Note to visitors (well, not visitors to this blog – although, Hi! – but visitors to my little home town of Brisbane) – if you’re after Chinese food, do not – I repeat do not – go to Chinatown. Aside from a couple of tacky Chinese murals and obligatory statues of dragons and lions, there’s nudda much happening in Chinatown and the food is certainly Not Happening.
Instead, drive southbound to Sunnybank, Brisbane’s unadulterated, unashamed suburb filled with the Chinese folk of this city and it is here you’ll find all the best Asian food in Brisbane. I found myself a Little Singapore.
Yesterday we took a little drive to visit my uncle who lives in Sunnybank. My parents are a little odd (maybe they got a little lost), we live on the other side of town as far away from all the Chinese folk as possible. Not that I mind, but ah, to live close to endless rows of Chinese restaurants, roast ducks and dessert joints selling durian desserts! YESSSS… but no. Not for me.
Anyway, my uncle decided to treat us to lunch and because I’m the one who’s inherently broken right now and deserving of all the pity I can get (or milking it, more like) I mentioned that I felt like eating hawker food and voilà! We headed straight to Little Singapore for some good ol’ Malaysian and Singaporean fare.
The dishes here are E-NOR-MOUS.
Synonyms: immense, huge, gigantic, colossal, mammoth, tremendous, stupendous, gargantuan, vast
You get the idea.
Each dish is about AU$11-14 and honestly? Totally enough to be shared between two, and tasty to boot. I absolutely loved the char kuay teow; tasty, salty and just the right amount of “burntness”. Those familiar with this dish know what I’m talking about. The hor fun was even more gargantuan and equally delicious. Lightly fried, soft, eggy, slurpy goodness.
We also shared a nasi lemak (top) which was great, but I didn’t have as much of this because you know, it’s not as soft and digestible and remember I’m still broken. Feedback around the table seemed rather positive though, compliments to the curry, sambal and achar.
Last dish in line was a mee goreng. Sad to say that it was my only let-down, a little too curry flavoured than the expected tomato-ey saucey spicy flavour that I’m used to.
But! Lunch was restored when we ordered ice kachang for dessert. Colossal does not even describe this dessert. For about AU$5, you’d expect something in a little bowl and ok, granted it is mainly shaved ice (and of little cost of the business), but still, this came in something of a giant soup bowl and filled with the goodness of corn, peanuts, grass jelly, chendol, palm seeds, red bean (etc etc etc!), topped with glorious rose syrup and condensed milk.
Did someone say condensed milk? Oh yes.
Even though I only slurped on some noodles and shaved ice, I ate a little too much for my recovering tummy to handle and harboured an achy belly for the rest of the day. But It Was So Worth It. I totally rate Little Singapore, although my opinion may have been swayed by the fact that I hadn’t had any hawker food in a long time. But still, it was good.
So remember, go take your happy snaps in Brisbane’s Chinatown, but when it comes to food, there’s only one word you need remember: Sunnybank. Don’t forget!
Little Singapore
Shop 3A, Market Square
Corner Mains Rd and McCullough St
Sunnybank, QLD, 4109
07 3345 5575
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