Wok Noodle, Seddon by Big Fil

I know Snooze says I can be a little bit self-absorbed sometimes, but every now and again it just needs to be all about mee mee mee. And that's the way it turned out at Wok Noodle, with three of the four of us choosing noodle dishes to share. This is despite Ms Counting her Calories having tried the beef rendang from here before and pronouncing it 'pretty good'.



Of the three noodle dishes the consensus (universal?) favourite was the mee goreng (fried noodles). Nicely cooked noodles with some fried shallots on top for texture and with a dash of lemon on the side for a little extra tang. I thought it was a little sweet though, something that all the dishes seemed to have in common.



Similarly good was the Hokkien Mee, fried yellow noodles in a dark thickish sauce. Now I sometimes have a problem with this dish. Yes, it is supposed to come with a fairly strong sauce but sometimes it feels like it has been drowned in it. Other than the noodles there are other ingredients in the noodles like prawns and fish cake, but sometimes all you can taste is the sauce. I thought the balance in this dish was quite good.



The one noodle dish which didn't quite work was the char kway teoh, fried rice noodles. This is one of my favourite Malaysian dishes, a real Penang speciality, but it needs a bit of wok hei, breath of the wok. This adds both flavour and texture to the dish, with a slight charring and smokiness from the food being tossed in the wok at a high temperature. However these noodles were kind of limp, with most of the flavour coming from the sauce, and were a bit disappointing.



The Malay fish curry came with eggplant, onions, tomato, pineapple and red and green peppers. While the sauce could have used a bit more 'kick' to it, it was a large serve and very generous with the pieces of nicely cooked fish. Dish of the day and went well with the roti we also ordered. And while I didn't take a photo of it, Ms L's sweet and sour fish didn't come with that much depth of flavour but again very nicely cooked fish.



Highlight of the day though, Malaysian Iced Coffee. I'd never tried this before but when I saw Ms Counting Her Calories' I wanted to try it as well. Really, really good, it's made with condensed milk unlike the ice cream in most iced coffees. Smooth and creamy with a good but not overly strong coffee flavour, I very strongly considered ordering a second of these!



Overall
A pretty decent local Malaysian café, with reasonable food and prices. The café itself is small and kind of plain but perfectly acceptable, if there is one thing which may put some people off it is the service. I know that it's an attempt to be friendly and while I don't mind being asked once how the meal is going, it gets a bit much when it feels like we are being asked after every dish. There is a balance to be struck there but for me it was a bit too disruptive.

Verdict
Food - 7
Ambience - 6.5
Service - 6.5
Price - 7

Address
1/92 Charles Street
Seddon VIC 3011
Tel: (03) 9689 9882