Halal Malaysian Food in the CBD

By Franz Scheurer

Overlooking Circular Quay is probably not the place you’d expect a halal Malaysian restaurant to be, nor does the name or the atmosphere of the place make this immediately obvious. It’s called Neptune Palace, looks like a Chinese restaurant and is upstairs in the Ship Inn. Even the menu tries hard to hide the Malaysian dishes amongst a plethora of other Asian dishes, and it takes some persuasion to convince the staff that we do know, and will like, the food we order.

We start with a “Murtabuk” which translated means “Rusty Motorbike” and consists of pan-fried Malaysian bread filled with marinated minced meat. We also order “Otak Otak”, grilled fish pieces wrapped in banana leaves and “Epok Epok” which is curried chicken and potato wrapped in pastry. We select “Char Tow Kueh” which is fried parsnip cake, and “Mandarin Duck”, crispy fried duck in pancake with Hoi Sin sauce, from the Chinese menu. Service is slow but the food makes up for it. It is tasty, well presented and authentic. For mains we order “Daging Rendang”, stewed beef with herbs, chilli and coconut cream, “Kelantan Chicken in Coconut Shell”, chicken thigh pieces cooked with turmeric, chilli and coconut milk and some “Roti Channai” to mop up the sauces. From the Chinese menu we select “Salt and Pepper Tofu” and “Chinese greens with garlic and oyster sauce”. The rendang is excellent and the chicken is good, although we worry a little about the condition of the coconut shell it is served in. The tofu hasn’t been near pepper, let alone Szechuan pepper and is simply tofu coated with tapioca starch, deep-fried and salted. The greens are good and the whole meal leaves one satisfied and sated. The wine list is a big surprise: it is absolutely excellent. Well chosen, well put together and reasonably priced. The service, although friendly, is maybe a little less attentive than it could be. Value for money is good, and all in all the Neptune Palace is an alternative to Temasek or Chinta Ria if you find yourself in Sydney and craving Malaysian food.

Score 5/10

For more information or bookings:

Neptune Palace 02 9241 3338