Truly Malaysian Village — Restaurant in Adelaide

Tried out Truly Malaysian Village on Port Road this weekend after hiking. So hungry that this was the only photo I managed to take of their barramundi curry in 'masak lemak' style. The most amazing and true-to-home Malaysian food in Adelaide! Spice level is completely on-point and ingredients especially the aromatics, taste really fresh. Price to portion ratio is not cut throat like some others. Had some amazing chicken rice and satay as well which had a very satisfying charcoal aroma because the chef bother to "bakar" long enough. The owners are warm and lovely people who run the restaurant themselves and clearly care about their services, which is a great tribute to their professional philosophy. Kicking myself that it took me this long to get here! If you get the chance go, its absolutely worth the drive, and worth bringing your out-of-town guest here for a good Malaysian experience. Must book - tables are usually full. You also need to help yourself to your own cutlery and water, which might take some digging around. On top of the cutlery cabinet there is a stack of kueh-mueh (Malaysian desserts) that is utterly delicious and worth the extra dollars (although I feel scribbling the price on the boxes would have been nice so you don't have to keep asking the busy staff how much this or that item costs). You also need to get your own water from the fridge. If this is your first time, it's not the most intuitive set-up, and there are no clear signages or instructions, but all that is no big deal compared to the sheer deliciousness of the food! If you are bringing non-Asians, I suggest getting staff recommendation on the types of spice tolerant dishes on offer, they are friendly and...

We came here this Saturday night and had satay combo (a combination of chicken satay and beef satay), gado gado (Malaysian style salad), kandar chicken & beef, and sotong bakar (grilled squid). We also ordered teh tarik (a type of milk tea).

The food was generally nice. Before coming, we had expected Malaysian food to be quite salty (based on our previous experience with other Malaysian restaurants in Adelaide); however, the food turned out to be more balanced, although the satay sauce was a little bit sweet for our taste.

The grilled squid was great. While it wasn't exceptionally fresh or crunchy, it was still much better than the quality of squid we sometimes get from Coles. Also considering the price $16 for a whole grilled squid of 400g, we just can’t complain.

The teh tarik (milk tea) was awesome too. We had it hot given it was a late Autumn night, and just appreciated its fragrance, sweetness, and the warmth it gave. Will definitely order this again next time. We saw some people took away this as well.

One dish we wouldn’t order again is the gado gado (mixed salad). It felt like the sides from the satay dish (including cucumber, red onion, and rice cake) were simply mixed together and then topped with the same satay sauce. Wasn’t impressive. We expected to have more real veggies.

In terms of service, the staff were very nice and friendly. However, as this is a busy casual restaurant, we had to get water, napkins, and even plates by ourselves. A little bit too much self service I would say.

However, overall, the experience wasn’t too bad and we would come back to try more...

Came here for dinner and was very disappointed and underwhelmed. I am very surprised at all the positive reviews I am seeing?

The service is quite poor for a "restaurant". When we arrived there was no one at the counter to receive us. We rang the bell twice and no one came, we stood there for a minute waiting. When the girl with the headscarf finally came out, there was no apology and they just gave us menus and told us to come back up to the counter to order. You also need to get all your own cutlery, glasses, serviettes and table water yourself.

We ordered 2 entrees, satay chicken and calamari, both underwhelming. The chicken portions are tiny (see the picture) and are hardly bigger then a forks head. The calamari was dry and batter tasteless.

For mains, we ordered the Nasi Goreng TMV, Mee Goreng Basah and the Nasi Lemak w/ Fried Chicken.  The Nasi Lemak came out extremely fast before the entrees. The rice was and chicken was barely warm, we suspect that this dish was an unwanted leftover and was simply remade/reheated. The Nasi Goreng was over seasoned and very salty and not finished (see picture). The Mee Goreng was the kids meal and came out extremely late/last. It is extremely rich and unbearably sweet. They also use a sauce which is spicy which of course my kids did not eat. There is no warning or anything on the menu like there are for other items? Ended up having to get a happy meal from McDonalds for the kids.

Would not recommend and will...