Pappa Rich

Been a while since a review, need to clear the backlog. For those who want a cheap, flavourful and consistent experience with Malaysian flair papa rich is a fun alternative. According those I spoke with it is not as good as the original but still worth a table. Been there a couple of times for casual get to togetherness where you leave the fancy shirt and expensive pants at home. Always something spicy to give a go.

The better of the franchise restaurants. Get in quick for dinner as the satays run out pretty quick! Definately one to try if you are in the area.
Authentic malaysian style food, reasonably priced and extremely friendly staff

Hawker style food has really taken off over the past decade but the challenge has always been how to bring it out of the gutters (literally) and sell it to the rather more hygiene-​obsessed modern consumer? Footscray originally set the standard with indoor restaurants but food hygiene standards were always questionable. Richmond, Box Hill and Springvale have all leapfrogged each other and progressively raised expectations of décor, service and food hygiene in their own respective Vietnamese and Chinese cuisines.
Ever since my old favourite Nyonya of Market Lane and Carlton faded away, it has been hard to find the right niche for Malaysian restaurants. Go too far upmarket and it is a challenge to do gourmet Malaysian. Serve business clientele and you have to maintain décor and watch your spices. Suburban Malaysian struggles to survive, and the most successful franchise in Melbourne so far, China Bar, has over invested in its CBD mega-​buffet whilst it’s other locations are looking tired.
Enter Pappa Rich, a new franchise entrant that squarely targets weekend family meals and people seeking an easy, low-​commitment Malaysian experience. This is not somewhere for a business dinner. If you want a date night this is a quick, cheap stopover to whatever else you are doing. But if you have kids (or adult friends) who are messy, noisy and indecisive, then this is a no muss no fuss location for that. After all, most Asian restaurants are noisy anyway.
Ordering is a strictly code-​number affair, akin to playing a game of Battleships, aided by photos of everything in case you are unfamiliar. Just make your selection, write it on the form and press the remote bell. Table service is fast but perfunctory.
The range is basically what you would find in a typical Malaysian or Singaporean Food Court but packaged as a single site, much more coherently than Food Republik in Box Hill. You are seated, served and pay like a regular restaurant but have the advantage of a wide range of typical Malaysian food.
The Steamed Chicken is soft and tender but the rice is perhaps a little oily. The bread menu is simple but solid, though it is pretty hard to get that wrong. Noodles are straightforward and well prepared but I still prefer the thicker Nyonya-​style Curry Laksa of China Bar which is also a little more substantial.
Ultimately this is an easy choice on a busy day for a quick meal, and even though the food is not outstanding it is roomy, reliable, cheap and the location is clean and well-​serviced. There is a small play area for the little ones and parking is also a breeze which is always handy in this neck of the woods. The real question is how will it hold up in a few years when the fittings start to get a little worn? Time will tell.

Nice malaysian food.

Hawker style gone upmarket.
Typical Malaysian delicious dishes that you can eat anytime of the day, from Breakfast to Supper.
Got to give it to the management for providing, quick, tasty and consistent dishes.
The only thing I don’t get, those drinks is about half the price of the food???
Desserts quite good, especially if you like shaved iced type.
YES, you must order using codes from the menu and pay at the counter, is OK we are used to it.
Service in most time are pleasant, some can even speak Bahasa.

I have always seen the lines at Pappa Rich and it continued to stay well known and busy since opening around a year ago. I knew it was some place that i needed to try.
We got a table pretty quick here, which was a bonus. They have a cool ordering system; menus at the table, a ordering sheet and a bell to push once the sheet is completed with your food and drinks on it. Water is then served to the table (well i had to ask for this).
Food came out really quickly, I ordered the chicken curry laska and omg it was amazing. I really enjoyed this meal, everything was cooked perfectly from the chicken to the noodles. The flavor was full of spice and delicious, i just couldn’t put it down. Also had a watermelon fruit juice to accompany this, and was also very nice.
I would highly recommend a visit to this place. One of the best Malaysian food I’ve had.

It’s sad that the old Pavilion is gone, but let’s be honest — besides the Chicken Parma, nothing else was really edible.
Enter in Pappa Rich, the new Malaysian McDonalds introducing Malaysian cuisine to Melbournites. It’s more than just Satay, with popular dishes such as Roti Kaya and Nasi Lemak on the menu.
Pappa Rich has it’s own style, from an extremely visual menu to a coding system where you write down your own order and then press a buzzer to get fed. It’s good for a nice, cheap and quick meal and afterwards you can retire in the bar for a few drinks.
The place is also great for kids with a central play area.
I recommend trying the Combination Hor Fun for a main & Roti Kaya for desert.

Taken here by a friend, I was told I had to try the ‘best Malaysian in Melbourne’.
Pappa Rich is a giant stand alone restaurant on Doncaster Road with a hugh car park. Something I’m not used to being in an inner city urbanite. The menu has all the Malaysian familiars like nasi lemak, roti canai and mee goreng (and also a huge selection of Malaysian drinks) As per usual I went for my fave nasi lemak.
To order you write down on the sheet and press the bell at your table. Now it was a Friday lunchtime, but I have never seen food brought out as fast as here. Only a couple of minutes after we placed our order, our tasty hawker food was hot and steaming on our table. I wouldn’t say that it was the best Malaysian food I have eaten, but it was definitely pretty good.
I don’t know whether I would return to the Doncaster location, purely for distance reasons but I would definitely go to their city location to satisfy my Malaysian food cravings.