Malaysian Kitchen (Doncaster East VIC)

Originally from Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, I moved permanently to Melbourne 2 years ago for migration and work purposes. Being miles away from the city I called home, homesickness is inevitable. Not just emotionally but even more so my stomach is constantly homesick craving for some local Malaysian hawker food as well. 

This week work wise I am based in Doncaster which is an eastern suburb 25 kms from Melbourne CBD via the Eastern Freeway. As usual in continuing my hunt for good Malaysian restaurant in Melbourne, I asked around my client's office for any good recommendations other than the Penang Flavors across the street (which I have tried but unfortunately it did not make it to the list of my favourite Malaysian restaurants). Feeling adventurous yesterday I decided to drive along the Doncaster Road to test if I am in any luck of finding a new Malaysia restaurant to try. Lucky me, I spotted Malaysian Kitchen (MK) on Doncaster Road which is 1.5km from my client's office. So without much consideration I decided Malaysian Kitchen it is and found a car spot in front of MK, can I get any luckier?

MK opens at 11.30AM everyday and I was at its locked front door at 11.27AM, I was the very first customer that day. Once I stepped into the restaurant I was like "Oh no this may not be a good idea after all" because instead of pop music, classical instrumental music was being played which indicated that it could be a pricey fine dining place. However it was too late to change my mind as I was already led to a table by one of the not-so-friendly waiting staff. I was given a MK menu and a special lunch menu. While I was expecting it to be on the pricey side, I was pleasantly surprised that special lunch sets are priced quite reasonably, $12.50 for any noodle/rice dishes on the menu with a drink.

I saw Pan Mee on the menu and decided to order it right away as Pan Mee is my top favourite comfort food back home. While waiting for my food to arrive, patrons started to fill the restaurant up pretty quickly. By 12Pm it was already full and judging by their accent, most of the patrons are most likely from Singapore, Malaysia, China and Hong Kong. I also noticed that more than half of the patrons had ordered Fish Head Vermicelli so I guess it must be MK's signature dish.

My Pan Mee arrived after 15 minutes and honestly it wasn't as good as my expectation even though the broth was quite tasty. However I decided to come back same time on the next day to try the Fish Head Vermicelli Soup which turned out to be REALLY delish! Triple thumbs UP. It was so good I licked the bowl clean without a single drop of the soup left. Although it wasn't as good as the ones we have back home, it was more than sufficient to make my homesick tummy happy temporarily. Also, as claimed by MK, there is no added MSG as I don't feel thirsty at all after lunch unlike other noodle soup places where I normally become very thirsty after eating. Another thumbs up. You would think fish heads are all bones with no meat but their fish heads are meaty and the skins are still crispy and not too soggy and oily. MK might want to consider adding fresh milk and Chinese wine to the soup to make the broth richer and more aromatic like the ones in KL.

Today I went to MK for lunch again and had their Fish Head Vermicelli AGAIN! It doesn't look very appetizing in pictures below but trust it is good!

Miss the soup already!

Fierce looking fish head.

Malaysian Kitchen
910 Doncaster Road, Doncaster East VIC
Open every day for lunch and dinner.

Life is beautiful indeed!

Little Swallow Cafe (Kyneton VIC)

Last week I work at a client's place based in Kyneton, a little town born out of the gold-rush era up in the northern part of Victoria, Australia (approximately 85 km north-west from Melbourne CBD via the Calder Freeway).

During lunch hour, I was taking a leisure stroll along the Piper Street hunting for a local hipster café to grab a cuppa and lunch. Piper street is a wonderfully restored example of past times where you can find row of shops which mix modern style with historical classism and funky vibe.

After walking around for about 15 minutes under the warm sun in a beautiful spring afternoon, I chanced upon the Little Swallow Café located at 58 Piper Street Kyneton. I was stopped by a strong scent of Chai Latte while approaching 58 Piper Street with an interesting sign board that says "Little Swallow Café". Without second thought, I pushed open the heavy door and stepped into the café, immediately I was greeted by fragrant energizing scent of coffee beans and noises of coffee machine busy at work. It was a cozy vibrant café with wooden tables and chairs arranged in a tidy and organized manner, café staff members were friendly and approachable with very warm smiles. I felt like home already and decided to have lunch here without taking a look through their menu first.

Spotted chai latte on their chalk board menu. What's so special about chai latte, you may ask. I have been looking for chai latter brewed from fresh tea leaves for the longest time since I returned to Melbourne 2 years ago. Everywhere I've been to and asked, chai latte is made from pre-made powder which doesn't give the kick that I like and remember. So you can imagine how excited I was when I knew that Little Swallow Café signature chai latte is brewed from tea leaves soaked in honey!


Even though it was lunch time, I ordered Little Swallow Big Breakfast as I have been craving for a hearty huge Aussie Breakfast and a pot of chai latte of course. When my order came, I was pleasantly surprised by the generous portion and fresh ingredients on plate which include poached eggs on sourdough toast, field mushrooms, bacon and sausage, potato cake and grilled tomato. I enjoyed the food and chai latte very much that I went back for lunch again the next day which I had chai latte again and their gourmet pulled pork burger with coleslaw and fat home-made potato chips. The pulled pork was sensational! It was full of flavors and in a texture that I absolutely like. Potato chips were full of well real potato and not oily at all!


I must admit for both times I was there, I enjoyed the food and chai latte so much that I forgot to take pictures of the food and café. Pictures below are those I managed to find online so let pictures do the talking.

The historical Piper Street.

Welcoming ambiance inside the packed cafe.

Mouth watering pulled pork gourmet burger (picture from Zomato)

I am definitely looking forward to visiting Little Swallow Café again on my next work trip up to Kyneton. Till next time.

Little Swallow Cafe
58 Piper Street Kyneton VIC 3444 AU
Open Wednesday to Sunday 8AM to 4PM for breakfast and lunch.

Life is beautiful indeed!