When I visited Gold Star Noodle House recently, I noticed the enormous lunch time queues for the nearby Pancake Dessert House and made a mental note to visit at some stage just to see what the fuss was about.
The next week, I was looking for a quick pre-movie dinner option and thought of the no-frills Hong Kong style diner. A quick scan of Melbourne food blogs determined that the dish to have there was the char kway teow, one of my favourite rice noodle dishes, accompanied by hot almond tea, one of my favourite Asian hot drinks. Yay!
On a weekday evening the queues had dispersed but there was still a steady stream of students, after-work diners, Asian and non-Asian alike. The concertina menu of 200+ items, plus more options pasted onto the wall, can be quite daunting, so I’m glad I came armed with a recommendation.
The service was perfunctory and just as quickly as I placed my order the food came out. This is definitely not a place to linger, I was in and out in 20 minutes and had to share a table with a stranger.
The mug of hot almond tea ($1.50 with rice or noodle dish, $2.50 otherwise) was just what the doctor ordered for the cold evening. It would be too much to ask for it to be ground from scratch but I’m a sucker for any form of almond tea, even powdered stuff. In fact, I’ve been dreaming of nursing another mug of it for the last few days…
The large serve of seafood char kway teow with XO sauce lacked the sort of vibrant colour that I’m used to with Hong Kong style char kway teow (which often contains red char siu, Chinese sausage and a lot more green spring onion). But it was certainly very tasty and piping hot, testament to the noodles being tossed with the turbo wok power that imparts the sort of the flavour and taste (wok hei) which is almost impossible to replicate at home. The noodles also didn’t come pooled with a sea of oil, which is one of my great fears with char kway teow. Overall, not a bad dish for $9.80.
As I glanced around I noticed that many people were eating the pick-your-own-toppings soup noodles and the dish-with-rice options – no one was eating pancakes or desserts, very confusing.
I’m keen to try Pancake Dessert House again – do you have any favourite dishes there that I should try?
For more cheap and cheerful Chinese food in the CBD, try The Grand BBQ.
- Pancake Dessert House, Shop 18, Mid-city Arcade, 200 Bourke St, Melbourne +61 3 9663 1400
You have to venture out to Laksa King for Char Kway teow! And also try the pork chops with rice and egg next. Ask for more spring onioni and garlic condiment. so yum!
And thanks for the shout out babe.
Twitter: jeroxie
| August 11, 2010, 9:44 am
Hi Penny
I have heard so much about Laksa King – but it’s in Flemington! That might as well be the North Pole for me! Having said that, I’m going out to the Showgrounds next weekend so hopefully it’s open then. Will also try the lemongrass pork chop!
Jetsetting Joyce
Hmmm… now there’s an idea. How about an “Asian Drinks for Dummies” guide? We old skips like the look of some of them but can’t work out which ones to try. Grass jelly does nothing for me; is that my problem or theirs? OTOH there’s a ramen bar in Bourke St that does a fantastic green tea smoothie! Yummmm… even better than their mango smoothie.
Hi Zardoz
Haha good idea – in fact, I could probably do it with a bit of an Asian drinks education as well, as I can’t read Chinese so I only order drinks that I can translate from English into something that I’m familiar with. I know, next time the Jetsetting Parents are in town I will use their knowledge to write the guide! btw, where is the green tea smoothie? There are a couple of ramen places on Bourke St….
Jetsetting Joyce
oh and i thought it was all about pancakes!
sounds like a good store. the seafood char kway teow reminds me of pad thai. i wonder if the taste is similar?
Hi Melissa
The seafood char kway teow was quite different to a pad thai – definitely more of a soy flavour than fish sauce.
Jetsetting Joyce
OMG someone else who likes almond tea! I’m ecstatic because everyone I know thinks I’m weird! They hate the smell -.-
Pancake Dessert House is an odd name indeed for this place. I always get the baked Portuguese chicken rice ($10.90) or the ‘half-n’half’ baked rice ($11.90, I think) where you can get 2 types of sauces. Perfect winter food!
And to end this long comment, I’ve tried pancakes here, they’re more like crepes or Japanese pancakes. Funnily enough, for a place called ‘Pancake Dessert’, everyone looked at me funny. Heh.
Twitter: RachelChunky
| August 12, 2010, 12:11 am
Hi Rachel
Thanks for the tip! I have no idea what Portuguese chicken rice or the ‘half-n’half’ baked rice is, so it will be a fun adventure to try them both. As for the pancakes, I think I’ll sticking to a place that specialises in Japanese crepes like Harajuku Crepes in Melbourne Central.
Jetsetting Joyce
Hey Joyce,
I ve been following ur blog a long time but first time comment!
I agree with the previous comment. Laksa King does really authentic Malay food (according to my malaysian friend)! Although the only thing I’ve tried there is fish head noodle soup! The soup is unbelievable and delicious, balanced with the coconut, milk and curry flavour. I’ll def try the char kway teow next time!!
There are two other places making really good Malay char kway teow- Malaysian Garden in clayton which is the best I’ve had so far in melb IMHO. Also The Grand Tofu in Glen Waverley is constantly good and delicious!
hi joyce!
you should definitely try the lemongrass pork chop on dry noodles. and ask for extra lemongrass. it is simply THE best dish and for all the years i’ve been there, I haven’t really eaten anything else =)
definitely try this. lemongrass pork chop on dry noodles.
this will be one of the first things im going to look for when i go back to melbourne.
Hi disti
Thanks! Mental note made for lemongrass pork chop on dry noodles with extra lemongrass
Jetsetting Joyce
The Beef Brisket Noodles is also one to put on the list to try. It comes in both soup or dry version, I prefer the dry.
Hi Nvidea
Thanks for your suggestion – my parents are a fan of beef brisket (me, not so much) so I will point them to Pancake Dessert House next time they’re in town.
Jetsetting Joyce