Temasek

This place is a little tricky to find for first timers… find the classy establishment Roxy, walk next door to the dodgy laneway and follow the articles and write ups displayed in the window.
These guys make the best Hainanese chicken rice in Sydney, big call I know, husband and I have tried all the other popular/​well-​reviewed ones in town but nothing tops Temasek. It is well worth the hour drive. For those who’s not familiar with the dish, you’re meant to eat chicken skin as well and it’s delicious (dietitians look away!) And if you have the numbers, always order ½ or whole chicken with chicken rice on the side rather than the chicken rice dish… the chicken’s generally nicer.
Other highlights are the laksa, made with prawn heads and prawn paste… it’s an explosion of prawny goodness. Also the Nasi Lemak, char kway teow and stir fry anything with their sambal is on point. And then soothe the burn from the sambal with a chendol… ahhh

Temasek is all about eating the same shit as everyone else. Because you can’t go wrong with those dishes and they’re what you come back for over and over again. When I see people eating completely new dishes I’ve never seen before, I get angsty.
So what are they?!
1. They have one of the best hainan chickens in Sydney
2. That Kang kong, I honestly don’t know what ‘kang kong’ is (vegetable name?) but it’s damn tasty and not very many other places cook it quite the same way. If they’ve sold out or we want another vege dish, then egg plant it is. They’re all cooked the same way, just diff vege.
3. King prawns
4. Beef Rendang
And maybe a very select few others that I don’t remember.
Drinks? Ice Lemon Tea thanks. Best thing ever? You can continuously fill it with water and it still tastes awesome. Bargain!
Now look around you and you’ll find the orders are mirrored — exciting!
And that’s all you need to know for now.
If your party is much bigger than 4 – 5 dishes then you can explore, I can’t remember the other dishes, sorry.
There is one dish I’d probably avoid though… the tom yum soup. Nope, nope, nope.

I love this place, as it probably has the most authentic laksa I’ve ever had in Sydney. Their laksa has a nice thick sauce full of spices than just makes it so distinct from any other laksa I’ve had in Sydney.
Just very disappointed with their customer service. I ate here one Thursday night. We got a table for 2 straight away despite not having a booking which was great. After we finished our mains, we ordered a small dessert (Sago with Coconut Milk) to share between me and my partner. However, even before I managed to finish my food, the lady started cleaning up our table! She didn’t even bother asking me if I had finished eating — which I hadn’t. So we left, upset from the terrible customer service and rudeness by this lady.
Hint: if you look up Edna Mode, you’ll know who I’m talking about.

The first time I stumbled across Temasek, I was on the hunt for a great laksa… And I wasn’t disappointed! It was bursting with flavour and fresh. I’ve since ventured out of my laksa comfort zone and everything else on the menu has been equally fantastic.
That said, this is not a flash restaurant to go for an intimate date. It’s fairly typical in terms of its quick turn over, cramped space and lack of good customer service. But DEFINITELY go for the food! It comes out quick and hot, and you won’t be disappointed!

I was a little disappointed today. The lunch menu is great value, and the service fast, but you know when you get a meal and it’s «microwave hot», not «wok hot»??? You can tell the difference. The taste was ok but the rice was very starchy and seems like it hadn’t been washed before cooking. Paying lunch menu prices it was ok, but I would have been upset if dinner prices were in affect. Sad that the roti canai didn’t come with any curry or dhal dipping sauce. Service was prompt and efficient. Every other time it’s been great here, so I’ll give them another chance again. Maybe just an off day at Temasek.

Temasek has great quality food. As a local of the area, i think Temasek is probably one of the most underrated asian restaurants in Parramatta. The location is not the greatest, so its very hard to find. Its on George Street all the way in this tight alley way. So if you find it hard to find the place, i don’t blame ya!
Let me start with the cons so i can end on a good high with this restaurant. The location firstly, as mentioned is not the greatest. The size of the restaurant is very small and very tight! Everytime i go here, its always busy and there’s just no where to wait. You either wait inside and get in everyone’s way as they walk by or wait outside in this alley way. Because of the tightness, tables are quite squashed so its not a great intimate place to hang. Not good for big families, and not good for mothers with big ass prams to get through tight paths, but thats not your problem mamas, you just have to say a polite ‘excuse me’ to the guests and they’ll get the hell over it!
Service isn’t the best. I feel most asian restaurants don’t have great service anyway, and being asian, i expect that when i go into an asian restaurant unfortunately. I didn’t know how many times i had to get up to get my own, napkin, spoon and forks and refills of water. I’m sorry, but as a paying customer, ‘sorry, we’re just too busy’ is not an excuse.
ok, so, the food! the food is amazing, and because the food is amazing, it does put their overall score a bit higher than i would despite what was said above. I think Temasek, HANDS THE EFF DOWN, has THEE BEST, nasi goreng in Sydney. I’m telling you, i can probably down a nasi goreng all day and just eat that thing up all day! it was delicious! and because of this, i am happy to go back to this restaurant :-) i’ve had my fair share of Nasi Goreng, and this is probably thee best i’ve ever had. Fried rice (which is what the indonesian’s call as ‘Nasi Goreng’) can be the same to everyone because its just rice stir fried with some meat and seasoned, but the types of flavours and how hard/​soft the rice is makes a big difference. Dried, hard fried rice is not the greatest! But this Nasi Goreng, is cooked to perfection, quite moist with a hint of sweetness to it! The sweetness in the rice did it for me, FOOOO SHOOOO. And of course, any nasi goreng that is NOT served with a runny egg is just plain old reDONKulous! IT NEEDS TO BE RUNNY, you want that liquid shit in your rice for damn sure! its the best part of the dish :-)
I have not tried this but i have heard great reviews that their laksa is the bomb diggs! I’m a big fan of asian soups (laksa, phở, etc) so trying out their Laksa is definitely on the top of my list!
3.5÷5 overall is not that bad, but if this Nasi Goreng dish is gonna be a hit in the burbs then best to get a bigger restaurant for all your fried rice die hard fans ;-)
Check out my photo of the awesome fried rice dish!
xxoo

I don’t see what the fuss is all about. It was busy and our food came out within fifteen minutes of ordering. The Laksa was great until I bit into some plastic and then that was enough for me. the pricing of the meals did not reflect the quality or service.

Well Laksa me six ways from Sunday !!!
Quite possibly the best laksa I have had to date. Bang on with a decent amount of heat packed into it, it awakened every inch of my being — I was sniffing, and coughing and crying. it was beautiful.
The restaurant itself is in some super dodge alleyway and despite this, it’s somewhat of an institution here in Parramatta. I rocked up not knowing what was on the menu but knowing full well the Laksa is what you come here for, and because the brother, SIL and myself were craving some Laksa, I thought ‘why the hell not?’ I ordered take out (delivery is not an option unfortunately) and props go to the lady at the counter — she was soo helpful and sooo patient with me. I had strict instructions from my brother — he wanted some satay chicken too but «it can’t be that horrible yellow looking satay sauce» some places pass off as smashed peanuts. Well, I explained this to her, she went out the back and handed me some of their satay sauce to taste — she explained it was all hand crushed and yada yada yada. I stopped listening after having that first taste — love that Malaysians throw chilli into EVERYTHING — this sauce was soo good !!! The serving of laksa is enormous, so if you aren’t at all hungry, this meal can sub as your lunch the next day (and quite possibly dinner too).

I have to give it to this place that the chicken rice is even better then SOME of the Malaysian stores. :) Was a little homesick but Temasek just did the job to take me back home. If you’re a Malaysian that just got here you definitely have to try this place out. However, the sauce is not much of a original chicken rice sauce. But still, overall its awesome! Love it.

Quality of food here is undoubtedly pretty darn good and beats most suburban Malaysian/​Singaporean restaurants in the Sydney area for value.
But grumpy staff and an unfriendly owner make the experience less than pleasant.
Trademark dishes include their laksas, nasi lemak, hainanese chicken rice and (on weekends) their mee rebus and mee siam.

Best Malaysian in Sydney. Hands Down. Been coming here monthly for 6 – 7 years before moving to the USA. I really miss this place just writing about it…

The food here was fantastic we had the $ 36 banquet and every dish hit the mark. The beef rendang was heavenly and I loved that it had some kick to it. Prawns in the shell and calamari were very tasty.
Now for the downside and the reason for the 3 stars. The service here is terrible it’s hard to get anyone’s attention and when you do ask a question they just grunt and keep moving. We were not given our fish dish in the banquet and had to ask for it twice and I wish I never ate it as I got a fish bone lodged in my throat. We were given our dessert before the mains had come out so they took it away it was a sago dish with ice shavings, instead of giving us a fresh one on its return they gave us the same one and it was like a cold soup.
Bad service just changes your mood and I left here saying (even though the food was great) «I won’t be coming back here again»

always crowded at lunch time. fast service, can feel a bit rushed, but the laksa & the hokkien mee is great.

Nothing flash or fancy about this place just some of the best food you’ll ever try. Everything I’ve ever tried there over all the years I’ve been going has been fantastic but for the first timer you can’t go past the Laksa which is another level to you’ll get anywhere else.

Overall: Visit for the tastes, not the looks.
Price: Very reasonable. They do a mean lunchtime special menu, with most popular dishes under $ 11
Taste: Ah-​may-​zing! I dare you to think otherwise! In fact, leave me a comment below!
Décor: Plenty of seating, some nice pictures up, but mostly just a quick feed type place.

Temasek is definitely one of those places I will find an excuse to go to — especially by myself (or maybe just one other).
There ain’t nothing special about this place when you find it. It is not in the most attractive position, the interior is nothing to marvel at — but oh dearly me — the laksas!
Actually, all the dishes are bloody fabulous at Temasek, but I am drawn back for the Laksa.
Temasek is situated in the most unassuming arcade/​alley way in the CBD of Parramatta and I am sure in the hours before and after lunch you would know what happens for the two hours from 12noon to 2pm. But come lunchtime, hold on to your seat (when you can get one) — Temasek ROCKS!
Loyal crowds (and individuals) turn up in their droves to eat here. They wait patiently, share tables and try to order at the bar to force their way onto a table.
The food is fresh, fast-​ish, authentic, genuinely tasty and all with as little fanfare and fuss as you would want.
It has been awarded a One Hat for Sydney Good Food Guide and it truly is an icon for food in Sydney.

This is a fantastic little place. Tucked away beside the Roxy and a car park, it is an oasis of great, authentic and wholesome Singaporean/​Malaysian food. I love this place. You can’t go wrong with any dish, but try the beef rendang, chicken/​potato curry and ayam fish, with coconut rice. The laksa is a must as well. The price for a meal is very decent, especially when compared to similar restaurants located in Sydney. If you want great, inexpensive and wholesome/​tasty asian food then you must travel to this one.

For me there is only one dish to be ordered here — the Hainan chicken rice. Its one of the best I’ve ever tasted in Sydney. So good with the chicken rice and the chilli vinegar sauce. However if poached chicken is not your style, the Char kway teow is also good, with slices of lup cheong, chinese sausage.
Get here early on weekend lunch-​times as it gets super busy.

Delicious beef rendang and curry. Good place to order Malaysian dishes. Service was good. Value for money.