Was in town during the weekend and needed something to eat. I have always passed this place but never tried it. I have noticed however, that they have cleaned the place up and also changed the furniture. Also I have seen more people eat here, especially ones from Asia.
Curry Laksa
I thought I would continue my Curry Laksa quest, to find the best Curry Laksa in Wellington. I was very surprised to see the dish once it arrived. It looked very presentable, but the fish balls were pure white and was surprised to see beans in the dish. The beans disappointingly were cooked from frozen and had no taste. The fish balls were not originally cooked in the soup and I do not think neither were the bean sprouts and noodles, which I thought was interesting. Also in the soup were deep fried pieces of tofu and thin slices of fish cakes. Also I was surprised to see how much oil was on top of the soup. However, I was surprised to taste it. It was overall very nice, but slightly sweet. The soup was made from paste and had a nice shrimp paste backbone to it. I was actually impressed.
Fried Chicken and BBQ Pork on Rice
This dish was rather interesting. The Pork was alright, not dry and tasted alright. The fried chicken was good but needed more seasoning on it, but the sauce poured on top compensated for that. What really impressed me was how fresh the green vegetable (bok choi) was and crisp. What did disappoint me was the side soup. It was so heavy on the MSG it was actually impossible to drink.
Hainanese Chicken Rice
I did wonder when this place ever gets busy and when I walked past around mid day on a Sunday this place was busy. So I decided to go back in and try another dish. The soup again was too flavoursome and had lots of MSG in it. The rice was standard steam jasmine rice not garlic rice. The chicken was deboned and had meat from the thigh and breast part of the chicken. Overall the dish was nice but had lots of MSG in it and as there was no garlic in the rice, I think it was added into the sauce that was poured on top of the chicken. What I did like was the chilli sauce.
Visiting this place a few times R & S menu is extensive but the food is a bit of a mixed bag. I suppose if you have your favourites then that is what you order there, a bit like KC Cafe. I feel they are a bit heavy on the MSG on some dishes, which I think is a real shame. After four hours of eating there I am still really thirsty.
Address; 148 Cuba St, Wellington
Trencherman's Travels 