Address: 207 Symonds St
Phone: (09) 302 3038
Cuisine: Malaysian
Rating: 6/10
My 2011 is shaping up to have a distinctly Malaysian flavour to it and I'm not complaining one bit. First up, I receive the news that we've confirmed Malaysia as one of our must-have destinations for the next series of World Kitchen Next I'm told that New Zealand has joined London, New York City and Canada in becoming part of the Malaysia Kitchen Programme for the World (MKP).
The programme works with Malaysian restaurants operating outside of Malaysia to celebrate and promote the culinary richness and diversity of Malaysian cuisine by encouraging punters to dine at their local Malaysian restaurants, whichever country they live in.
The third communication came by way of a whisper from a foodie friend that the people behind Sri Mahkota were adding a third restaurant to their repertoire, this time in Symonds St.
Last year I reviewed the Epsom Sri Mahkota, on Great South Rd, and was mightily impressed, so taking with me said foodie friend, who'd spent years as a teacher in Singapore and who, every chance he got, would jump in his old Mercedes and high-tail it across the border to Johor Bahru to eat himself senseless, we made a beeline for this newly opened venture.
Located in the old Gina's site, the interior of Symonds St Sri Mahkota is similar in design to the Great South Rd branch, with stark white walls, modern-coloured strip lighting and some funky red booth seating.
My dinner pal started smiling early on in the piece. On the drinks list were two of his favourite tipples from his time in Southeast Asia; China's number one favourite beer, Tsingtao - a beer so light and crisp it's easy to slug back a few, not noticing until it's too late that they're 4.6 per cent alcohol - and 100PLUS, the leading isotonic drink in Singapore and Malaysia. Like a slightly fizzy Powerade, it's gorgeously different from other soft drinks. Give it a try - we even purchased a few cans as take outs.
To the food. The menu looked to be more limited than at the other two outlets but that could have been my imagination. It was easy to navigate, being sectioned according to the main ingredients - pork, seafood, chicken, vegetable dishes, etc. Large photographs represented each dish and a coding system assisted with ordering. Unfortunately, while all of this may make it efficient, it does have the effect of taking away some of that hopeful anticipation, which I relish, between ordering and then feasting your eyes for the first time on each plateful of food as it is laid before you. It all felt a little bit like "Malaysian dining by numbers".
Our first dish was a huge pile of prawns showered in a crumb of oat, egg and fried coconut milk. "Ooh, it tingles on the tongue" was the first bit of feedback from across the table. "Let me try," I said, grabbing the spoon to scoop up some of the crumbs. Sure enough, the sensation was delightful - sweet as candy almost, light as dust and slightly spritzer-like. The prawns were massive, served whole with shells and heads intact, succulent and cooked to perfection. We broke the rules and ordered a cute little citrusy chilli dipping sauce (usually served with Hainanese steamed chicken) to give them a refreshing, spicy nudge.
After a break - to sip more beer, down more 100PLUS and swap food and travel titbits - we proceeded to order three more main dishes. A salad of crisp and silky squares of fried tofu, julienned cucumber, red onion and chilli sauce set us on our way. It's a favourite of mine but this one was only mediocre I'm afraid. I missed the crushed dry-roasted peanuts that are traditionally sprinkled over this dish. The sesame seeds didn't have the same effect, taste or texture-wise.
Our next dish - nyonya beef - shone though. With its tangy chilli paste, tender morsels of beef, pineapple (yes, indeed) and tomatoes, this dish had a slow kick that kept us coming back for more until only the chunks of barely cooked onion were left on the plate. Our last dish, the Malaysian sour chicken, had great flavour balance and I was happy that, at last, the heat had been turned up in the chilli department. The roti weren't a patch on what I've sampled elsewhere in Auckland - they were on the dry side and lacked the flaky layers that I look for.
By now the Auckland rain was monsooning down outside and it was muggy and hot inside so the atmosphere felt authentic enough but the food didn't entirely have the wow factor this time.
From the menu: Prawns with oat crumb, Malaysian fried tofu $17, nyonya beef $18, Malaysian sour chicken $17, roti
Drinks: Fully licensed
