Their kitchen can be freely viewed by the public so you can rest assured the food would be prepared hygienically using fresh produce.

FYI, Milo is a staple beverage in Malaysia, and you can literally can buy a bag full of iced Milo for a dollar or two and it's super refreshing for the never-ending humid days there. I chanced upon teh tarik in Sydney and have been an avid lover ever since. You're probably wondering why I never had it in Malaysia, and honestly I don't know myself. The teh tarik was pretty standard and satisfied my craving for it at the time, obviously could have done with a larger glass but what can you do.

I only had a taste of the chicken itself and will make sure to order it next time. The poached chicken was so moist (everyone's favourite word) and tender and I can only imagine what the rice was like. I'm thinking fragrant rice cooked in chicken stock so I definitely can't pass up this classic Malaysian/Singaporean dish on my next visit. 

My friend remarked that the noodles were too spicy for him but I think he enjoyed it. I didn't try it but from the looks of it, it was pretty tasty and flavourful. I did think it was unusual that a thinner variation of rice noodle was used. Hawker didn't skimp on the prawns though so that's a thumbs up considering the price point.

Another dish I didn't try was char siu with egg noodles. I can't recall what my friend said about this dish unfortunately I don't think it was anything remarkable but it wasn't a bad dish either. It came with a bowl of soup and dumplings to counter the "dryness" of the egg noodles tossed in soy sauce. 

Great for sharing between two or more people (but no one said you can't have them all to yourself), these chicken skewers were bursting outside and inside with flavour. Grilled to perfection to achieve succulent and tender meat and the spicy satay sauce complemented them so well they disappeared in a flash. 

Getting straight to the point, the asam laksa at Hawker was certainly up to my standards and currently my top choice out of PappaRich and Petaling Street. The reason being that Hawker's version tones down on the sweetness compared to Petaling Street's and the tanginess wasn't too overwhelming which I found was the case at PappaRich. My preference is probably due to my being more accustomed to Hawker's style of laksa which is the closest to what I've had in Ipoh, Malaysia. The tamarind broth had a good amount of shredded fish, was deliciously rich and spicy and not to mention addictive, it was a challenge to leave any soup behind. Coupled with the chewy glutinous rice noodles it would be a perfect dish to slurp up in winter.

Spacious and modern

Even if you were required to wait for a table there was a very generously furnished waiting area unlike its CBD location where a throng of people waiting outside on the street would be a common sight.

The busy and bustling kitchen can be observed through stylish cubic glass panels.

We spent a fair bit of time perusing the menu as there was an array of dishes to choose from, admittedly the prices were quite expensive which had an impact on our choices. One dish we were adamant to order from the get go was the Macanese style mini burgers which looked and sounded oh-so-delish.

Service was really prompt but it was important to note that the restaurant was pretty much empty at the time. Food was paced well with most of it brought out together. Dessert, if ordered, can be asked for after finishing mains.

Macanese style mini burgers with pork fillet, pork floss, lettuce and a sweet chilli mayo dressing $16.90

DT and I agreed that this was the best savoury dish out of the ones we ordered. It ticked the boxes for presentation and taste. Deep fried golden milk buns cleverly replaced your conventional burger buns and I would gladly have them any day as they made these sliders super crunchy and flavoursome one-handed affairs. On a side note, let's just forget that they were deep-fried calorific buns. Gotta indulge on the weekend am I right?

The ratio of each component was perfect, a slab of tasty pork fillet, a small handful of shredded lettuce, garnishing of salty and sweet pork floss and a dousing of sweet chilli mayo worked their magic to produce a seriously scrumptious (but mini) burger fusion.

Chinese roti with cheese and mushrooms $12.90

Cheese and roti, not a bad combination at all. Fluffy pastry it was but lacked the delicate and flakey layers characteristic of my all-time favourite Malaysian snack, roti canai. The melted cheese made it more dense and slightly chewy in texture but it enhanced the pastry with its aromatic cheesiness which I enjoyed along with the thin slivers of juicy button mushrooms hidden away in the warm golden pockets of pastry. 

Battered king prawns with wasabi mayonnaise and flying fish roe $24.90

The king prawns had a good bite to them, firm and plump and didn't have that off-putting prawn odour I was expecting so that was a relief. The batter itself was light and crisp with minimal oiliness and had a subdued saltiness which complemented the wasabi mayonnaise. The mayo in itself was quite rich and had a strong wasabi kick where the sting of its vapours would come about most unexpectedly and be strangely satisfying at the same time once the sensation subsided.

Coffee and caramelised pork chops served with a selection of green tea biscuits $22.90

The pork chops were larger than expected, well-seasoned and pan-seared to achieve a flavoursome and caramelised surface. If you're not watching carb intake then get a bowl of steamed rice to go with it. I didn't particularly fancy the thick coffee gravy on the side as it was more bitter than savoury, it wasn't a bad pairing with the pork chops but neither was it necessary. 

I was perplexed by the green tea biscuits but instead of questioning their co-existence with the pork chops I munched on them carefully, alternating with bites of pork. I would still prefer to have my biscuits with say a warm cup of tea or coffee and not so much a piece of meat but they didn't go terribly together. The biscuits alone were actually really decent, they were of a crumbly shortbread consistency with an obvious hint of green tea flavour and not excessively sweet and that was the reason why the odd combination worked because there wasn't a huge contrast in flavour. I suppose the intended way of eating the dish would be eating the pork chops first and then polishing it off with the green tea biscuits. I did leave the green tea egg roll until last and it was indeed pleasant to finish the dish off on a sweeter note. 

I didn't notice it at the time of dining but there should have been another biscuit included which was absent. That's pretty disappointing on their part especially when taking into account the relatively exorbitant prices.

Egg yolk custard bun $4.90 each (minimum order of 2)

Couldn't go past a duo of these vibrantly eccentric character buns after scrolling past @asianfoodninja's video of them. I'm positively certain it is based off of the Japanese Sanrio character Gudetama. It was more peculiar than cute in appearance and very amusing given that these custard buns were deliberately designed to be played with.

Spewing its yolky contents

The novelty of squishing the little bun was too tempting to resist especially since you'll be entertained by it sticking out its tongue in the form of a delectable egg yolk custard. Fun and playfulness factor aside, the steamed bun itself was soft and fluffy, slightly sweetened and contained a sweet, smooth salted egg yolk custard that was still warm and gooey which made it all the more yummy. The buns were prepared to order so we did end up waiting roughly 15 minutes for them to come out but would rather them freshly made than pre-made and re-heated so it was not a big deal.

Wouldn't mind having another bun and squeezing out the molten lava-like custard, absolutely a crowd-pleaser and should be tried at least once. DT and I actually enjoyed it more than their cuter endearing piggy bun sibling; the oozy gooey custard just worked better over the black sesame filling.

Chefs Gallery new location in Bankstown means this popular restaurant chain is now more accessible to me and I would visit again to try more dishes from their comprehensive range. So far, their food has been average overall, with some standouts such as the mini burgers and their charming custard bun. You would be spending extra dough on quintessentially Chinese dishes with a creative twist and in terms of value for money, it wasn't really there. That doesn't prevent it from being a "sometimes" place though because when you're feeling like something a little different and relatively classier than typical Chinese cuisine then Chefs Gallery fits the bill.

Sweet potato fries

Lychee, coconut and mint slushie $5.50

Tempura prawn bao $6

Karrage chicken bao $6

Crispy tofu $6

Crackling pork belly bao $6