Midweek dinner date at Mahsuri
We went out for dinner again on Wednesday (we’ve since decided we’ll try to go out for dinner on Wednesday nights, just because!). I met Jac at her office after work, and armed with a discount coupon from our Entertainment Book, we went to Mahsuri Satay Restaurant in Victoria Park.
The restaurant was empty when we arrived. Unfortunately, I have to (sheepishly!) admit that I’m more photographer than romantic these days, and so I wasn’t too thrilled by the dim lighting conditions. I must apologise for the photos – they definitely aren’t the best.
Mahsuri Satay Restaurant sells more than satay, and on this occasion we decided to share a few of the non-satay dishes. We took a while to decide as everything on the menu sounded good. For a starter we ordered sotong goreng something something (AU$8.00, I think – this is what happens when I forget to write things down!), described on the menu as garlic squid, served on “tangy salad”. The dish wasn’t at all what we expected, but the squid was really lovely – the batter was very light and crispy, and the squid tender. The “tangy salad” consisted of roughly chopped lettuce, carrot, tomato and cucumber tossed in a weeny amount of dressing – weeny like a teaspoon’s worth, you could barely taste it. Jac was a little disappointed in the tangy salad component, but I enjoyed the squid so much I wasn’t too fussed about it.
I expected the squid to be in rings, but when I grabbed what I thought would be my first squid ring, I got a whole clump of squid instead! Looks like a pretzel, doesn’t it? Mmmm, squid pretzel… *drool*
We shared a dish of sayur campor (stir-fried vegetables, AU$9.90). The vegies were okay I suppose, but the cauliflower definitely tasted a little old.
The rendang ayam (chicken rendang, AU$15.00) was delicious. The chicken pieces were all dark meat and extremely tender and succulent. The rendang flavour was lovely, not overly spicy. The menu calls this dish “Mahsuri’s Special” – definitely worth a try.
I had about three plates of food, just like this. Just like eating a home cooked meal at someone’s house.
The desserts sounded lovely (see Manis Manisan – Desserts here). If I wasn’t so full I’d have chosen the kueh dadar (AU$5.50) – “sweet coconut rolled in pancake topped with ice cream and palm sugar”. Next time I’ll have to plan things a little better and eat like it’s Christmas – you know, when careful pacing maximises the range and quantity of goodies able to be consumed on the day!
Our discount coupon scored us 25% off, and so the whole meal cost us around $27.00. I wasn’t very impressed with the salad or vegies, but I’d like to return to Mahsuri and try their satay, nasi lemak, fish curry and ayam goreng pandan. And have more of the chicken rendang. Obviously not all at once! Well… maybe.