Friday, February 10, 2012

Ria Authentic Malaysian - Leederville

Malaysian,
Not something I have very often. In fact, I have never really had Malay food much before. Apart from the odd Kway Teow at a food court or Nasi Goreng – I didn’t really explore this cuisine much. I don’t know why – I tend to love most other Asian influenced dishes….
Ria Authentic Malaysian Food in Leederville was a restaurant choice influenced by some sort of word-of-mouth that I cannot narrow down. (Possibly a review from The Food Pornographer?) To the point – I heard this place was good and I wanted to give it a go!
My friend and I tried this place on a Friday night, we booked for 8pm and arriving 5 minutes early, we were asked to wait at the bar for our table. This place was fairly busy, so lucky we booked prior!
We sat inside and although there was some sort of aircon going, this was no contender for the 40degree heat experienced that day which still managed to keep us sweating inside…with mood lighting..the sweat on our foreheads was slightly unnoticeable (Phew!).
Nyonya Archard Fish ($21) which was a “fish fillet with a tangy turmeric and ginger sauce, chillies and fresh herbs.”

GORGEOUS!



                                                                                         Nyonya Archard Fish ($21)

Arriving within 10 minutes of ordering this fish came out on a plate looking endearing… Curved like a skate-board ramp, fried and sitting in a shallow pool of sweet and tangy sauce – we broke the ‘ramp’ and the fish fell apart nicely, indicating it had been cooked well. The sauce was beautiful with a very sweet and tangy flavour. I kept mopping my piece of fish up in this sweet sauce and it soon vanished from the plate.
The other dish we ordered was the Nyonya Salad ($15) with a spicy dressing, herbs and crushed peanuts.

Nyonya Salad ($15)


Again, beautifully presented, this dish had beans, cooked potato & carrots, fried tofu tossed together in a nutty, tangy sauce with sliced chillies and coriander.
Nyonya Salad ($15)




Although the price for this salad was very affordable...the size reflected this greatly. I probably could have eaten two of these, however I am a machine of a human being and this could just be me being a classic food monster. My friend (of normal eating quantities) said she could have happily been satisfied after this salad. Therefore, ignore my first comment. J
So all in all, the service was great with our meal coming out soon after ordering, we had to try to get a waiters attention a few times to fill up our water – but this was unusual due to the hot weather!
The pricing was brilliant compared with what you can pay in Perth and expect to get.
The atmosphere, although a little cramped (I almost felt as if I was having dinner with the 3 guys sitting at the table adjacent to us), was enough to feel as if the restaurant was clearly popular.
The food was 5/5. I loved the new flavours and herbs bursting from the dressings and sauces. This food was fresh, simple and had balanced favours with the right amount of chilli.
I enjoyed this meal so much, I am excited to return soon to try more from the menu!
I saw a few curries and stir-fry’s im eager to feast my teeth into!

HIghs: The flavours - nothing like I've tasted before! The exciting choices of the dishes on offer.
Lows: The restaurant was loud, crowded and on a hot day failed to provide any comfort from the heat with no air flow.
Overall: 8/10
Will I return? Hell yes. 
This experience has also sparked an interest in Malay food and restaurants in Perth, in which I am going to explore!
So until next time….


Ria Authentic Malaysian Food on Urbanspoon