A lot of people would agree with me when
I say that the hawker food scene in Asia is amazing! The food and vibe just
stimulates ones senses. Imagine the sound and sight of various woks tossing,
chicken being deep-fried, the beautiful aroma of grilled bbq meats and seafood
etc. At Kensington Street's Spice Alley,
you can experience that similar dining scene. Expect shops with
mouthwatering dishes from different Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore,
Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan etc.
Kensington
St is one of Sydney's latest dining
destinations and is located in Chippendale right next to Central Park. Through
a little laneway (closer to the Outram Street end of Kensington Street), you'll
find a wall-painted sign that will point you to the direction of Spice Alley's
location. Then you'll find yourself in a vibrant alfresco dining area with
glowing lantern ceilings. Choose dishes and drinks from various
Kopi-tiam/hawker-style shops. We tried two stalls on this occasion: Alex Lee Kitchen and Old Jim Kee.
Alex Lee Kitchen
 |
| Padang chicken satay sticks |
We ordered some Padang chicken satay sticks ($10) to share. There were 5
Singaporean-style chicken satay skewers and generous satay dipping sauce with
pieces of onion and cucumber on the side. The chicken was nicely cooked and
smoky. The thick dipping sauce itself had a nice balance of peanuty, sweet and
gingery flavours.
The Katong
laksa ($10) was also a winner! Normally the Singaporean-style Katong laksa
would have seafood in it but here, you have a choice to either have chicken,
prawns, pork balls, fish balls or vegetables for your toppings. It also came
with thin rice noodles and tofu. I like that it had minimal toppings but quite
generous with the chicken. That way, the flavoursome laksa super lemak (aka
fatty, creamy and rich) soup remains the star of the dish.
 |
| Chatterbox chicken rice |
Their Chatterbox chicken rice ($10) is pretty good too! This is their
version of the Hainanese Chicken rice. Oh man! It certainly took me back to
Maxwell Hawker Center back in Singapore! The shimmering and succulent poached
chicken thigh was perfectly cooked. Along with the chilli ginger sauce and
extra flavoursome chicken rice, it was gold!
Old Jim Kee
 |
| Penang Lobak |
We also indulged in some of Old Kim
Jee's Malaysian cuisine starting with their Penang Lobak (aka Loh bak or Lor bak). This Malaysian classic dish
is pork marinated in five spice, wrapped in think bean curd skin and then deep
fried! The skin was nice and crisped. The pork was juicy and tender bursting
with five spice flavour and aromatics. You need to try this if you haven't! It is
legit and off the chainz!
 |
| Char Koay Teow |
Another classic is their Char Koay Teow aka CKT ($10). CKT is
definitely my favourite Malaysian Chinese dish and their version did not
disappoint. It had wok hei, generous amounts of prawns, lap cheong (Chinese
sausage) and amazing crispy pork fat bits! Stir in the sambal on the side to
give the dish a more vibrant taste!
 |
| Ice lemon tea |
We also got some amazing Malaysian
beverages. The ice lemon tea ($3.50)
was a refreshing sweetened drink with a nice balance of light black tea and
citrus flavours.
 |
| Ice the tarik |
I loved their ice teh tarik ($3.50) too! It wasn't too sweet and the amount of
milk did not mask he flavours of the tea.
For its location, food quality and
amount, I thought the prices were very reasonable. I will be hitting up Spice
Alley next time for their ramen at Ky-Oto and the HK-style Beef Brisket with
noodles at Hong Kong Diner. Heads up! You can only pay with Paywave cards or
Kopi-tiam Spice Alley cards (which can be bought in the premises).
Spice
Alley
Kensington Street,
Chippendale NSW
Hours: 11:00am to 10pm everyday
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