PappaRich Doncaster

Location: 540 Doncaster Road, Doncaster 3108
Phone: (03 9848 1572
Link: www.papparich.net.au

Cuisine: Malaysian

So the Pavilion closed down and in its place up popped Pappa Rich, a relatively casual and family friendly restaurant chain that has only recently come to my attention.

We're there on a Thursday evening without a booking and, despite the place been packed out, we're seated almost immediately. We soon find out why - the tables are tiny and all crammed together. Typical Asian restaurant.

The food soon demonstrates why the place is already so popular. We order an assortment of dishes to share and somehow manage to juggle these on the small surface area of the table.

roti canai with curry chicken

First up is a roti canai with curry chicken. The roti is crisp and flaky on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside. It soaks up the curry and various dips brilliantly.  As an added bonus, the chicken is 'fall-off-the-bone' tender and full of flavour.

crispy fried chicken skin

This is a bit of an odd dish, and ordering it turns out to be a bit of a mistake. We had somehow envisaged crispy and juicy pieces of chicken skin much like that found on grilled chicken wings, but alas these are dry and overcooked. The redeeming feature is the sweet chilli dipping sauce, which adds a nice fresh hit of spice and moisture to the dish.

Ipoh horfun with chicken and shrimp

Another Malaysian classic, Ipoh horfun is a rice noodle in soup dish, accompanied by various proteins and vegetables. This one comes with pieces of juicy prawns and slices of chicken. Simple ingredients with a flavoursome soup base.

Pappa char kway teow with cockles

When we saw cockles on the menu, we had in mind cockles still in their shells. Despite the dish coming out very much shell-less, the char kway teow is everything a char kway teow should be. A mix of soft rice noodles that have been slightly charred in the wok, crunchy fresh bean sprouts, chewy cockles and a range of other vegetables, all brought together with a wonderful wok smokiness.

nasi lemak with fried chicken

Nasi lemak is traditionally served with a curry base. But given we'd already had curry chicken with our roti, we went with the fried chicken.

Not your typical KFC chicken, but the skin is crispy and the meat inside still tender. The coconut rice is deliciously sweet and aromatic, and the sambal, ikan bilis and peanuts round out the flavours and textures in the dish.

In terms of ambience, this is not the place to go for a nice quiet dinner. The place is loud and abuzz with the chatter of patrons and waiters racing around taking orders and delivering meals. A great vibe for a casual dinner.

Overall Impression: 8.5/10