Albee's Kitchen, Malaysian restaurant

I don't know about all of you out there but on Friday nights, I'm more likely to be at home in bed early than out and about drinking and socialising. Maybe it's to do with the fact that I'm no longer a sprightly young thing, or a glamorous girl abut town. Blame it on marriage, blame it on age, blame it on work, but on Friday's at 5pm, the only thing I want to do is head home, have a quick feed and just chill out.

Last Friday night was no different, and in the morning as we headed to work the hub and I discussed where to go for dinner. He was the one that suggested Campsie, a bustling multicultural suburb quite close to us, but one which we rarely ever visited and certainly never eaten at. All day I was wondering what options were available in Campsie, and I recalled from the depths of my brain a tiny nugget of information - something about a fairly decent Malaysian restaurant. A quick Google search later confirmed that Albee's Kitchen in Campsie was where I could go to get decent Malaysian hawker fare - it was cheap, unpretentious and quick... exactly what I wanted!

Albee's Kitchen, according to their website, originated from a food court eatery in Kuching. I also see that they have also opened another restaurant in Cabramatta after the success of their Campsie branch. With a shout out on Twitter as to feedback from anyone who had been and what to order, K and I landed on the doorstep of Albee's around 7pm on the Friday night and found it bustling - lots of couples, pairs as well as large groups enjoying their dinner. Now I had been forewarned from the SMH review of Albee's to not expect much by the way of decor, but it was still a bit of a slap in the face. Don't expect anything nice at all. We're talking tiled floors, basic plastic tables and stools to sit on, a very strange mix of things hanging on the walls and wait staff that looked like they hadn't smiled in decades.

I have to admit that I'm not an adventurous Malaysian eater, and I always go back to my favourites, and so I dutifully ordered my usual of char kwey teow, beef rendang (but as part of the nasi lemak) and cendol. For starts, we ordered the lor bak - minced seafood and pork, rolled up in soya bean curd sheets and deep fried. The cendol arrived first, and I was relieved to see that it didn't have any red beans in it, despite me forgetting to ask them to omit it. It was sweet and cold and definitely nicer than the one that I had had in Temasek in Parramatta.

Lor bak: $8.00

The food arrived in quick succession - the lor bak hit the table with a gorgeous sambal that just lifted the dish. Both K and I were enthusing over how good the lor bak was when the CKT arrived next, and our eyes lit up immediately. A huge serving (it was more a platter than a plate), it was studded with prawns and lap cheong (i.e. Chinese sausage) which was a different touch. There was the much sought after "wok breath" and after adding some chili, K and I happily dug in and ate and ate! The nasi lemak with beef rendang arrived shortly thereafter, and although decent, it wasn't nearly as succulent or tender as the version doled out by Jackie M in Concord. The beef was a bit stringy and there were just way too many onions in it... and should there even be onions?

Nasi lemak with beef rendang: $12.00

Char kwey teow: $10.00

With a huge menu, including daily specials, I am eager to come back and try some of the other dishes, especially the laksa when the weather gets cooler. Don't expect anything in terms of service - this is definitely one of those places where you won't get a single smile and can be guaranteed that anything extra you ask for (such as some more sambal as we did - three times!) will never really show up.


For a low key, relatively close by, cheap feed on a Friday night, this definitely ticked all the boxes. Next time I'll be ordering the laksa to give it a shot, but the CKT will also have me coming back!

Albee's Kitchen
282 Beamish Street, Campsie
Open from 10am - 10pm daily

thesuzchef x