Malaysian food has been one of our go-to cuisines recently that got off to a slow start five years ago with Mamak and culminated with Albee’s Kitchen. Hearing good reviews for Ho Jiak newly opened in Haymarket we head to the original store in Strathfield for a catch up with DT closer to home.
Drinks are found in a bar fridge underneath the counter where dishes are ordered and paid. They’re made the previous night and sealed in disposable cups.
To start, this is the Air Mata Kuching ($3.00), a ‘dried longan and wintermelon drink’. The smokiness of the dried longan and nuttiness of wintermelon are prominent in this sweet beverage, while the generous number of longan is crisp and sweet. I’m positive they’re canned longans, but they’re tasty all the same.
This is the Combination Hor Fun ($13.80), a ‘flat rice noodles with seafood, chicken and vegetable served with egg gravy’. We’re great fans of the version at Albee’s Kitchen, and this one just didn’t compare. The serving size is significantly smaller and lacked the prominent wok hei that makes the dish so satisfying.
This is the Bah Kut Teh ($16.80), a ‘garlic infused rice served with pork ribs, pork belly and Chinese doughnut, cooked in Chinese herbs’. D finds the dish tasty overall: the pork was tender and the Chinese doughnut was crispy without being oily. He does prefer the sauce to have a more fragrant aroma.
For DT is the Nasi Pattaya ($13.80), fried rice wrapped in an omelette and drizzled with a spicy sauce. It looked much like a Malaysian-style omurice.
And because a meal is never complete without dessert, this is Roti Kaya ($8.80), a ‘Malaysian style flatbread with kaya paste’. I’m not a fan of this as the roti was dense and doughy while the kaya paste tastes sweet without much of a hint of coconut or pandan.
While Ho Jiak is closer to the home, we prefer making the trek to Campsie for Albee’s Kitchen for Malaysian.
Ho Jiak is located at Shop 33/11 The Boulevarde, Strathfield NSW 2135.