LOCATIONOne of the restaurants on East Brunswick’s busy Lygon Street strip.
PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAA junction of Indian, Chinese and Singaporean cuisine, Satay Anika offers not only its signature skewered meats but also noodles, sambals, laksa and other hawker-style dishes. With effusive owner Tony Lim out the front and his wife in the kitchen, this is a small, family restaurant which is a great place to head with a few bottles of plonk for an inexpensive Malaysian meal. This busy, two-storey restaurant with cheery batik tablecloths does a bustling trade in takeaways while it steadily fills up with restaurant diners.
The wait staff are friendly and happy to elaborate on what can sometimes be an undescriptive menu. Try starting your meal with plump spring rolls or the Anika chicken – deep-fried, sesame-coated chicken served with a sticky plum sauce. Mains are reasonably priced and include reliable Malaysian favourites such as char kuey teow, or try the kitchen’s excellent version of beef rendang; the meat, stewed for hours in coconut milk and spices, is wonderfully soft, with strong lime, chilli and tamarind flavours. This is a low-key, happy little Asian diner with a real local feel and welcoming, friendly service.
Angela Costanzo, May 2009