“Let’s go for an adventure!” I say to Mr NQN one afternoon. We are well blessed with an unusually sunny day after what seems like weeks of rain shining down on us. And as my parent have loaned us their car while they were away we feel like we should go for a drive to seek out newer pastures to eat. A reader has told me of Albee’s Kitchen, a small eatery in Campsie which is said to serve food whilst being a little challenged in the glamour stakes.
“Why are we eating dinner so early? You sound like your dad” Mr NQN says to me as we make our way over there at about 3:30pm. “We’ll end up eating at 4pm” he points out quite rightly. My excuse is that I’ve skipped lunch in order to eat here and I’m very hungry indeed. Or perhaps that’s what driving their car has done to me. Gulp, perhaps he is right…
“What a hoon!” I say as a grey headed 60 year old gentleman in a souped up car does burnouts down Claremont Street and screeches past us followed by his mate of the same age. Yes it seems like I am my father.
“Is that Marmite chicken?” I can see going through one of the three menus. I had seen Marmite crab at another restaurant months before and was dissuaded from ordering it by my dining companions so I always vowed to try Marmite something. There’s a worn plastic covered colourful booklet with pictures plus a single laminated sheet with food specials and what it seems to be set meals i.e. the mains served with rice and there a laminated page of drinks on offer too. That’s not even counting the items stuck to the wall. On the right hand wall are names of a number of dishes and on the left are framed pictures of dishes.
I know choosing a dish based on an odd name isn’t the wisest choice but we choose a couple of dishes based on this including the aforementioned Marmite chicken, butter cereal king prawns as well as favourite such as char kway teow and a seafood and pork hand roll that the waitress recommended. For the last item we went for the set meal version which at $10 has one roll but also a bowl of chicken rice. I wash my hands in the bathroom which is through the kitchen and listen as the woks are going full steam ahead with the steady clunk clunk clunk of the metal wok scoop against the wok bowl . As I return to the table our first dish is ready.
Cendol $4
The straws given are fat bubble tea ones but the crushed ice is quite coarse so as a result you suck up a lot of ice. Most of this drink is ice with some coconut milk, palm sugar syrup and green tapioca noodles. What ends up happening is that because there is a lot of ice the green noodles get trapped between the ice. What is liquid though is good although there isn’t a great deal of it.
Rambutan and pineapple ice drink $3.50
This drink is not particularly sweet or full bodied, particularly if you’re trying it after the rich and sweet cendol. The rambutan comes from a tin and the pineapple juice can only be ever so slightly tasted (whereas pineapple is usually such a strong flavour) and there are small chunks of pineapple at the bottom. The overwhelming flavour is of the rambutan syrup from the tin.
Marmite Chicken $13.80
“This is like crack” I say taking the chopsticks and helping myself to some of the Marmite chicken. Not that I’ve ever had crack mind you! The dark meat fillet pieces are both tendril-y pieces interspersed with juicy pieces of deep fried chicken tossed in a sweet, sticky sauce. It’s similar to Imperial beef or Peking spare ribs with the juicy meat and crunchy exterior and sweet sauce.
Char Kway Teow $9.50
The smokey noodle dish comes next and I’m glad to see that it comes replete with small prawns and lup cheong (Chinese sausage) as well as rolled fried egg, bean sprouts, shallots and thick rice noodles. It has a nice char from the wok and is a tasty version of the dish.
Butter Cereal King Prawns $18.80
“What is that smell? It’s like sweetened condensed milk or vanilla” I say to Mr NQN. The aroma of this when they set it down in unusual-distinctly milky perhaps from the crushed up sweet vanillaey Nestum wheat cereal with unshelled king prawns (a dozen in total, I have to count these things, you can call me Rain Man 
). The prawns are juicy and meaty and well cooked but I do prefer shelled prawns and the cereal is very aromatic with vanilla. Neither of us are really going for the dish with only two out of the dozen prawns sampled.
Seafood and pork hand roll with chicken rice $10
The set meal comes out last and the seafood and pork hand roll is a batter coated mince made up of seafood paste and pork mince with nubbly, slightly coarse chunks among the smooth spongey centre. It is also quite moreish indeed and disappears quickly even though we were quite full of the other items. The chicken rice is also excellent, rich with chicken broth and gingery with a nice dry texture and incidentally very good with the Marmite chicken too.
Tek Tarik$3.50
Mr NQN tires of struggling with the icey cendol so he orders a teh tarik ordered hot as he had enough of the ice. The teh tarik is quite weak and not the best we’ve had.
Black sesame dessert $5
The dessert cabinet in the front has a range of kueh or Malaysian cakes. Today there are two: an kueh ango koo which are tortoise shaped rice cakes filled with sweet mung bean and there are also diamond shaped jellies made with black sesame and coconut which remind me of my mum’s almond jelly (sadly I never liked that) so the supply goes to Mr NQN. I should have probably picked the ang koo which I love, not just because they are tortoise shaped but because they are filled with sweet mung beans on the inside.
We ended up with enough food for four and takeaway boxes are furnished (30c each) and there are plenty of leftover. On fact the leftovers will feed Mr NQN the next evening when I am out and it’s long awaited thrill to add another restaurant to the $20 and under category.
So tell me Dear Reader, can the name of a dish persuade or dissuade you from ordering it?
Albee’s Kitchen Malaysian Delights
282 Beamish Street, Campsie, NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 9718 8302
Cash Only
If you enjoyed this post, why not share it with your friends?
What is NQN up to now? 
NQN on Facebook
RSS
51 Comments | Add your own
I don’t remember whether I have ever been dissuaded from ordering a dish based on the name. However, I do get sushi from a place in Brisbane that has been named amongst my friends as The Crack Sushi Place. The sushi is so superior to any other sushi takeaway I have ever had. At first when my friends told me about it, I took it with a grain of salt as I knew there was always a line going out of the shop and down the street just to get in and order and I thought nothing could persuade me to line up in the street for very long. One quiet Sunday morning when there was nobody lining up I went in and order some and then I realised the error of my thinking. I am now perfectly prepared to line up for the Crack Sushi. (Outside of Queens Plaza on Adelaide St, CBD – for those in the area)
Yep. We love this place. They do a fried beehoon and stinky beans which is a ripper, as is the laksa and chicken curry! Darn, now I want to go there for lunch..
For me, it’s not so much the name of the dish, but the name of a wine. If a wine has a dog on the label, or a horse or has a really cute name, I buy it!
sucker….
Sometimes I try to be brave and order something either from a photo or because the name sounds different – but I have been burned a couple of times – so more often than not I take the safer option.
The marmite chicken sounds intriguing. Love the mismatched dishes.
I am really intrigued by the marmite chicken!!!
I am so glad that you got to try your Marmite dish and loved it – ha to your friends who dissauded you. I like that they let you do takeaway of leftovers – so many places don’t – I know why but it is like people suing lifesavers in my opinion. I will often choose a dish based on its name – I adore restaurants that choose crazy names for their dishes like “Is the Pope Catholic?”.
The name of dish can certainly persuade me to order it! The marmite chicken and that hand roll looks delicious – shame about the teh tarik though.
The first time I tried Marmite chicken was in Hawker’s cuisine in Northbridge, Perth. It sounded like a strange dish coz I was thinking vegemite chicken but it turned out to be so tasty! At least I know where to get it in Sydney now. Thanks NQN!
The seafood/pork roll looks great, as too the sesame dessert.
The prawns sound like lots of work
and possibly a strange flavour…? Looks good though
It can definitely persuade or dissuade me, but is it at Campsie or Caringbar as firstly you say Caringbah but then the address is Campsie which is closer to me.
I’m afraid bubble tea really doesn’t do it for me – but cereal coated seafood does. I first tried it in Singapore – where they do food so very well.
Hi Tina, it’s Campsie
I think I might try to make or hunt down a Melbourne Marmite Chicken. I never crave chocolate or lollies but I do get the undeniable urge to eat spoonful’s of vegemite.
mmmh, maybe I should make Vegemite Tofu
~~The “Marmite Chicken” looks soooooooo fabulous. This is what I’d order.
Yes, the name of the dish matters: For example, I do not like “green eggs and ham” & i’d never order “head cheese,” Or “Octopuss in its own ink!” NO NO NO. xxXX
I used to stop in campsie to buy the 70c pork buns!!!
Well, the jury is out on that one as far as I’m concerned – I do not mind simple, ‘homey’ places, but somehow the ‘comfort factor’ seems a little low for my liking – don’t know how long I’d like to sit there enjoying! Pics beautifully taken, but . . . Oh, yes, I have ordered dishes with unusual names, but some restaurants CAN be ‘too clever’ and that puts me off.
Oh, Lorraine, Mr NQN is quite clear as to wishes and desires, isn’t he?
Not so much the name but the ingredients or combination of ingredients that will dissuade me from ordering a dish.
i live around the corner from this place! and marmite chicken is awesome! must try the stinky beans next time tho!
The marmite chicken looks very good. I dont take marmite but who knows one day I might very well try it. What a lovely find of an eatery. EVeryhting looks authentic!
Hi Lorraine, we love this place, because they do the best chicken rice, my son’s favorite. They also make yummy laksa
We had marmite prawns at a wedding in Malaysia and wondered about the origin of the dish – must be some British taste hangover. Need to compare the chicken!
Oooh black sesame dessert! The Marmite Chicken & Char Kway Teow looks great.
Dessert names can always persuade me (not that I need persuading
)
I find these days Im a lot more experimental with food so if something ounds odd, I WANT to eat it lol.
The marmite chicken looks amazing! Stud would love it – especially being from Scotland haha. We always have a jar in the cupboard that he makes his mum send over lol
I think a lot of times it all depends on how the dish sounds as to whether you will order it, unless you know exactly what it is.
Setting aside my diehard Vegemite affiliations, the Marmite Chicken does sound wonderful! And I wish I could’ve shared the black sesame dessert with Mr NQN…
Is Marmite a regular seasoning in Chinese dishes there? I only ask because on my one trip to Australia last year, I did indeed try Vegemite, which my hosts said tastes similar to Marmite. Anyhow, the first thing I thought of when I tasted Vegemite was that it reminded me of one of those fermented Asian sauces. So, I could totally see how these condiments would be great in Asian dishes. Yum!
If a dish has an interesting name I just haaaave to try it. I always hope wierd things will turn out to be wonderful too!
The answer to your question would be it can do both. A really strange name can entice me or put me off. I don’t know what it depends on though!
I’m glad you stuck to your guns and tried the chicken Lorraine. Would love to give it a go now!
Names can certainly put me off, so can anything with the words – goats’s cheese and tripe.
Wow, that is really cheap considering the amount of drinks you ordered and dessert. It is great to discover places like that in one’s neighborhood, too bad it was so far…
In Vietnam we almost ordered turtle (no English on the menu). A name wouldn’t put me off other than if it mentions something I know I don’t want to eat.
The hand roll looks tasty, i’ve never come across them before.
I love almond jelly! Gosh, I used to hate it but after submerging myself in Hong Kong almond cookies, almond desserts, almond soy drink, I became a convert.
Mmmm that marmite chicken looks good!
Depends on the name I think! Right now I’ll eat anything, I’m starving.
x
I just love this smokey noodle. Looks delicious!
I had Thai food for the first time the other night! You’d be proud!
Woh, everything here reminds me of home! Lucky you! Ordering largely depends on my mood and not the name for me
LOL, Rain Man
The only time I’ll pass on a name is if it includes the word ‘chilli’. The food looks delicious, but I’m sorry to hear the drinks sucked!
If the name included something I dislike absolutely, I wouldn’t order it.
My father loved eating early…I guess most older people do. It makes for a long evening though. I’d get hungry long about 8. Of course, then I’d have all those leftovers! Looks yummy, Lorraine!
Marmite – and yes, even Vegemite – is fine with me on toast and even on potato crisps. But chicken?!? Sounds mighty interesting!
Oh yes, I love ordering the weirdest thing on the menu just to see why it was on the menu in the first place! Marmite chicken isn’t any stranger than coco cola beef shin or beer can chicken, just really, really innovative!
I’ve never had marmite, but the chicken dish does sound fantastic. Names of dishes definitely draw me in. I recently shared a dessert of drunkin’ doughnuts, and the flavor was as good as the name!
When I went to Thailand for the first time, many years ago when it wasn’t quite as touristy in the beachy/island areas, I delighted in the Engrish names for some meals. Chilli crap and poo soup were just some of the funny meals I ordered (and they were delicious).
The name of a dish usually gets my attention and if the ingredients are listed and I like them. I will order it.
wow Marmite chicken?!??! that sounds craaazy. I’ve heard of vegetarian gluten steaks that are made with vegemite though, so maybe it’s not that crazy…
haha i think the words ‘fish head curry’ on the last pic are enough to put me off.. lol
i fondly remember visiting this place and hope to return one day again
Butter cereal king prawns look wonderful.
This is one of my fav place when I am craving for Chow Guay Twey…. surprise more and more ppl know abt this place and need to line up
Post a Comment