23 Asian Kitchen

Good sized portions, no need to top off at maccas after. Authentic, quality homemade feel to the food. Very enjoyable. We will be back. Great first impression.

The restaurant has been here for many years. Originally started as the Lychee café. This was a sister restaurant to the famous Uncle Chans in Courtenay Place. They started a factory on the premises creating food under the Uncle Chans label. Then they decided to open a restaurant next door run by the boss's wife (or the boss) Lilly. .Unfortunately the new venture didn't work out. Since then the premises has undergone 3 different names. It continued to be Cantonese (ok) then went Malaysian (chef "Raj"-excellent). Unfortunately Raj left and he authenticity went down. Now under this new name the quality has shot up again, but with a different style of Malaysian. Previously Raj did an Indian Malay style of cooking. Now we have a Chinese style of Malaysian cuisine which is equally authentic. Jenny (the Mum) has lots of previous experience including cooking at Pandan Asian cuisine .The Son in law, Ken is also a very experience Chef having worked in many restaurants including Restaurant88 in the past. Together they are cooking authentic Chinese Malaysian cuisine as they would eat in Jenny's village. The Chicken satay is the best I have eaten in Wellington. Normally I order beef satay as chicken tends to be too dry. But here everything is done from scratch with the meat being marinated for a long time and not pre cooked. Very moist flavoursome chicken with a home made satay sauce-Yum! The chicken curry is very good as well. My daughter had the Wat Dan Hor which was also very nice. This is Flat Rice Noodles with an egg sauce. Its a great dish if you are tired as it slides down easily. This is different than Hong Kong style as the Malaysian way is to use a very hot wok to give a slight smoky flavour. Obviously timing is critical otherwise it will taste burnt! Also with the dish is Char Siu BBQ pork that tasted like Char Siu as opposed to pork with a bit of red food colouring on top. I'm looking at you, Chinese takeaway shops.Another daughter had the pan fried squid which was nice and very tender. The secret obviously is not to over cook the squid. The restaurant may be out of the way compared to Courtenay place but the advantage is easy parking, right opposite the restaurant. This is a wonderful Ma and Pop restaurant that deserves your support. Just check out the other reviews as well. As Arnie says," Ï will be back!"

Most authentic Malaysian food in Wellington! I would love to give them 6 stars! :)

Yummy

Amazing food. Big portion and free parking. Prawns were huge!