Nasi Penyet Bagus!

Ok .. thanks to the lovely Claire (well I don't know her as such ... but her blog is lovely) and her review of Garage - we decided to change our Friday night routine and head further afield into Carlton - into the heart of overseas student country!!

Garage is located on 221 Berkeley Street Carlton - and if not for the gold Payong (umbrella) stuck quite pathetically between the gaps in a grilled door, you would not have known that there was an eatery in sight. It still looks pretty much like a working garage, except for one converted corner with seating, lights, outdoor heating, kitchen and servery. As with every good restaurant/cafe its the smell that hits you, its that rendang/achar/nasi lemak smell that Malaysian/Indonesian restaurants have ... and the gaggle of south-east asian dialects and accents yanked at the home-sick heartstrings.

They have a straightforward menu, just a few dishes with the option to pile on the extras at minimal cost. Ayam Penyet is clearly the star turn here and its a dish I have always been curious about. So I went straight for the Garage Complit Penyet. This is essentially bits of fried food with rice and sambal - deceptively simple but oh so yummy ... we couldn't resist piling on the extras so we had an extra serve of Sambal Terasi, Tempe and Tofu as well as a bowl of crispy chicken skin - TDF!!! My Doctor's arteries are hardening in sympathy as I write this. The guy at the counter said I ordered like an Indonesian .. zipped lips!!

Anyways, we left feeling thoroughly satisfied and hankering for another trip to Singers!!

Malays do great fried chicken!!

PS - Disaster struck with one of the bottles of Preserved Lemons ... mould has formed at the top, so effectively this is now for the tip! Shit-a-brick or as they say out here in the West .. Fuck Me Dead!!