Lobak - deep fried bean curd rolls $5.00
What do you get when you mix modest Malaysian comfort food with the tuneful substance of cool jazz?
Sassy’s Red is a Malaysian “kopitiam” (coffee shop) and the new brainchild of Simon Goh, owner of Chinta Ria, Temple of Love at Cockle Bay. This cafe serves up comfort classics that transport diners back to nostalgic Malaysian yesteryears in the spanking new Westfield shopping centre food hall on Pitt street in Sydney’s CBD.
“Ambience and the whole dining experience is just as important as what’s on the plate”, says Simon, where his new gig has been dishing out laksa and mee goreng in feeding frenzies to CBD’s lunch hour crowds.
We kick off our sassy meal with Lobak, deep fried crispy bean curd rolls stuffed with fragrant five-spice chicken mince and water chestnuts dipped into Lingham’s chilli sauce. This is one of my favourite entrees where each morsel is a tantalising mix of flavoursome crisp and succulence.
Fresh sugar cane juice $5.00
Fresh sugar cane juice is icy, refreshing and evokes images of cane juicers on roadside stalls in Malaysia.
Mee Goreng in Sassy's paper pack $11.00
Mee goreng comes in casual paper packets that seal in all the flavours of a fiery wok.
Mee Goreng in Sassy's paper pack $11.00
The egg noodles are tasty, fried tofu cubes and prawn cutlets adding that bit of decadence to what is a huge serving.
Chinta Laksa $12.00
Laksa has become as popular as pizza in recent years and Chinta Laksa is a flavoursome bowl of spicy noodles with sliced fishcake , shredded chicken, fried tofu puffs and beansprouts.
Yee Mee aka Crispy noodles $12.00
Yee Mee aka Crispy noodles is the Cantonese classic where seared crispy egg noodles with prawns, fishcakes and broccoli are complemented by thick gooey egg sauce and the familiar pickled green chillies.
Nasi Joget $13.00 and Teh Tarek $3.50
Each dish gives us distinct flavours and Nasi Joget is no exception. Fragrant tumeric and smoky wok aromas combined beautifully with the frothy sweetness of Teh Tarek, the iconic Malaysian stretched sweet tea.
Roti $4.00 and Curry chicken $11.00
Roti (Malaysian Indian-inspired bread) is another favourite where crisp and flaky bread is perfect for mopping up the thick and spicy sauce of a curry chicken.
The "special" Hotel fried rice (Not on the menu)
“Hotel fried rice is a special dish which is not even on the menu”, says Simon. Studded with peas, carrots and lup cheong (chinese sausage), the rice breaths of “wok breath” and Malaysian nostalgia.
Sago gula $5.00
We finished off our meal with the signature sago gula, a delectable bowl of sweet sago pearls in rich coconut milk drizzled with brown sugar syrup.
Owner Simon Goh with floor managers Yuan and Peter
The affable Simon Goh was on hand to explain the inspiration behind Sassy’s Red, where comfort food is akin to the flavours of your Nana’s cooking. At the same time, diners experience the familiar surroundings of a cosy eatery that blends hot food with cool jazz.
Sassy's Red, Westfield Sydney
Sassy’s servings are relatively large so an equally good size take-away pack was on hand to ensure we relive some sassy flavours later.
Sassy's Red take away bag
Note: ChopinandMysaucepan dined as guests of Sassy’s Red.
Related ChopinandMysaucepan posts:
- Interview: Simon Goh, Sydney’s restaurateur extraordinaire
- Chinta Ria … Temple of Love, Cockle Bay Wharf, Sydney
- Chinta Ria … Mood for Love, Westfield Sydney
Sassy’s Red
Level 5, Shop 5002, Westfield Sydney
188, Pitt Street, Sydney 2000
(02) 8072 8072
“Fresh sugar cane juice is icy, refreshing and evokes images of cane juicers on roadside stalls in Malaysia”
I had exactly the same thought. I’ve never seen fresh cane juice before in Australia.
Mmmm the lobak looks good, have always wanted to try this dish. May be it’s going to be my lunch today, but those hot dogs at the new Snag Stand also look promising. I like the packaging, it’s quite spiffy.
Full credit to Westfields, they’ve been able to lure some great restaurants to level 5… of course, I haven’t been yet, but may yet do after reading your post!
yum the crispy noodles look great! and i loooove the sugar cane juice!
Hurrah for Malaysian food in Sydney!!:) LOL! *proud*
*THIS* post is making my mouth water! This is so much a slice of the motherland (and gastronomy torture!), especially the mee goreng. Thank goodness we’re heading to Singapore in a couple of days and will be getting our fill.
I so want to work near here!! I bet it’s super crazy at lunch time though.
We went here for a quick bite last night. I had the roasted chicken rice which was good (although they don’t have the ginger sauce which I am addicted to). My friend had the prawns which were ok but not something I would order again. I wish they had the sugar cane juice then!
the Lobak is probably my favourite thing so far i’ve tried on the menu. the Mee Goreng looks like it might be pretty good to try next perhaps
Sounds interesting! I still haven’t tried any of the new eateries at Westfield.
Yes – you are right! This Yee mee and roti got me…there is absolutely no where over here that I can go to to get my singaporean/malaysian fix – but your pics will have to do
I really like cool jazz, so I’m sure I’d also like that place!
Hi Three-Cookies, this drink is really sweet, natural sweetness though
Hi Dumpling Girl, the lobak goes really well with the Lingham sauce.
Hi thang, there is so much variety of food to choose from, you should check it out.
Hi chocolatesuze, I love the sugar cane juice too!
Hi Christy, Malaysian food is pretty good in Sydney!
Hi Melissa, I’m sure you’ll get all your food fix in Spore, have fun!
Hi Susan, I’ve managed to avoid lunch time on occasions I’ve been there
Hi Lorraine, agree, the sugar cane juice was a bad miss
Hi Simon, my favourite is the lobak and hotel fried rice.
Hi Maria, make a trip there soon!
Hi The Travelling Chopsticks, you may be able to cook some of the stuff at home
Hi Kath, the place is pretty sassy
Yay, one more place in Sydney to get Sugar Cane juice
Reminds me so much of home!
Hey ChopinandMysaucepan,
Thanks for the advice. I will try Hotel fried rice and lobak next time. I love Malaysian food. I am really interested to see that you all find it comforting. I will go back again and try to ignore I am in a shopping centre. PS awesome pics of the Cameron Highlands.
Okay….C&MSP… I nearly died… almost 2:40am (I had thai ice tea at dinner and couldn’t sleep) and looking at all these yummy food was a torture. LOL. I almost passed out around Roti, my favorite, and those little greasy fried rice. Sigh. What a great restaurant, I want to go there! And I saw the sago gula! I’d love to try it… my body start to react for your site’s yummy food. I am off to bed. now. Talk to you soon! 😉
I would love to try this place, the laksa and the sago look fantastic, and the paper wrapping is a bit of fun too.
All the food so sedap…I wish I live in Sydney. After looking at that tasty mee goreng, I decided to cook it for breakfast tomorrow.
Sugar cane juice. Really? Mmmm, love the stuff. Crispy noodles look amazing too.
I absolutely adore the sugar cane juice, nasi joget and lobak rolls! Always order these during my lunch break to play safe but gee I should really try the mee goreng soon, looks so yumm, like what you normally get back home in mamak stalls. Lucky you get to devour the special hotel fried rice and the owner looks like one funky buddha man haha!
Sugar cane juice…wow your post reminded of India..where we used to drink it almost daily during summers. Love the cripsy noodles. Thank you for sharing this wonderful place with us!
P.S. – Has someone else told you that your page takes a lot of time to load.Or there is some problem with my browser which says “Slow Script ” each time I try to open your blog.
Hi William, fresh sugar cane juice is definitely a rarity around the city unless you venture into places which are prominent with Asian cuisine like Flemington, Cabramatta, Hurstville, Eastwood and Bankstown.
Hi thatssoron, that’s the aim of Sassy’s Red, to transport you home to food favourites.
Hi tania, you will like Hotel fried rice and glad you like the Cameron Highlands post.
Hi Nami, I love the roti too and I’m sure you can get a good one in Frisco.
Hi InTolerantChef, check out the waft of flavours when you open the paper wrapper
Hi Diana, mee goreng tu memang sedap dan enak, kunjungi tempat ni dan sila jemput makan
Hi Anna, yes, fresh sugar cane juice!
See comment to William above.
Hi Eleanor, the owner always feeds me to no end and yes, he is one cool sassy guy.
Hi Tanvi, thanks for letting me know. I think I left the default number of posts at 30 which I think is the problem, I have fixed it now so hopefully it would load a lot faster.