Eating Out: Yum Cha Inn-Glen Waverley (269 Springvale Rd, Glen Waverley.)

Have you ever realised that in every Asian extended family, there is always someone who runs a business or restaurant? In my case, it's my uncle's restaurant. He's from Ipoh, Malaysia (must go there one day) and he serves Malay and Chinese food at his restaurant. I've eaten majority of the things on the menu and I do have some favourites, most of them Malay dishes because mum can't cook it at home and I just LOVE Malaysian food. You can get pretty much all the standard dishes you get at a Chinese Restaurant but there are some pretty nice specialities.

Favourite main/dish overall:
I have to say the weirdest dish on the menu is the Curry Chicken in Breadcase. Sounds weird right? That's cos I have no clue what it's called in English. But in Chinese it's 咖喱面包鸡. It's a Malay dish (from Kampah?) and its AWESOME but definitely for sharing. Unfortunately I don't have a pic of it cos I haven't had it for ages but I'll describe it. It's kinda like Malaysian Curry Chicken in a foccacia shaped bread that is fully enclosed, the bread is sweet and fluffly, and I think they flash fry it to make the outside really crunchy and golden.You rip bits of the bread off and dip it into the thick curry gravy inside the loaf of bread. I'm drooling just describing it. Every part of it is just delicious. I haven't seen it anywhere else in Melbourne before, so if you want to try it you know where to go, however you NEED to order it in advance (when you book your table). Just a reminder, the curry is spicy, I'm sure its not spicy to Malaysians but just a little warning so you don't blame me : )

 Another must try is their tofu. Make sure you order the HOMEMADE tofu cos it's....homemade...who the hell makes their own tofu? My uncle's restaurant does..and it's bloody awesome. To be honest, I NEVER liked tofu, every time mum cooks tofu, I eat one piece (usually cos I'm forced to)...or none. I'm not sure why exactly I don't like it, I guess its the blandness. Then again I don't like soybean products. But this tofu doesn't taste like the tofu you get at the supermarket. It's a lot creamier, richer, and more eggy? It just doesn't taste like tofu, it tastes nice as. Also no pic unfortunately.

Favourite Noodle Dishes:
It's a tie between Char Kway Teow and Curry Laksa.
Char Kway Teow: Who doesn't love this dish??? Google it if you don't know what it is. Hawker food, I've never been to Malaysia to try to this dish so I wouldn't know what it's exactly supposed to taste like, but I've read about it quite a few times and Poh made it on Poh's kitchen last week.Also found an awesome site on the guidelines to a good CKT. http://www.waisikkai.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=41
I shall rate it according to this site.

1. Yes it does taste good. I would score it 48/55
2. Looks very good, just like how it should if it was from a hawker store. 4.5/5
3. I don't exactly remember the smell of it fresh out of the kitchen, but I'm pretty sure it smells very nice cos I can't wait to dig in. 4/5
4. Okay, it's not served on a banana leaf cos it's pretty expensive here BUT it's served on a banana leaf looking plate. So 4.5/5
5. I would say it's a tad too oily for the sake of being healthy, but it's got to be oily for it to taste nice. 4/5
6. Okay, I don't think there are cockles in the CKT served here. BUT I'm pretty sure there aren't many CKT's in Melbourne that contain cockles. Not sure what to rate it. 2/5? Since no where else has it?
7. Prawns, tick. Lap Cheong, tick. Unfortunately the only fresh prawns in Melbourne are like $40/kg or if you catch them yourself down in East Gippsland. So 4.5/5
8. Definitely contains chilli, just enough to give the heat but not to burn your mouth. 4.5/5
9. Pretty sure it's not cooked over a charcoal fire...I don't think any of the CKT's in Melbourne are cooked over a charcoal fire. I think this category should be replaced by smokey flavour. In that case 2.5/5
10. YES for LARD. Those delicious crunchy pieces of lard are HEAVENLY. 5/

Overall: 83.5/100

Laksa: 

The bowl of Curry Laksa. Lots and lots of stuff in it. Pretty decent laksa, lots of creamy rich broth to go with the noodles. YUMMY, want some right now.

Favourite Rice Dish:

XO Fried Rice hands down. This is definitely personal preference. It's not you usual fried rice with just xo sauce mixed in, it's actually got different ingredients in it, like fish cake, bean sprouts and a whole lot of other stuff I don't remember. Haven't had it in a while, but it's something I haven't tried anywhere else. Sorry no pic...yet, I'll take one next time I have it.

Favourite Entree:

Satay Chicken/Beef. I prefer chicken. Also happens to be my little cousins' favourite dish. Who doesn't like satay...soooo yummy. And the chicken pieces are massive here. 

Usually come with two skewers, this was a special order of 8 

Some Yum Cha Dishes:
Yum cha here is quite different. There are no trolleys, it's very much like how a lot of restaurants are like in HK. A sheet of paper with all the dishes, you tick/write how many of each you want, give it to the waiter and sit back and relax without being pestered every two seconds by a lady going HAR GOW, SIU MAI....

Char Siu Bao (BBQ Pork Buns) 叉燒包

Combination Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf 糯米雞

Beef Balls 牛肉球 (back) Black Bean Spare Ribs 排骨(front)

Stuffed Eggplant with Sauce 鱼香茄子

Deep Fried Malaysian Beancurd Prawn Roll 馬來腐皮蝦捲

Deep Fried Taro Dumplings 芋角

Deep Fried Sweet Ball(can't remember what it's called) 煎堆

Stir Fried Turnip Cake & XO chilli (XO 炒蘿蔔糕)

Thats all the pics I have at the moment. All pics taken with phone, so sorry about the quality. I'll continue to update stuff about Yum Cha Inn. 

There's a whole new menu dedicated to fish head. So to all fish head lovers, whether it's curry fish head or something else. There is an entire menu for you at Yum Cha Inn. I'm not a fish head lover unfortunately, all the bones just put me off.

That's it for now. (taken me months to finally get round to finishing this post)