Baba chef Doncaster Temporary closed — Restaurant in Melbourne

Baba Chef at Springvale Visited on 9/2/2021

I learnt about this restaurant from a friend who drove many kilometres from the northern suburb just for the fish balls. She really enjoyed fish balls which were "so good and so bouncy". Such recommendations really made my mouth water. I need to check this place out myself personally.

A few weeks ago, my wife and I passed this restaurant during lunch time. There was a long queue outside the restaurant, but those people were queuing for the Bahn Mi next door.

I opened the door and peeped inside the restaurant. There was not a soul. I told my wife to cross off this restaurant from our Makan (eatery) Place list.

As Chinese New Year approached, we went to Springvale to shop for ingredients to cook for the many days of feasting yet to come. I had a change of heart to give Baba Chef another shot.

It was just after midday. We walked on a wheelchair friendly, gently sloping ramp, almost halfway to the end of the restaurant, then made a U-turn to the dining area. It is a big and long premise compared with many shops along the shopping strips, but had only four other customers occupying two tables then. The open kitchen is on the left side of the ramp. Only the cook and the waiting staff were at work.

After we had sat down, the waitress brought over a clip board for us to "sign in" as part of COVID Safe requirements.

My mission was to test out the fish balls, and so I ordered a plate of dry-mix noodle with fish balls. Furthermore, I had a bad vibe about the quality of food.

The dry-mix noodle dish comprises a plate of thin noodle, and a bowl of soup with bok choy, and fish balls.

I was unimpressed with the look of the very dark brown noodles served, because fresh plain noodles are yellow. Normally dry-mix noodles are mixed with soy sauce, giving a light brown colour. Besides the unimpressed near black colour caused by excessive use of soy sauce which also made the noodles disastrously salty. Last but not least, the noodles were undercooked - definitely not close to al dente.

I believe the fish balls were made from finely minced Blue Grenadier. Although the texture is firm and “smooth”, it lacked the bounciness. It is likely that during the process of making surimi or paste, it was not pounded sufficiently, with a weak saline solution added sparingly.

The noodles with fish balls did not come up to our expectations, and therefore we decided not to try any other dishes.

Another disappointment was that a couple of customers had finished their meals and left. After I paid my bill, I decided to take a couple more photos. The table used by the previous diners was still not cleared, and I realised the customers did not eat much of their meals. Was it that they did not enjoy the food? The table was not wiped down and sanitised as soon...

🇲🇾🍽️ After reading all the rave reviews of this recently reopened Malaysian eatery, finally had the opportunity to dine here!

Every single dish was impressive:

🥘🐖🥓 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐩𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐨: this traditional Hakka delicacy rarely seen in local menus was the standout star of the meal — the succulent slow-cooked pork belly interspersed with tender melt-in-your-mouth slices of taro were served in perfectly aromatic savoury sauce — simply stunning!

🥘🌶️🐟 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐩𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡: we opted for fish fillet and requested for extra vegetables; this curry was spicier and had a stronger curry paste/powder taste than other variants (such as Chef Lagenda’s or Malaysia Village House’s) but the lightly battered fish chunks blended perfectly with the curry sauce to produce what must be their signature dish — every single table during our full-house dining session ordered this

🍲🍄 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐟𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐢𝐱𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐬: there’s homemade tofu and then there’s Baba Chef homemade tofu. We had a retired chef in our dining party and he declared this his favourite dish of all before heartily wolfing down what was left of this dish. The generous toppings of mushrooms in the creamy sauce overlaid some of the most delicious tofu you’ll ever find in Melbourne

🥘🐟🥟 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐩𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢: springy consistency reminiscent of giant fishballs in Singapore - these famed delectable balls really lived up to the hype; so glad I ordered these & can totally understand why others have bought them fresh to supplement their home cooking!

🏆🌟 Overall the food quality has more than impressed; it’s catapulted Baba Chef into one of the premier Malaysian food mecca of Melbourne, and all those rave reviews? More than well-deserved.

(𝐷𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑟, 𝑆𝑎𝑡 8...

Bookings are essential at this insanely popular restaurant! We arrived at 7pm, and it was quickly filling up. We noticed a lot of customers were turned away for not having bookings.

Fishballs: 10/10. Really soft with perfect texture. The soup was clear, clean, and full of MSG. (I am like Uncle Roger, I think MSG should be added to everything). Easily better than most fishballs anywhere in the world, might even be the best fishballs I have ever had. Everyone who comes to this restaurant orders the fishballs.

Home made tofu with mushrooms: 8/10. Very good, nothing wrong with it. But it's not WOW like the fishballs. It was quite sweet from all the goji berries.

Wu tao kau yuk (pork belly with taro): 8/10. Similar to the other dishes, the flavour was kept light and not too strong. I wondered how they cooked it, because it was obviously not cooked in the claypot. A bit lacking in sauce.

Salted egg chicken ribs: 7/10. One of the better ones in Melbourne. Batter not as crispy as other places. Chicken inside was cooked perfectly.

The service was quite chaotic but they were friendly when we did get service. They didn't bring us menus, rice, cutlery, water, and napkins until asked. They are obviously a small family restaurant doing their best and struggling with all the demand. They must have been enjoying themselves with steady business until they got swamped by Malaysians. I wonder if they wish that we would...