NanYang Cafe

Food was very nice, service was efficient but despite all the reviews for the excellent Loh Bak I didn’t think it was anything speciaI and probably would not order it again. I will however return to try more of the food on offer. There is a great array of dishes to choose from, at very reasonable prices. Get here before 12.00PM for seating and shorter queuing.

I freaking love this place! I love a good noodle soup, and I love that they have such a good variety here. Very authentic Malaysian, you can tell by the multitude of Asian international students that queue out the door to eat here Monday-​Friday. Super cheap prices for tasty, authentic food that comes out fast. What more could you want on your lunch break? I’ve worked my way through the wonton in noodle soup, crispy pork in noodle soup, honey bbq pork in noodle soup (very sickly, didn’t like this one), and prawn dumpling in noodle soup. I’ve settled on the dumplings as my regular order. It’s a big bowl with 4 of the tastiest, juciest prawn dumplings I’ve had, plenty of egg noodle, and some choi sum in a chicken broth. I add vinegar and chilli oil, both of which you grab from the register after you’ve paid along with your own cutlery and napkins. Some of the fried noodle dishes look great too but I’m more of a soup person so I doubt I’ll get around to trying them.

Star rating for the food only. Like other Unilocal reviews, NanYang Café does serve up some of the best Malaysian food in Adelaide. Some of the dishes on offer are Curry Chicken, Beef Rendang, Char Kway Teow, Indian Mee Goreng, Laksa, Roast Chicken Rice with Noodle Soup, Lor Bak, Beef Hor Fun with additional Crispy Roast Pork, Lor Bak and Hainanese Chicken Rice.
It is very busy most days as it is only open for lunch. A lot of university students also frequent this place. You can usually get a seat upstairs with ten minutes waiting time.
My favourites are the K.L. Hokkien Mee and Curry Chicken.
Customer Service — Star rating 1 star only
What a pity that the woman/​owner behind the Bain-​marie counter is so rude. She doesn’t value having customers in her restaurant by not being pleasant. I asked for certain pieces of curry chicken from the Bain– marie and was told a straight out NO!
As a customer I want to be able to buy what I see. I don’t want the scrawny chicken legs! When I questioned why not, she replied that if I want the thigh pieces, I would be charged $ 3 per piece. Too bad that this was such a tasty Chicken curry.
Overall good food — terrible customer service, but this doesn’t stop the customers from coming back.

very good malaysian restaurant. in rundle mall, relatively hard to find, but once you find it you cant help going there all the time. tried many different meals and never let me down. price very reasonable too.

The well located café is very convenient for city dweller like me who just want a quick quality value for money meal before heading home for the evening, bear in mind this can only happen on a Friday evening.
They close after lunch trade during other weekdays.
This place is frequented by numerous students especially those who come from either Malaysia or Singapore as it serves authentic street food from these countries.
The loh bak is made with pork pieces and not mince, and the flavours are balanced. The sauce which comes with it is just like ‘home’, what more can I say but fully recommend this ‘entrée’ size dish if you haven’t tried it yet, would be as close as you could get from Malaysia.
If do not like pork fat pieces, please do not order char keow teow, either that you will have to pick those pieces out. Just don’t forget that these give the flavour n authenticity to the dish.
During busy times, the system of getting another line up the stairs work well for the business, but one just can’t sit where you want as table is allocated when you order. This may offend a few customers, but many cafés and food court outlets are streamlining it that way, a way to control their tables allocation.
This is not a place to linger over your meal, it is more of a place of ‘eat and go’, with that in mind, service is quick and turn over of tables is high. Do take out if you wish to savour slowly over your meal and enjoy in the comfort of your own home or office!

Nanyang does legitimately authentic Malaysian food unlike so many others in Adelaide.
It’s cheap, delicious and you’ll wait no more than minutes between ordering and being served.
Their kway teow, laksas and hor fun are all delicious and I have yet to find a better version of any of these in Adelaide.
Highly recommend anyone that likes authentic Malaysian try this place, it’s easily the best of it’s ilk in Adelaide currently.

Just tried this place with my Malaysian partner and his mum. The food does not taste authentic and was unfortunately bland. Staff are friendly and the place is spacious and clean. If this is the best option in Adelaide, I must confess that I am disappointed! Melbourne does have tastier choices!

Woohoo! As good as it gets! That’s really what this restaurant is. I’ve been to this place like 3– 4 times already. So I’m just gonna do a overall summary here.
Authentic Malaysian cuisine. Trust me. I’ve been trying many places in Adelaide looking for familiar taste, something that brings back the fond memories of the past. And nowhere else in Adelaide can you find someone that cooks better Malaysian food than this place..
So far I’ve tried Nasi Lemak, Beef Hor Fun (wide rice noodle), Wanton Noodles and Laksa. I’ve also tried the drink called «Cham» which is actually a mixture of soybean milk and glass jelly.
Although there are some ‘modification’ to the ingredients, like the Wanton noodles, the Wanton are not actual Wantons, but Dim Sim; most dishes I tried are true authentic taste of Malaysian food.
It’s common to see a long queue in the restaurant. You have to make your orders first and get a table number from the counter. The restaurant settings feels like the 80 to early 90s.
Definitely my favorite. Be sure to try the Beef hor fun if you do visit.

This has been an icon eatery in the Renaissance Arcade for many years, and once you eat there you’ll understand why. And why you nearly always have to wait for a table.
The food is top notch Malaysian/​Chinese from this little storefront
They serve a variety of dishes.
One of my favourites is the combination roast meat (Pork, Duck, Chicken is what I usually have) served with noodles

The owners of this Chinese/​Malaysian restaurant have established many successful businesses over the years. I first become a patron when they had a stall called the Penang Hawkers Corner in the old John Martins Arcade (I think it was called that, it was 20 years ago!). When the arcade was demolished, they moved to the Pultney Street end of the Renaissance Arcade as a restaurant, and now they are in bigger premises as NanYang Café in the middle of the Renaissance Arcade.
It is best to be one of a patient disposition, as there is always a wait for a table, as the restaurant despite being their largest yet and on two levels with an upper mezzanine is always packed to capacity. And so it should be, the food simply can’t be beat. Always fresh, tasty and authentic, you won’t find better even at twice the price.
Their combination roast is a favourite, along with their Beef Rendang, which is another favourite of mine.
When you enter, you are greeted by cheery staff, and there is a man who is very efficient at allocating tables during the rush hour. There is no table service, but once your food is ordered and paid for, you will not wait long for it. The kitchen is at the front and you can look in from a window from the outside to salivate over the hanging roast ducks, and see the hive of activity led by chef Raymond who has been there since it all began. From behind the front counter, the matriarch keeps the whole show in fine tune.
Whenever I am in the city, I make sure that I pop in, and I am never disappointed.

Always bustling with people eating and enjoying themselves, and the food is great so why wouldn’t they be. This has been one of those little secret spots that only the blessed have been eating at for too long. It’s high time everyone knew about the Chicken laksa here. Everything is good but the Chicken Laksa is outrageously good. All the usual fare as far as Malaysian cooking is concerned, but I suppose the atmosphere is really cool as well — it has so many nice positions to sit with the upstairs seating keeping you away from the constant take away crowd lining up for their food. And there is not so long as you’d expect when it comes to the wait. There are more than one cook making food in the kitchen so it’s all good.