Following my meal at Kitchen Inn in Calamvale, I was quite keen to try and compare it to Pappa Rich, which opened to quite a bit of fanfare in level one Wintergarden on the 17th of September.
Upon arriving, I was really quite impressed with the layout, bright and modern, it had quite an authentic Asian feel to it.
Having been opened for over two weeks though, I was surprised when there was a significant line up during lunch hours. We lined up for 20 minutes before being given a table, and I noticed that service wasn't as prompt as it could have been (whilst there was a build up of customers waiting outside, vacated tables inside were not cleaned up as quickly as they could have been).
Nevertheless, we took the opportunity to peruse the extensive menu during the wait. I really liked the amount of detail provided to describe their base ingredients, such as this noodle page.
Despite the earlier inefficiencies, when we were given a table, I was rather blown away by their ordering system. Each table had a tick sheet and a buzzer for when you needed attention. Having decided early on what we wanted to eat, we put the order in almost immediately after sitting down.
My first companion tried their infamous roti canai. She said that the roti was one of the best she ever had, even better than Mamak in Sydney. She said the curries were slightly too hot for her liking but other than that, quite delicious.
Another companion had the Pappa Fried Noodles, ,which our waitress called Char Kway Teow when she set it down. Having been educated by my friend Burger Connisseur about the essentials of a good char kway teow I was surprised that they didnt use the flat rice noodles, rather opting for thick round ones. I was also surprised that it lacked a lot of the essential elements of a char kway teow such as chinese sausages and fish cake. However if you judge it as a basic fried noodle, it was still quite yummy, being slightly tangy and spicy.
I ordered the Wat Tan Hor, which consists of flat rice noodles in egg sauce. It was served with tasty fish cake, prawns, chicken and veges. Personally, I consider it to be quite a homey comfort food. It had a considerably milder taste than what my companions had been eating, and the sauce was smooth and delicious. The noodles itself was caramelised to a point where there were some nice crispy bits. I found the serving size to also be very generous, although I do note that it was a bit more expensive than what you would normally be able to get at Sunnybank though.
My final companion's meal was the last to come. It was curry chicken served with mantou. It came a good twenty minutes after the rest of our food came and with much prompting. She was impressed with the meal though, as the chicken was boneless, the curry was strong and rich, and the mantou was light and soft.
We also tried two drinks that day, being the Teh C Special and the Pappa Delicious White Coffee.
The Teh C Special is an aesthetically pleasing three layer tea. The bottom is filled with Gula Melaka Syrup (being palm sugar syrup), the middle is evaporated milk, and the top is brewed black tea. Mixed together, I found the tea very smooth and creamy. I enjoyed its strength, whilst noting that as my usual preferences, it wasn't excessively sweet. It provided a nice change from the usual Hong Kong style milk teas that I often drink.
My companion had the Malaysian style Pappa White Coffee, which was surprisingly delicious. Drinking it reminded us of those Kopiko lollies we had in our childhood. I suspect though, that this was probably made from one of Pappa Rich's retail three in one coffees which they were selling in the store. It was definitely different from the usual cafe style coffees we have on a daily basis.
Price Range: $8 - $20 per person
Taste: 7.5/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 5/10 (probably because it's new, but staff efficiency could do with some improvements)
Environment: 8/10
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