Straits Cafe

ch a bad experience with this place when I called before reaching the restaurant. Then did not mention about booking a seat before arriving. When I arrived tell me the place is full and ask us to sit outside seats in the cold! The waitress was also very rude

Food is good.

Straits Cafe at Wantirna Visited on 20/6/2021 Usually this is where you can find many Malaysian foodies. My wife and I arrive before noon, and therefore the restaurant is not busy. The Chow Kuey Teow CKT is what Straits Cafe renowned for. Good CKT should not be too oily, fried at very high temperature to the extent that the flat noodles are slight burnt to give a charred aroma or Wok Hei. I am quite contented with simple plain CKT which just comes with fried eggs, chive, bean shoots, garlic and deep fried pork bits. The latter two ingredients are of utmost important to make or break a good CKT. Straits CKT has Wok Hei, prawns, egg, fish cake, Chinese sausage, bean shoots, miserable couple of deep-fried pork bits, and chpped spring onion instead of chive. It is pretty good, and I enjoy it. This is my first time to try the Crispy Belachan Chicken Spare Ribs and Rice. Marinated with belachan definite,y gives an unusual flavour, but does affect negative,y the appearance of the end product. Unfortunately the spare ribs pieces are not big, and are a bit dry caused by over-frying. The so called famous chicken rice has too much liquid in it. The photo shows tiny bright reflection of the camera light from grains of rice. The Nonya kuihs are for sale, displayed at the end of dining area, next to the kitchen. These are outsourced, and do not form part of the menu. The Ang Gu, or red tortoise, does not has the normal intense pillar red colour. However, I can truly recommend it. The texture is good, still soft even at low winter temperature without putting through a microwave oven. I wonder what kind of oil is used in the cooking. It probably has high burning point, and the distinct taste exust in both dishes. I have very sensitive taste buds, and unlikely many people can detect it. Kuih Talam is my favourite Nonya kuih, but this one does not pass all my ticks. I like the creamy santan top layer, but the bottom part lacks that lye water taste. There is a surcharge on credit card payment.

Came here on an early Sat for a brunch meal and it was a full house when we arrived. We knew what we wanted, which were the popiah, lobak, har mee and tang hoon noodles. The fried glass noodles (char tang hoon) is the best version we ever tried! The lobak was crispy and I was very happy that there were all individually wrapped and deep fried. Har mee has a rich flavour and it was full of umami-ness. Popiah was also equally scrumptious. It was a satisfying meal and we were all very well fed. Must try if you crave for Malaysian food!

Loved the Penang Char Kuew Teow here. One of the best CKT in Melbourne. The Sar Hor Fun is not bad too.

My go to place for Malaysian food. Great food. It can get very busy. Highly recommend booking ahead.

One of the best places to get authentic Malaysian char kuey teow and char tang hoon!

Always great service abd exceptional food with good friends

My experience poor was ethics. Order Nasi Lemak with beef rendang. I got gravy beef instead rendang. May be my version rendang is different?. Also, order chicken belacan spare ribs to us it was ,chicken bones with coated spice. Chicken spare was the main dish, we got bones. There are times, when very busy, that's good, but ethically just let customer know when things run out. Instead of serving ....!!!. I'm grateful they try to serve everyone.

One of our favourite authentic Malaysian restaurants. Food and service is equally as good, and they are always accommodating, even during busy times during the weekend. Highlight for me is their Penang Hokkien Mee, which has everything you need, especially if you're a Malaysian missing food from home. The menu and selection of dishes are also a highlight, and if you're new to Malaysian cuisine, the staff and owner are always ready to help with recommendations. Best to book in advance if you're planning to visit for lunch on weekends as it gets busy!

Great food, very authentic. Always pumping. The murtabak and nasi lemak are very tasty. Friendly staff.

Best ckt you will ever get in Melbourne

Best seafood alaska 10/10

Straits Cafe is a mix Malaysian-Singaporean Chinese restaurant. The dishes are well portion and authentic Southeast Asia taste. I have enjoyed all the food on the menu and the special menu on the window. Do make sure to checkout their desserts. The pricing of the food are decently value between 13aud to 20aud. The service waiters are decent and fast respond. I do think they can be more observant. The place is small, having outdoor and indoor seating, there's a crowd during lunch and dinner times. The premise is hard to hold a big party (more than 8-10 people - please do make a reservation). The ambient of the place can get noise when is crowded but is not a big factor. There is ample parking near the restaurant, but it can be tough to find a spot during peak hours. Overall, Straits Cafe is a proper authentic Southeast Asia Chinese restaurant that brings famous dishes from Malaysia and Singapore. Do try all their food.

Malaysian food par excellence. Highly recommended.

The food is really good! The Crispy Belachan Chicken Spare Ribs is actually har jeong gai and we loved it. The Char Tang Hoon is a less heavy alternative to noodles or vermicelli, and has enough wok hei. The Lo Bak is fragrant with spices. The Poh Piah was ok; nothing outstanding but doesn't disappoint either.

Authentic Malaysian hawker food with reasonable prices.

Best char kuey teow in Melbourne. Perfect dryness and wok hei. Don't forget to ask for extra pork belly!

Ordered 2 packs of char tang Hoon for takeaway. Food was tasty but staff was not very friendly and show attitude when I requested for sambal chilli to go with them.

Like the sar hot fun and char kuey teow here. But it's not the same as it used to be over a year ago just felt it had more ingredients and flavour. The char kuey teow used to come naturally with chilli/heat. Now we need to ask for chilli sambal. Eaten here for years. Overall still tasty even if it's not the same. Prices dropped and presentation has changed. Not sure if it's a weekend/weekday difference. Generous portions.