ($15.00), which comes with the steamed chicken, a bowl of rice, condiments, as well as a bowl of chicken soup with fish balls and bean sprouts. The serving size with the accompanying soup is as generous as we’d expect from Albee’s and it’s one of the most wholesome and comforting dishes to eat on their menu. The chicken is silky smooth and juicy, while the rice is well seasoned with the chicken broth base that gave it just enough flavour without overpowering notes of ginger as we’ve experienced at Temasek.
This is the Tom Yum Soup with Flat Rice Noodle ($11.00) and King Prawns ($6.00). D and I so enjoyed the Mama Shrimp Tom Yum instant noodles that we were keen to try the real deal. This lived up to all our expectations, which is either a testament to the team at Mama in capturing the flavour of tom yum or the chefs for being so inspired by the flavour of Mama. Either way, this one is fresh with prawns, tomato, soft tofu, mushroom, mustard greens and baby corn as well as the perfect punchy balance of sour, savoury and sweet with just enough heat.
This is the Sarawak Kuching Laksa ($16.00), described as ‘Albee’s home town laksa’ with a base of sambal belacan, peanut, spices, thick coconut milk broth topped with omlette strips, Hainese chicken, prawns, bean sprout, bbq pork, rice vermicelli and served with lemon and hot sambal’. This is a laksa that packs a lot of wholesome goodness into a fragrantly spiced soup base. D enjoys this dish and would order it again, but it doesn’t come near to taking the crown from his favourite cha hor fun.
In late 2021, the Kam Heong Pipi ($23.00), a long-time favourite of their Campsie restaurant appeared on the menu in Carlingford. It’s described as ‘a signature and fragrant Malaysian stir-fry style that incorporates bird’s eye chillies, curry leaves, dried shrimp, curry powder and soybean paste’. The serving is generous and the sauce is flavourful with depth and just enough heat from the chillis to give a lingering burn but not enough to be painful.
We’re glad to be able to satisfy our char ho fun cravings closer to home, despite the smaller portion sizes. That said, Albee’s Kitchen has always suffered from inconsistent portion sizes, and this branch seems to be no exception. Visiting after the lunch rush, at around 3 pm, is best if you value being able to eat in peace without the constant hustle and bustle of the lunch crowd and the raucous that comes with everyone talking at once.
Albee’s Secret Recipe is located at 841 Pennant Hills Rd, Carlingford NSW 2118.