Istana Restaurant – Thornleigh
Whenever I am in Sydney, I always try to make the most of my day… and night with good food if possible. On this occasion, my initial plan was to drop by at Alice’s in Thornleigh for some Malaysian Chinese food on my way home with Big D. After being informed by our friends who live in the suburb that Alice’s is usually shut for business on Tuesday, we soon divert our focus on to another restaurant just a few hundred meters down the road. A restaurant named Istana as in the “Palace” in Malay, that’s where I will be expecting to be treated like a royal with some good food from home.
Istana is located on the top floor within a complex of restaurants spread out over two levels. Via the staircase at the far end corner of the building, I arrived at the restaurant and greeted by a huge green and red neon sign that you probably can get a tan if standing in front of it long enough. Inside the restaurant is in the shades of pink, from the cream coloured wall to the pink linen table clothes. Our friends are already sitting inside waiting for us, and more importantly, waiting to order.
Lobak - 6.70
Firstly, we have some Lobah for entree. Lobah (or Lobak) also known as Ngo Hiang (means five spice in Hokkien) in some restaurants. The pork fillet are marinated in five spice, wrapped in bean curd skin then deep fried. The lobak here has a nice pork fillings inside which is moist, tender but very subtle in five spice flavour. The bean curd skin is not too greasy, deep fried until golden brown and crisp, but I found it strange that the skin is lightly coated in batter which is unnecessary.
Hainanese Chicken (half) - 15.20
I ordered the Hainanese Chicken, a simple dish and yet difficult to perfect. The chicken is slow cooked in hot water bath for over an hour to keep its moisture and tenderness, then drizzled with soy sauce, and served with dipping sauce of lime & chili, and fried ginger & scallions. Unfortunately the Hainanese chicken at Istana is rather over cooked with tight bumpy skin instead of slippery succulent. The meat is tender although a little on the dry side. My mum used to describe it as “rag” if the chicken meat is dry and stringy. Nevertheless, nothing can’t be sorted with a good smidgen of chili sauce on top.
Belachan KangKung - 16.50
french beans with pork mince - 16.50
We ordered two vege dishes to balance out our meat intake. Belachan KangKung, another signature Malaysian dish which Istana still doesn’t quite mastered it well enough. The kangkung (chinese water spinach) is young with crunchy stems in vibrant green, stir fried to an inviting pungent aroma of belachan prawn paste with subtle chili hit. However the dish seems a little dry with very little sauce. It is flavorsome nonetheless.
Not all dishes are underwhelming, I do find the french beans with pork mince is probably the best dish among them all. The french beans are pan fried for the toasty skin but still hold a nice crunch inside then stir fried again with pork mince. A sprinkle of sugar adds sweetness to the pork mince with hot burning sensation lingers in the mouth from the chopped chilies. This dish really shines through compares to the others.
Crispy shredded beef - 21.30
Big D also ordered the crispy shredded beef. Thin strips of beef are heavily coated in cornflour then deep fried for that unbelievable crunch. Stir Fried the beef with a handful of shredded carrot with a light layer of sweet sour plum sauce for that extra shine and sweetness; finished off with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seed and served on a bed of crispy fried noodle, it is truly a multi-layered crunch on crunch orgasmic sensation. It is everyone’s favorite, crispy, crunchy and tasty, but little did they know it is actually not a Malaysian dish, but a SzeChuan one.
Clockwise L to R: sago pudding - 4.50; Ice Kachang - 4.50; Rambutan Ice Cream - 5.30
The dessert menu is also a mix of traditional Malaysian sweet delicacies and some not so much. I go for the Sago Pudding, Big D has the Ice Kachang and Wingman opt for the Rambutan Ice Cream. The most sacrilege dessert would probably be the Rambutan ice cream, which is literally rambutan flesh from a can served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Oh, but I did hissed about the Ice Kachang, served in a tall milkshake glass which is impractical and clumsy to reach for all the red bean and chendul goodness at the bottom of the glass. Not to mention the lack of ingredients in the ice kachang like peanuts, sweet corns, grass jelly, red jelly… urrggghhh! Sacrilege! I try not to let it get to me and so I can enjoy my sago pudding which is what it should be, nice firm sago with a dash of coconut cream and palm sugar syrup, no complain from me on that one.
Clockwise L to R: complimentary fortune cookies; my auspicious wish inside the cookie; the exterior of Istana Restaurant; complimentary fruit dessert
We even presented with some “post-dessert” complimentary fortune cookies and a plate of fresh watermelon and oranges. At this stage, I seriously doubt the authencity of this restaurant that is truly run by Malaysian chinese. We actually never have fortune cookies in Malaysia, and crispy shredded beef? and Ice Kachang in tall milkshake glass? The food is average but expensive at Istana, it is a hearty meal even though I found some dishes are catered for western palates. Another thing I noticed is the weird pricing on the menu, $21.30, $15.20? What’s the story?
I cracked open my fortune cookie, and it says “Remember your mother’s advice“. I think my auspicious wish is accurate, I should listen to my mother and cook at home more often. So that I dont have to pay high price for food that is less decent.
Istana Restaurant 230/238 Pennant Hills Rd Thornleigh NSW 2120 P: (02) 9481 8855
A Table For Two (ATFT) is Billy Law's food blog that features best eats in Sydney and around the world with drool-worthy food photography to salivate your appetite. I also throw in a smidgen of my food and travel photography for good measure. Billy Law also happened to be a contestant on MasterChef Australia 2011. 
Interesting review. I was actually thinking of going there one day after my post on Temasek and some comments suggested their Hainan chicken was pretty good. But now I might think twice. What’s your verdict on Mamak? Any good by Malaysian standards?
Forager’s last blog post – Discovering my sweet tooth through Adriano Zumbo
Your photos made the food look better than described
pablopabla’s last blog post – Fried Bitter Gourd with Salted Egg
Too bad about your average hainan chicken. Normally they’re pretty good. But I think their Hainan rice is one of the best in terms of flavour. But yeah, the rest of the menu is pretty average. It is Thornleigh after all, which means surburban Malaysian with a dash of Chinese to cater for caucasian families. Trust me, I use to live around this area LOL. Thank god Alice moved in!
Karen’s last blog post – Celebrating the Pork and the Pig: Yuletide Dinner at Restaurant Atelier
I agree Istana is an average restaurant but try 金香虾 there next time, I like it a lot and it turns an average meal to a pretty good one. I am not too fuss about them serving fortune cookies, it is not of Chinese origin at the first place and who knows where they come from? (I once heard it is the American who invented them
)
Is it a trend to have weird pricing in Sydney? $7.90, $7.95, $8.20 for cakes at Zumbo, no one can beat him at that
I totally agree with Karen, their chicken rice used to be the best I have tasted in Sydney. Their Hainanese chicken wasn’t bad either. But I do notice their standard has dropped lately. We only go there for the chicken rice and Wat Tan Hor. Other dishes are pretty average.
Ellie’s last blog post – Chinese Roast Pork Belly with Crackling (烧肉)
i’ve eaten their twice and my brother always orders the Mango Chicken. i actually don’t think it’s on the menu but it comes out similar to a Sang Tung chicken. not even sure if it’s a Malaysian dish. it’s a pity Alice’s wasn’t open, that’s one of my favs for Malaysian in Sydney. Ice Kachang in a milkshake tumbler – oh dear! they have much to learn.
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Simon Food Favourites’s last blog post – Collier’s Sandwich Company, Woolloomooloo (1 June 2009)
completely agree that hainanese chicken is such a simple dish yet so hard to perfect – the best hainanese chicken I’ve probably had has always been home-cooked. shame to hear that you had an average meal but your photos are stunning as always!
jenny’s last blog post – weekday lunches
I always wondered what this place was like. How disappointing, and that is NOT an ice kacang! Boo hiss!!! I was at Alice’s just the other day and the Hainanese chicken was pretty good, too bad it’s not open for dinner every night!
Steph’s last blog post – Simple Dinners: Chicken & Leek Pot Pie
Aww fail ice chendol
and the shredded beef looks tasty even though it’s not Malaysian haha. The batter on the 5 spice pork roll is weird.. never seen before.
Hee hee yes Billy, you should listen to your Mummy’s words of wisdom!
FFichiban’s last blog post – New Shanghai – Chatswood, Sydney
Sucks the chicken wasn’t as good. The last time I was at Temasek it was pretty good, tender and slimy. One of the ‘best’ Ive had was in Singapore at a Hawker Market, it was the sauces!
Howard’s last blog post – Yuletide Pork dinner at Restaurant Atelier, Glebe
Sorry the meal didn’t turn out better, especially the Hainam chicken. Weird seeing a fortune cookie (an American invention, I think) at a Malaysian restaurant in Australia. But the advice inside is good.
Nate’s last blog post – Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Ultimate Backyard Lu’au
@Forager: Temasek’s hainan chicken is better than Istana for sure, even Alice’s is better. Mamak is pretty close to what we have in Malaysia.
Shantung chicken is more like fried crispy chicken with sweet sour plum powder dip no?
@pablopabla: well you malaysian I am sure how picky we are
@Karen: I think Alice’s or Temasek is still doing better hainan chicken. I guess I have high expectation
@donna: hmmm havent had the prawn for a long time, is it the same as “nai you ha?” will try it next time when I am around.
@Ellie: maybe I had the few chicken left of the evening. Will go back to order again to do it justice. Wat tan hor is something I havent had for a long long time… miss it
@Simon Food Favourites: Mango chicken? never heard of it!
@jenny: Yeah, it Tues night after all, not surprise the chicken has been cooked and chilled since morning.
@Steph: Cool looking forward to your post and do a compare.
@FFichiban: Have you been to Temasek? the ngo hiang there is pretty good.
@Howard: Yeah I prefer the hainanese chicken at temasek too.. tender silky and slippery. I think we need to go a group outing at temasek and order a big crab!
@Nate: Yeah hahaha I think fortune cookie invented in SF or Japan.
i like the kangkung or water spinach… chinese cuisine also have this with fermented ground fish… it taste heavenly…
Sad to see this place drop in quality. When I went last time, it was that great either. Maybe a year ago, the salt and pepper tofu, and the crab was AWESOME. On my most recent visit, everything was not great at all! I thought my homecooked Singapore Chilli Mud crab was better than theirs! However, that kangkung looks delicious… might make it for dinner tomorrow!
Teresa’s last blog post – Eating through a long weekend
hmmm………is there the same restaurant in Parramatta with the same name or am i wrong………..Temasek, Yikes how alot of my friends like that place but i find it pretty average but i have agree Mamak does taste like food back in Malaysia