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Canberra Today 25°/28° | Tuesday, March 19, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Dining / Simple, fast and soul satisfying

Photos by Andrew Finch

PAPPARICH is clear on one thing; its position in the fast-paced, fast-growing Canberra food industry. Things are simple here, by design.

The menu, celebrating the wonders of Malaysian food, is massive and each item has a code. At your table is a pad of paper with a form you fill in (pencils provided). You write down your table number, the number of diners (in the correct boxes, of course… I had to start again being a bit DUH with forms). Then you decide what to eat and how many servings and what to drink. You fill in those slots, too. Then you can add comments, which I assume means directions like “not too hot” or “allergic to peanuts” or, perhaps, if you’re so inclined, “have a nice day”.

Next up, you push the buzzer on the cutlery container and a waiter comes to your table. I must have been having a slow day since I missed that bit, so my friend and I sat for some time waiting for attention.

We had no problem deciding what we wanted but recorded them in the wrong order. Thankfully, our waiter realised that I desperately needed help at that stage and sorted me out.

Now to the food.

The menu is overwhelming and includes more than 110 options – covering all the bases such as satays, snacks, dim sum, fish, noodles, fish dishes (a small selection), vegetarian dishes, specials and Malaysian favourites.

You can order roti canai (Malaysian flatbread) several ways at PappaRich, indeed 16 ways: on its lonesome, with a curry, with a rendang and even with banana and vanilla ice cream.

We ordered our roti, which was soft and slightly sweet, with several sauces that were as rich in colour as they were in taste. It’s so relaxing sharing food this way. I find roti addicting and PappaRich does it extremely well. If you’re in the right spot you can watch the restaurant’s roti master at work. It’s a true performance.

Next up was Jasmine rice with curry chicken and sambal prawns. The rice was soft and fluffy, the prawns plump and juicy and the curry itself a delicious combination of spices. The chicken was a bit dry for our liking.

The dishes at PappaRich are on the generous side, so don’t over order in the first instance. Best to hold back and then add more if you still have room.

Is it the best Malaysian I’ve ever had? No, but it’s quick and soul satisfying. We appreciated the speedy service since we were on our way to the theatre.

PappaRich is a massive place and is always busy. No surprise there.

PappaRich, Bunda Street, Civic, is open seven days. Call 6230 4929.

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Wendy Johnson

Wendy Johnson

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