I’ve wanted to go to Shakahari for years, but since it’s juuuuust on the other side of the city, it’s too close to make a special trip, but too far to just randomly drop in. So when the Doctor and I were invited to go with a bunch of friends recently, including a very special visitor from New York, I jumped right on it!
Isn’t it embarrassing when people who live in a different country have been to a “local” restaurant more times than you?
“Legendary Shakahari Satay” – tofu and seitan skewers, pickled vegetables, turmeric rice and mild peanut sauce $21
Even before I knew we were going to Shakahari, I had been craving tofu satay. This version included seitan as well as fried tofu, which was a nice contrast. Unlike Chinese-style mock meat, the tofu and seitan didn’t taste overly greasy. The rice was nicely chewy, which stood up well to the quite sweet satay sauce. Chilli-head that I am, I would have liked it to have more heat.
“Laksa Hebat” – udon noodles, mushrooms, bean sprouts, tempeh, tofu, seitan and herbs in coconut stock $21
The Doctor’s laksa was also lighter than what you would get at a more “authentic” place. If I could make laksa like this, we would definitely be having it more often! (Wait, is that a good thing??)
“Cassava and Sago Kuih” (kueh) – layers of steamed cassava, coconut and sago with pandan, in gula melaca and coconut cream sauce $14.50
I was so excited to see kueh on the menu. I often buy kueh lapis for a friend with gluten issues, but I never think to get it for myself since I grew up eating itin Singapore. The taste and texture were wonderfully familiar, and not overly sweet. However, I tried to ignore the mint. While it had a nice scent, it overpowered the pandan.
The Doctor loved the crumble so much, he immediately asked me to recreate it at home. Fair enough – the topping was both flaky and crunchy, and the fruit below was molten hot. I was amused by the waitress asking if he wanted cream or yoghurt on the side, considering how much the rest of the menu was promoting vegan and non-dairy options. I suppose they know not everyone eating there is necessarily all the way left of centre :)
| Food |  |
| The current menu seems to be either straight South East Asian, or at least Asian-influenced. I really loved how they managed to stay light so we didn’t feel overstuffed. | |
| Ambience |  |
| I would have called the place dark… until we went to Spice Temple. So now I rate it “gently lit” :) The front of the restaurant is yellowy-brown, but it looks like every other terrace building around the area. We nearly walked straight past it at dusk. |
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| Location | |
| Parking in inner city Melbourne is all about luck, but there is paid parking around the corner on Drummond Street. Trams are all around the place too. | |
| Service | |
| As expected for a restaurant of this standing (fast, efficient and polite). We thought it was weird that they only offered soy sauce as a condiment when asked for table salt… especially since the dish was a Italian-syle pasta. |
Disclaimer: Sefie and the Doctor visited Shakahari on Sunday 18th January, 2015 with friends. Meals and drinks were paid for by the group. This review is unsolicited and not sponsored.