Chinta Ria Restaurant Review

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94 Acland St
St Kilda 3182 VIC
Phone: (03) 9525 4664

Food
Malaysian Hawker Style Cuisine. The food was well presented and delicious with large portions. Features ikan bilis and nasi lemak and some scrumptious seafood dishes.
Service
Prompt and professional
Value
Reasonable value, up to $30 for a main meal but some cheaper dishes available too. No banquets.
Decor and Atmosphere
A charming atmosphere that was very comfortable, not too snobby but classy enough. Enjoy outdoor dining on the footpath in the warmer months or be cosy indoors in the winter.

Tien Tien Restaurant Review

2/29 Fitzroy Street
St Kilda, VIC 3182
Ph: (03) 9537 0889

I was told by one of the friends I dined with that Tien Tien meant "every day". Special mention and thumbs up to the management as we went to Tien Tien at 'Earth Hour' and they had all their lights out and served all meals by candlelight for the hour.
Food
A large selection of thai, malaysian and vietnamese cuisines. The soups were reasonable and the mains were very enjoyable from our selections of thai lemon grass chicken and malaysian curry with rice. Decent sized portions.
Service
Competent, professional and prompt.
Value
No banquets available. Mains from $13 to $25 generally.
Decor and Atmosphere
Funky lights, but particularly lovely by candlelight at earth hour. Well presented and warm atmosphere. Comfortable seating.

KL Café Restaurant

92c Acland Street
St Kilda, VIC 3182
Ph: (03) 9534 3721

Food
With the name inspired by the south east asian city of Kuala Lumpur this restaurant boasts a large range of Malaysian, Chinese and Thai foods. Some very spicy dishes which were also very tasty. A great selection to choose from in all 3 cuisines including seafood, vegetarian, rice dishes, noodle dishes, prawn specials, calamari and beef. A striking dessert which we just loved was the Kueh Dah Dah which had bright green crepe wrapped around coconut with ice-cream. The people at the table next to us were mesmerized, wanting to know what we were eating! My partner nicknamed it the 'steam rolled frog' due to the bright green colouring.
Service
Very attentive and reasonably friendly.
Value
One of the best value restaurants in the St Kilda area, which is notoriously filled with your expensive yuppy type restaurants (particularly along Fitzroy st). Not this one. The banquets that are available will give you much better value than ordering individual dishes, but the mains are reasonably priced too.
Decor and Atmosphere
I think the locals know this is one of the better value restaurants in the area, because they flock there. You will be challenged to get a table if you haven't booked. We managed to get the last one. Some very interesting artistic pieces inside. A feature ceiling with an oval shaped recessed area painted with clouds and stars and lit up which is quite delightful. Also a wall featuring a city landscape backlit and silhouetted. Some tasteful painting gives the place a nice atmosphere, though it is not a large restaurant. There were some intense flashing lights on a branch near the front entrance that were a bit distracting to the eye, but that was our only real critisicm.

Tamarind Spice Restaurant Review

257 Glenferrie Rd
Malvern Vic 3144
Ph: 9576 0597

Food
Indian, Malaysian and SIngaporean cuisines.. at least that is what it says on the menu, however the front window boasts a couple of extra cuisines such as Sri Lankan - a little confusing. If you look through the menu though I would say the dishes are 85% Indian, with just a few other dishes thrown in here and there. The food was of reasonable quality for the price. The 'chilly' (?) chicken was hot and spicy. A few quirky titles for dishes on the menu too with some questionable spelling.
Service
The waiter seemed to have a great deal of trouble understanding english. We tried over and again just to request a spoon. I guess he was trying his best though.
Value
The restaurant claims it has the best deal in town, and it comes pretty close. Extremely cheap banquets available - $30 for two people or $50 for 4 people! Every individual meal on the menu is under $14, so there is some really great value to be had here.
Decor and Atmosphere
Conservative, not flash, a bit b-grade. Sometimes you get what you pay for in that respect.

Ipoh Jaya Restaurant Review

90 Queensberry Street
Carlton VIC 3053
Phone (03) 9349 2988

Food
Malaysian hawker style, with a few other cuisines mixed in to the menu. Some nice hot curries available. Also a full bar service for parties etc.
Service
Fairly attentive service.
Value
Banquets at a slightly higher price than some, but not too bad. Average meal price around $15 a head for a single dish.
Decor
Kind of quirky and ecclectic. The restaurant is on the first floor, upstairs in an old style building.

Nyonya Malaysian Restaurant Review

191 Lygon Street
Carlton VIC 3053
Phone (03) 9347 8511

Food
The food is great, a wonderful selection of dishes in the banquet. I have been here a couple of times and always enjoyed the meals. On my most recent visit though we were advised there was no dessert available with the banquet and they replaced it with singapore noodles. The singapore noodles were lovely, but I would have preferred the dessert after the main course.
Service
Prompt service. There was a bit too much hovering around our table while we were eating however. I think diners prefer their space when eating.
Value
Good value prices.
Decor
Pretty average, nothing flash. Could use some sprucing up.

Bambu Malaya Restaurant Review

442 Glenhunty Road
Elsternwick VIC 3185
Phone (03) 9528 3842

Food
Superb. Very filling and well flavoured malaysian cuisine. Fantastic coconut juice.
Service
Generally good service, I've been back a couple of times and there was one occasion where it was a little slow, but mainly they are very good.
Value
Good value. Not too expensive.
Decor
Cute, not way classy but well presented. A small restaurant with a few cute decorations and some fish and interesting instruments on display.

Taste of Malaysia Restaurant Review

69 Chapel Street, Prahran, 3181
Phone: 9510 8155

Food
Malaysian Cuisine. Great flavour and variety of delicious dishes. They make a great chicken and sweet corn soup and I recommend the coconut juice.
Service
Good service, attentive and polite waiters
Value
Good value three course banquets available which offer a good selection to try.
Decor
Gorgeous setup! Meticulously decorated building inside and out. Unique and tasteful. One of my favourites for decor. There's a nice fireplace in back on a cold night too.