Hor Mok Yang from Khao Pla – $8
You only need to look to the starter menu at Chatswood’s Khao Pla to get a meal of Thai street-food dishes for a song.
There’s moo ping (soy-marinated pork skewers with a sticky, tart sauce) and grilled corn with tamarind-laced mayonnaise, but the hor mok yang is one of the most substantial starters.
Although it’s hand-sized, if eaten with a side of sticky rice this banana-leaf parcel of grilled fish curry makes a filling meal.
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SIGN UPThe fish is mixed with red curry paste, slivers of makrut lime leaves and coconut before being whipped into something that resembles a mousse. The mixture is then steamed in a banana leaf, which lends an earthy fragrance to the dish.
See the takeaway menu here and call (02) 9412 4978 for pick up or delivery.
Fried chicken, curry puffs, mee goreng and curry from Sup Boss – $59 (serves four)
Before last year, Sup Boss owner Aaron Wong didn’t even know how to cook – but he knew he wanted to open a Malaysian diner that celebrated the food he grew up eating, so he improvised. By watching Youtube videos and asking his mum and grandma for advice, he developed a succinct menu of Malaysian classics and opened his Neutral Bay eatery.
It’s hard to choose between the coconut-y chicken curry, a creamy laksa, or the char kway teow with its springy noodles, fat prawns and smoky “wok hei” flavour. That’s why you’re best off tackling the menu in a group.
For four people, order the springy mee goreng coated in a spicy-sweet sauce; the tender, rich beef rendang; four pieces of textural, crunchy KLFC (Kuala Lumpur fried chicken) finished with fried curry leaves; and curry puffs filled with chicken or mushroom. Wong’s grandma made the puffs commercially in Malaysia and Sydney, and they’re the only dish she had an actual recipe for.
Order pick-up here or delivery via Ubereats, Wednesday to Sunday.
Family deal from Sunset Diner – $60 (serves four)
For families (or flatmates) looking for a substantial feed, Sunset Diner’s family deal is good value. It includes two mains, two sides, two chips and two kids’ meals – you’ll definitely have leftovers.
Although the Lane Cove diner (and its Avalon counterpart) does an excellent burger menu, owner Ben Varela recommends mixing it up a bit. “If it was me, I’d order the Luxe burger, which is a classic burger with bacon, and my wife can’t go past the Vitality salad. It’s got salsa verde on the bottom, feta, roasted seeds, sweet potato and spinach. It’s a great flavour and texture combination. I’d also get a truffle fries and broccoli bites, plus a hot dog and cheeseburger for the kids.”
The broccoli bites were a dark-horse menu addition. “We had a lot of vegos coming in and we were doing heaps of wings, so we thought we’d give a vegan alternative to wings.”
They’re rolled in the same spice mix as the wings, then in gluten-free flour, fried and served with a sriracha mayo. “So many people order them as the default. They don’t get fries anymore. It’s funny how something gets a surprise following and starts flying out the door.”
Order pick up here or delivery via Ubereats, Thursday to Sunday.
Assam laksa from Penang Cuisine – $15.90
Laksas abound in Sydney – and the version at Penang Cuisine, a small Malaysian eatery hidden away in an Epping business and residential district, is a truly great one.
The diner does a good job of classics. There’s smoky char kway teow; and a deeply spicy, creamy chicken laksa. Also keep your eyes open for the weekly specials it announces on social media, such as Hainan chicken rice, the mee rebus with its potato-based gravy, Hokkien noodles, vegetable fritters and sambal squid, or the Penang-style assam laksa.
The fishy, sweet-and-sour laksa is topped with chunks of pineapple and slivers of cucumber to cut through the oily, tart, sardine-based soup, and fat noodles give the dish plenty of texture. If assam laksa isn’t on the menu that week, opt for the outstanding curry laksa that’s packed with tofu puffs, fish cakes and chicken.
You can get pick-up or delivery via Doordash Monday and Wednesday to Sunday.
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Bronx burger from Five Points – $14.50
We can’t travel right now, but Five Points offers a taste of New York City in North Sydney. It sells just five burgers, each named after one of New York’s five boroughs.
A simple menu means every element has to work hard. “We make all our sauces here and the patties are pure beef. There’s no bonding agents, no colouring. We just add a little bit of salt and cook them fresh every day. The milk buns are from Brasserie Bakery, one of the best in Australia,” says owner Driss Chikhaoui.
The Bronx Burger is a customer favourite and hasn’t changed over the years. The buns are packed with double cheese, bacon, house-made tomato sauce, aioli, onion jam, pickles and plenty of tangy American mustard.
Order here for pick-up, or get delivery via Doordash and Menulog Monday to Friday.
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