The Komunal Cafe NZ | Halal Food Queenstown — Restaurant in South Island

Went here a couple of weeks ago because my parents, uncle, and aunt were craving Malaysian food after a week in New Zealand. We decided to visit on a Friday. When we arrived, I stood at the counter to place our order, but no one was there. I ended up waiting around 10–15 minutes, going back and forth between the counter and our table.

Eventually, a Malay guy came to the counter and informed us that it was Friday prayers and we’d need to wait until 3 pm. At that point, it was around 2:30 pm. He took our order, and I paid, while my aunt, who had ordered earlier, was told her order was also noted. However, a friend who joined us later mentioned that the guy had just been sitting at the counter on his phone until 3 pm before actually starting to serve. I understand if work officially starts at 3 pm, but a simple notice at the counter would’ve been helpful to let customers know.

I fully respect Friday prayers, especially as a Muslim myself, but I was disappointed with the service. The staff wasn’t very friendly, my aunt’s order was missed, and the overall service was extremely slow. While I understand that the kitchen might be small, the food appeared pre-prepared, so I expected things to move more quickly. A sign indicating that the restaurant is closed until 3 pm for Friday prayers would’ve cleared up any confusion, especially since more people kept arriving after us.

Another issue was the lack of trays (this is a minor issue). I had to go back and forth multiple times to get our food and drinks. I don’t mind self-service, but for convenience, having a few trays would be a huge help.

As for the food, the options are pretty limited - the main dishes are nasi lemak and laksa johor but honestly, they were quite good! It felt like eating in Malaysia. The nasi lemak sambal was nice - sweet, spicy, and just a bit salty. The teh tarik, hot chocolate and kuihs were also delicious.

There’s definitely room for improvement in terms of service, and friendliness. A smile wouldn't hurt and the way you speak with the customers could be better. I hope the restaurant takes some of this feedback into account. But the food?...

We recently tried this restaurant for home delivery via a new service and we were keen to try Malaysian food for something different, noting also the reviews all sounded amazing. We ordered the Salt & Pepper Squid, Beef Rendang and Curry Puffs. 30mins after ordering we received a panicked call from the owner at the restaurant saying Beef Rendang not available and instead offering us a replacement for Chicken. My husband agreed to the change given the way it was explained. When our food arrived, the look of it all was very disappointing and unappetising. The serves were all very small. The squid was so beyond overcooked it was unrecognisable by taste or sight. Same goes for the main which was 1 x small drumstick of chicken with no sauce and dry coconut rice with crushed peanuts. It also included a very hard boiled smelly egg which was cut if half and had crumbled all through the food. The chicken tasted dry and reheated or refried again. None of the crumb coating on the squid or chicken had any flavour whatsoever and we were expecting spicy, chilly and general awesome Malaysian flavours the restaurant boasts about. We amicably approached the management of the restaurant the following day and explained the above issue in detail whilst asking for a full refund excluding the delivery fee. After much communication with the owner, they not only refused to provide a full refund but the delivery service was blamed instead. An offer was made by the manager for us to dine in at no charge and I thought in that case, why not just offer us a refund in good faith? Also given the cost of the food, it was even more...

Edit: Went back to eat the rendang chicken nasi lemak. Kudos to the chef for bringing the authentic Malaysian flavour to Queenstown. Malaysians pride themselves on their food and the chef did not disappoint. Best rendang I ever eaten, the gravy could have been slightly more though. The coconut rice was also fragrant, and sambal was fairly spicy.

My wife and I ordered takeaway from their online website when they were about to close. We ordered the Malaysian Mains Special - Ayam Malaysian Kurma and chicken tenders.

The Ayam Malaysian Kurma's chicken was so soft and tender, and the gravy / curry really hits the spot, it's super sedap. I'm not and the sambaler it is due to their generosity, but we got a pretty large portion. Their chicken tenders were pretty good as well.

Will be back to try their rendang...