Last Saturday, we went for lunch at Five Spices which is located at Lakemba Club. We have been talking about going to this restaurant for a few weeks now but only managed to try it this week. According to their website, they are offering authentic Malaysian and Singaporean cuisine.
The restaurant is located inside The Lakemba Club. It is about 4 mins walk from the Lakemba train station. There are ample parking space around the area. As with any clubs, you will need to sign yourself in. The club is clean, quiet and decorated with beautiful Christmas decorations. The restaurant itself, is spacious, comfortable and clean. It is rated 5 stars in Google reviews.
We did make a reservation and we were 10 mins late. It wasn’t busy at all. You will need to order the food at the counter and drinks at the bar. They offer home delivery through Uber Eats and Menulog, as well as takeaway.
In terms of food selection, they have a reasonable amount of ala carte menu as well as daily lunch specials for A$12. They have separate washrooms for men and women. Friendly and helpful staff. Price wise, there are divided into member price and visitor price. As we are visitors, we paid the full price.
After going through the menu, I find that the menu is a bit confusing. They have Indonesian style nasi goreng, not Malaysian style. Then there are a few dishes which I’m not familiar with such as Kampung Chicken, Imperial Chicken and Kuala Lumpur Noodles (mee goreng mamak?). There are, however, a few familiar dishes like lamb korma, char kway teow, satay, laksa etc. So we’ve decided to order a more familiar Malaysian dishes.
What We Ordered and What We Thought:
Main:
- Char Kway Teow (A$12)
- This noodles dish is very famous in Malaysia especially in Penang, as well as in Singapore. We ordered the lunch special and it came with a soft drink. When it came to the table, it looked well cooked. There are beef, capsicum, scallion and beans sprout. It was also well seasoned. However, we all agreed that this is not the authentic char kway teow but more like a Hong Kong version of stir fry beef noodles. So we were quite disappointed. 2 stars from me.
- Nasi Goreng (A$13.40)
- This is an Indonesian egg fried rice with homemade sambal belachan paste, shredded chicken, and topped with a sunny side up. The look of the dish was appetising and they are spicy. However, with the price we expected more ingredients in the dish. Nothing interesting. 2.5 stars.
- Sambal Stir Fry (A$17.80)
- We have the option of vegetarian, chicken, beef and prawn and we’ve chosen vegetarian. They are stir fry vegetables with their sambal belachan. They have a good level of spiciness. Though I have to say that I don’t really liked the sambal paste. They have more spiciness than a balance of sweetness, saltiness and spiciness. With the price, probably it’s best to order chicken or beef. We gave a 2 stars for this dish.
- Lamb Korma (A$20)
- We have never ordered korma before in any Malaysian restaurants in Sydney so we are excited to try this. Though we were a bit skeptical about the lamb as lamb dishes usually have a strong smell. And we were right, the dish has a strong lamb smell. They curry taste good nevertheless though I would like less coconut cream in the dish. 3 stars.
Char Kway Teow 
Sambal Vegetable Stir Fry 
Nasi Goreng 
Lamb Korma
We did not order dessert this time.
In Conclusion:
We really enjoyed the comfortable environment of the restaurant but we didn’t enjoy the foods that much. I don’t think that we will go back again. However, if you want a spacious, clean and comfortable restaurant for your next family gathering, this could be one of the restaurants to consider.
- Total Bill: A$66.60 (excluding drinks)
- Number of Pax: 4
- Average Bill Per Pax: A$16.65
- Number of Dishes Ordered: 4 mains, 1 plain rice.
Overall Rating (2.5 stars)
(Disclaimer: All opinions on this post are my own. Any information provided in this blog is accurate and true to the best of my knowledge. Any information relied on in this post is at your own discretion.)
More About Five Spices:
- Menu: Click Here
- Location:
- Lakemba Club, 26 Quigg St S, Lakemba, NSW, 2195.
- Phone: (02) 9751 5810
- Opening Hours
- Lunch (Tue-Sun 11.30AM-2.30PM)
- Dinner (Thu-Sun 5.30PM-8.30PM; Fri-Sat 5.30PM-9.00PM)
- Closed on Monday
- Nearest Train Station: Lakemba station (4 mins walk)
- Fully Licensed: Yes
- BYO: No.
- Online Order: Uber Eats, Menulog
- Online Bookings: http://www.thefork.com.au
- Vegetarian/Vegan Friendly: No – but they have vegetable dishes.
- Gluten Free: No.
- Website: Click Here
- FB: Yes. Click Here
- IG: Yes. Click Here
HAVE YOU BEEN TO FIVE SPICES BEFORE?
Share with us your experience in the comment box below.
Sweetest Hour 