Cindy and I planned badly for dinner on Saturday night, not deciding to cook until it was far too late. After postponing our kitchen-work halfway through, we decided life would be easier if we ordered something in. We're on a constant quest for tasty home-delivered options and, after deciding that pizza and Indian weren't going to hit the spot, went exploring for Thai or Vietnamese places instead.It's always hard to find restaurants that deliver, so Menulog was a bit of a godsend. It compiles restaurants that deliver and their menus, even letting you order over the web with a credit card - I'm still trying to figure out whether they're more expensive than just ringing the restaurant, but I don't think that they are. Anyway, Menulog meant that we discovered a few places that would deliver food to us and once we discovered Steph's review, it was clear that Penang Affair would be feeding us for the night.
We ordered two entrees and two mains: spring rolls ($5.90), tofu goreng ($6.90), the char kueh teow ($10.90) and some spicy tempura eggplant ($16.90). Everything was very satisfactory: the tempura eggplant was the standout, sprinkled with little chilli pieces and seasoned liberally with 5-spice powder, these were wonderfully tasty even without the plum sauce that came on the side. The char kueh teow hit the spot as well - lots of vegies and tofu amidst the saucy noodles - as did the spring rolls, which were crispy sauce vessels as per usual. The tofu goreng was a bit of a disappointment, the description (Deep-fried fresh tofu pieces layered with slices of cucumber, bean shoots and topped with satay sauce) was better than the result, which was a bit heavy on the rather gluggy satay sauce for my taste. Still, for about $40 we got enough food to feed us for about 5 person-meals and all delivered straight to our door. Score!
Editted 08/03/11: Brian from Fitzroyalty has recently reported that Penang Affair has closed.
Address: 325 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
Ph: 9419 7594
Licensed and BYO
Price: Vegie mains: $10.90-$16.90, entrees: $5-$10.90
Website: www.penangaffair.com.au
mmm... thanks for that Menulog link. I can see a few new local places to try already.
ReplyDeleteHi Michael and Cindy, I've been a long time lurker but thanks for the plug and I'm glad you found Menulog useful!
ReplyDeleteWe'd like to expand the choice available to people ordering veg so let me know if there are any local restaurants from the ones you've reviewed that you know do delivery; unfortunately from my memories of restaurants in Melbourne there are heaps of great veg ones but most of them don't look like they deliver..
Hooray!
ReplyDeletehave been there once for a work meal - but can't remember the food well for all the politics - however love the idea of menulog
ReplyDeleteI've used Menulog a couple of times as well.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea and it works well but there's just not enough restaurants in my area (3150) to make it more of a regular destination.
You're welcome, Michael! We've likewise found that very few vegetarian restaurants seem to deliver... the only one I can think of off the top of my head is Mr Natural Pizza. Some restaurants with good veg options that deliver to our area (but didn't turn up in my Menulog delivery search) are Crust Pizza, Mojo's Pizza, Classic Curry Company and Tandoori Times. It was brilliant to see Penang Affair there, otherwise we'd never have known they delivered to us!
ReplyDeleteStrange, Mojos and Tandoori Times are both listed to receive orders:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.menulog.com.au/mojos_weird_pizza_richmond
http://www.menulog.com.au/tandoori_times_st_kilda
Do you mind telling me what postcode you used to search? I want to see why they would not be coming up for your area (you should probably be in their delivery area).
We searched 3053 - I think it's actually the Clifton Hill Mojo's and Fitzroy Tandoori Times that do our deliveries, which might explain why they weren't turning up. :-)
ReplyDeleteAah, thanks. We don't have Fitzroy Tandoori Times taking orders whilst Clifton Hill delivers only to North Carlton :(
ReplyDeletehttp://www.menulog.com.au/mojos_weird_pizza_clifton_hill
I suppose you could try your luck and put your suburb as North Carlton but then there is always a chance the delivery will bounce as having been declined by the restaurant as being outside their delivery area...