The Sarapan

Unilocalers may think that my opinion is biased but it has won over my heart of hearts!
My partner and I and another couple of friends had breakfast/​brunch here yesterday. We ordered the Nasi Lemak Rice with Chicken, Lontong, and 2 serves of Roti Chanai.
Let me just cut to the chase and say that the Nasi Lemak was the best Nasi Lemak dish we’ve ever had at any restaurant in Perth. We’ve tried all kinds of places from Indonesian, chinese-​malay shops but this one trumps over all the others. The rice was frangnant with the right amount of coconut milk, it was cooked perfectly and wasn’t overly sticky. The sambal sauce was the star of the dish. Not too hot nor sweet. Scented with the acceptable amount of shrimp/​anchovies. It had tangy tones to it and the fried chicken piece was quite big. All in all, the dish was true to the traditional malaysian orgin.
The roti canai were absolutely crisp and tasty. It was not chewy, which may be the case in many other places where the roti is very chewy. The down side was the dhall curry; it didnt taste like dhall curry at all. This is the most, must have combination to the roti. It lacked flavor and ghee.
All the kuih (cakes) we ordered were delicious and on point. There were really so perfect. Like buying them off a vendor at a Malaysian pasar malam (night market).
This is a must try place if you are a fan of malaysian/​south-​indian breakfast. I look forward to trying the thosai and the appam coz who else other than a South-​Indian, would know the original taste to critique the dish for other Unilocalers.
Can’t Wait!
Love,
Delilah

What do you think of eating after having a baddy workout??? Roti canai!!!
My friends and I were finally able to check out the sarapan! So many Malaysian dishes on the menu that made my mouth water. Ended up ordering the nasi lemak and the roti telur set which came with your choice of drink and kueh… Awesome deal! Got my Teh Tarik fix really loved the food! Such good quality and reminds me being back in KL.
Definitely will be back! The owners are such lovely people and their kids help out too! So cute!
Just note that they are only open on Saturdays and Sunday’s.

From the outside the restaurant looks like a house so it threw me off a little. I thought to myself «Did I get the address wrong?» But in actual fact it IS a house! The owners converted an old house into a commercial restaurant and kitchen leasing it out to different pop-​up food vendors. On weekends for brunch it is operated by The Sarapan. Which makes sense because ‘sarapan’ in Indonesian and Malay means ‘breakfast’ or ‘first meal of the day’.
We rocked up at 10am and there was still 2 – 3 tables empty but it quickly filled up shortly after. Be sure to rock up early to ensure you get a table. It is quite a small café with approx 20 seats.
The menu is not extensive but it doesn’t need to be! I was already stumped with what to pick. Everything sounded so tasty and was super reasonably priced. I decided to be reasonable and not to order more than I can handle. 2 of my gfs on the other hand went all out. Worked out for me anyways because it meant that I can just steal some of theirs hehe :)
Everything we tried was very authentic and tasty, we demolished our dishes down to the last crumb. We ordered the roti prata, roti canai, house made kaya and toast, teh tarik, nasi lemak, and even potato rosti with smoked salmon from the Western menu.
Prices were extremely reasonable — food & drink! Where can you go and get a breakfast for less than $ 15 in Perth?

The Sarapan is my favourite brekkie place. I don’t do brekkie but have been here 3 times. One of the few Halal breakfast and brunch places, menu changes throughout the year. Their roti, nasi lemak and kuih are great. Mind you, kuih size is understandably smaller than back home. The new summer 2015 menu offers the Sarapan Stack and Sarapan Croque Monsieur. Ask for the teh tarik as teh o is disappointing– black tea bag and hot water. Was let down with that. Definitely book ahead as it can get very busy on Sundays!.

I’m living the dream! Post training on a glorious day, a pop up venue frequented predominantly by Malays and delicious, fresh authentic cuisine. I only could do with a little more chilli.
Beautiful aromatic coffee beans from Sumatra and, coincidentally, my favourite barista from the Qantas Club also works here!
Cash only. Beware the ferocious parking inspectors.

This pop-​up brunch venue on Leonard Street, have name themselves ‘Sarapan’ meaning ‘breakfast’ in Malay. Serving both Malaysian and Western dishes, what really drew me to Sarapan was the Roti Canai and Nasi Lemak. Only open on weekends, this café shares their space with other pop-​up businesses.
I really enjoyed the Nasi Lemak ($ 11.50) here, a dish of fragrant coconut rice and spiced fried chicken served with sambal, anchovies, peanuts, slices of cucumber and boiled egg. The portion of sambal (a southeast Asian chilli sauce) was generous and had a good balance of sweetness, saltiness and spiciness. The fried chicken could have been juicier, but it was fried perfectly with a tasty coating of spices.
My friend Aaron also ordered an iced Teh Tarik ($ 4.50), a traditional ‘pulled’ Malaysian milk tea with condensed milk.
The freshly made Roti Canai ($ 5) was crispy on the outside, as well as soft and fluffy. It was served with a dahl and chicken curry sauce on the side, for dipping. Even though we were given cutlery, the best technique to eat the roti is to rip it apart with your bare hands. I would come here again to eat this, and maybe add an egg next time for only 50c extra.
Aaron and I were tossing between the Malaysian style Eggs & Toast ($ 5) or the Kaya Toast ($ 5), which we saw scribbled on the bottom of the menu. In the end we chose the Kaya Toast, which was a good choice that reminded us so much of Singapore. ‘Kaya’ is a sweet and creamy coconut spread, which was served with thick slices of white Hainan toast and a good portion of butter. There was enough kaya leftover that we could order an extra piece of toast (only 50c extra) to wipe it up.
Overall, I think that this quaint pop-​up café is worth a visit. The staff are friendly and the service is quick. I will definitely be returning on a weekend to try the Roti Bom ($ 5) a sweet version of the Roti Canai, served with condensed milk.

In a small cottage just off the main strip in Victoria Park sits a little venue open on Saturdays and Sundays called The Sarapan. Sharing the same site as the weekly lunch venue, J Benton, it’s a small restaurant, simply decorated with bright light pouring in through the windows. I quite like the idea of a share venue, with different chefs running the show at different times in the week. Previously Wicked Satays were there at night, however I think they’ve closed now.
We arrive on a Saturday and to my surprise the venue is only half full — I think the word is still getting out there for this place. Since the weather is quite lovely we sit out the front, enjoying the sunshine and light cool wind.
The menu is simple, with a few Malaysian dishes and a couple Western to choose from. You order and pay inside at the counter — cash only. Once we’ve placed our orders, the food comes out relatively quickly as it’s made. Sitting outside we miss all the delicious smells that tend to waft out of kitchens (especially ones that serve curry!) but we’re all enjoying the outing together. Soon enough, food starts to come out as it’s ready.
First up is the roti canai ($ 5.00) which is crispy flatbread freshly made to order served with dahl sauce with sambal and chicken curry. You can also elect to add egg for 50c. Talk about some pretty great prices! The roti is ethereally light, flaking apart with ease. I like the rustic look, though I think presentation wise the little bowls probably should have been wider for easier dipping. That said, I particularly enjoyed the dahl which was spiced, salty and flavoursome.
The nasi lemak ($ 11.50) is fragrant coconut rice with fried spiced chicken, sambal, anchovies, peanuts, slices of cucumber and boiled egg. The rice has a nice flavour, however I would have liked the coconut/​pandan flavour upped in intensity to match some of the incredible nasi lemaks we had in KL last visit. The sambal is sweet but spicy, working well with the other ingredients — especially those crisp little anchovies and crunchy peanuts. The cucumber and egg are just right to cleanse the palate with.
The fried chicken was steaming hot, juicy and tender inside. The spice on the outside of the chicken is flavourful and golden, bringing some contrast and taste to each bite. The chicken skin has a nice little crunch in some sections — so good! We all pull it apart, completely devouring it as we let little billowing clouds of steam escape our mouths.
From the western dishes on the menu comes out the potato rosti and smoked salmon ($ 16.00) which is served with avocado, slow roasted tomatoes, two sous vide eggs, hollandaise sauce and salad.
The sign of a good potato rosti is a crisp inside and slightly soft inside so you get the perfect contrast of texture. This one was crunchy all the way through which is better than being soggy, but it was a little on the dry side. The eggs are soft from the sous vide process, and while the yolks are orange, they were liquid. No egg goo satisfaction sadly.
For me, this dish didn’t shine anywhere near the Malaysian ones.
We finish things off with a couple extra pieces of fried chicken ($ 3.50) since we finished off the piece with the nasi lemak a little too quickly. They come out with some dollops of ketchup and barbecue sauce for dipping. A little unconventional for Malaysian style chicken, but the barbecue sauce goes particularly well with the piping hot pieces of meat.

The most interesting thing about Vic Park’s latest Malaysian breakfast joint is it’s a pop up café, only appearing every weekend from 8−2PM then packing up and disappearing again until the following week.
Although the Malaysian dishes on the menu looked scrumptious (I had major food envy as the Roti Canai floated by), I was very intrigued to try the Potato Rosti and Smoked Salmon ($ 16), served with sous vide eggs, avocado, roasted tomato and hollandaise sauce. I’m a huge fan of the sous vide method of cooking, and my eggs were cooked to perfection. Crispy and light, the rosti were the perfect base to a wonderful, flavour packed dish. The freshness of the salmon and avocado worked perfectly with the richness of the egg and I was so impressed. The dish was beautifully presented and I was one happy diner.
Whilst the drinks menu is slightly lacking, we were too into our food to really care about the limited liquid choices.

The Sarapan serves the best and most authentic Nasi Lemak and Roti Canai in Perth. The nasi has great flavour with all the trimmings and the roti canai is flaky, not too oily and just perfect! I make the trip from NOR and it’s worth the travel time!

A breakfast which reminds me of home. One of the best nasi lemak in Perth! Coconut rice fragrant and cooked perfectly. Ikan bilis crunchy … nothing worse than non crunchy ikan bilis. Nice sambal, perfect heat except there is not enough of it which is a shame cos that spoiled the experience somewhat! Nice handmade roti paratha (a tad too oily for my taste) with tasty dhall and curry chicken.