Review: Papparich Parramatta

Been waiting over half a year for this place to open, and the massive queues indicate I wasn't the only one. I am happy to announce that Papparich has opened its doors in my Sydney hometown, so now it's never too far away no matter where I am. I managed to dine here twice during the semester break, once with family and the other time with friends and it never disappoints.

Papparich rich specialised in Malaysian cuisine with a few more generic Chinese/Asian dishes such as congee and combination noodles. The menu has a wide variety of mains and drinks, but I would like to see some more desserts added. Although the dishes aren't amazingly spectacular, and - as with all Asian franchise restaurants the menu has been quite westernised - the food is still wholesome, flavourful and all relatively cheap with most dishes costing less than $15. However, their drinks can be pricey with some costing up to $7.50.

p.s. sorry for the approximated prices, their online menu doesn't include prices and I forgot to take a photo of the receipt for the first visit.

Roti Telur - $11.90
Roti telur is just roti canai with egg throughout.
It came with curry chicken, vegetable curry and sambal curry.
More of an entree dish but I wasn't too hungry because I had
gone out to eat with another group of friends beforehand.
I always love their roti, light and crisp. I also love all the sides
(spice is my best friend) but wish they were more generous,
my pumpkin/vegetable curry sauce was less then 5mm deep.

Pappa Wat Tan Hor - $14.50
I tried some of this and it is as good as other combination noodles I've had.
The soup was amazingly balanced and tasty.

Ipoh Koay Teow with Steamed Chicken - $13.50 
I didn't eat this, but hainanese style chicken is always good.
While the noodle soup looked like a thin, laksa broth
which I bet tasted amazing. 

Nasi Lamek with Beef Rendang - $14.50
My sister ordered this. I think everyone but my father was dissapointed with this dish.
The beef was tough and tasted quite aromatic in a perfume sort of way.
Not exactly the kind of taste you want food to have.
Her coconut rice was also very subtle, not enough coconut milk was used.
p.s. I do love anchovies though!

Pappa Special Nasi Lamek - $15.90
With curry chicken and sambal prawns.
Now this coconut rice was very well flavoured, fluffy and aromatic.
Of course I love sambal, but with all their prawns, I find them to be slightly
on the tough side. Apart from that, no fault!

Special Biryani Rice - $15.90
With fried chicken, sambal eggplants and sambal prawns.
I find it funny that they serve a big piece of fried chicken and don't even offer a knife.
I know the law that they can't just have knives out on the table for self-serve,
but logically serve it with the dish.
The fried chicken was normal, well cooked but not seasoned.
Apart from that again, sambal lovely, I also love papadums and biryani rice!
(p.s. they do biryani better than some Indian restaurants I've been too!)

Biryani Rice with Red Chicken and Sambal Prawns - $13.50
My favourite meat they offer has to be the red chicken.
I love the thick, caramelised glaze - a good blend of sweet and savoury
with a hint of spice. Sometimes the chicken can be slightly dry though.
Again I love biryani and papdums, and again the same problem with the prawns

Roti Bom - $7.90
Doesn't that offering look so meagre on that giant dish?
I was hoping it would be larger, and although it tasted AMAZING,
I wouldn't pay that price again. The condensed milk obviously added
the most flavour, while the sugar was unnecessary with the already sweet roti.
The roti itself was light and fluffy while crunchy on the outside, true culinary technique there!
Even my mum said she wouldn't be able to make it!

Egg Sago Pudding - $6.90
The caramel/maple syrup ( I can't tell because I don't eat syrups sorry) was
nice at first, but soon became bitter, I think too much flavouring essence.
The egg pudding itself was light and smooth, very tasty, while the milky sago
was also light, but quite bland without the syrup, which was bitter and just
made it unfortunately taste worst.
Not pictured: my mum being a true Chinese also ordered the Tau Foo Fa King,
which I didn't photograph because it looks just like any sweet tofu
you would find anywhere and can easily be Google imaged.
I did like this version because it was sweeter, but maybe a bit too sweet.
Still better than the version with ginger that my mum makes me eat when I'm sick.

Matcha Rocks - $7.50
One of the most expensive drinks, that I could easily get from any tea shop for cheaper.
I don't really like chunky red bean paste, too grainy with the fibrous skin.
They also lack sweetness which I like. The green tea ice cream on top was one of
the best I've tasted though, really light and refreshing.
Worth a try, but wouldn't pay for it again.

Tropical Lime - $7.50
This I would definitely go for again, maybe less ice. I believe that is the biggest scam in all their drinks,
they're really thick but not because of ice-cream, rather heaps of ice.
However, I absolutely loved this drink, you all need to try it!
It is essentially the drink form of a splice bar. The flavours well blended, you
could definitely taste the creamy vanilla, lychee and lime in every sip.
The ice-cream was also very light and creamy.

Iced Bandung with Grass Jelly - $5.90
Probably my favourite simple go to drink.
Cheaper than the others and cheaper still without the grass jelly, but again very icy.
I love the sweet rose water flavour that isn't too sweet or artificial (like turkish delight)