Prata-Man Singaporean Cuisine

Restaurant: Prata-Man Singaporean Cuisine Restaurant

Cuisine: Singaporean/Malaysian
Last visited: November 19, 09
Area: Richmond, BC
#180 - 9020 Capstan Way
Price Range: $10-20

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4 (if you stick to recommended items)
Service: 3
Ambiance: 2

Overall: 3.5
Additional comments:

• Family owned and operated – Chinese Malaysian
• Very popular to locals
• Popular hole in the wall
• Homemade/home style
• More Chinese-Malaysian, than authentic Malaysian food
• Seats 20
• Busy for lunch
• Quick eat, cheap prices
• Lunch and dinner service
• Eat-in/Take-out (Eat in if you can, paratha bread is better fresh)
• Cheaper price for take-out (I would still prefer to eat in)
• Cash only

**Recommendation: Chicken curry, paratha bread, Hainanese Chicken (Don’t bother exploring their items, these are the ones)

This place is the definition of “hole in the wall” – the location is quite hidden at the end of a small plaza on Cambie. It seats about 20 and everything looks really rundown from inside and out. Even the chefs/cooks are wearing those super thin plastic disposable aprons – the same material they use as table cloths at cheap dim sum places. As much as a dive this place feels and looks it manages to be one of the most popular hole in the walls in Richmond…maybe even THE most popular.

I’ve been here on a few occasions and people often get take-out from here for potluck dinners. I’ve always been pretty impressed by it until I started ordering items that aren’t as popular. Don’t bother exploring the menu. I also got take-out on my last visit there and I’ve never really been disappointed, except on this occasion. So I’m going to base my review taking all my visits there into consideration too.

On the table:

• Beef Rendang 1/6
• This is a very popular Malaysian dish, but the one they make here is not representable of it at all! It’s supposed to be a beef slowly cooked in coconut milk and Malaysian spices until it becomes falling apart tender and absorbs all the liquids and juices it’s cooked in. However they made it into beef brisket curry – beef rending looks and tastes NOTHING like this.
• First, it’s supposed to be a deep reddish brown colour, not yellow.
• I kept thinking maybe they made a mistake with my order. But they told me it would take longer, which it should because it’s slow cooked; however I think it took longer here because nobody orders it. It took 15 min. to make – so I know there was no mistake, it was just not Beef Rendang.
• It had beef brisket, potatoes and curry sauce. Even as a beef brisket and curry it wasn’t that great. The beef brisket was extremely fatty and there was hardly any meat.
• Where to get REAL AUTHENTIC Beef Rendang: Kedah House on 1652 South East Marine Drive, Vancouver (East Van). The best here.

• Paratha Bread 5/6
• I love their paratha bread here, but because I got take-out it wasn’t as good as good. I would really recommend eating in if you can. If you get it to go I’d order it with rice.
• It almost tastes like there’s potatoes in the recipe. It’s fresh and made upon order. It’s very soft with a crispy outside and it pulls apart beautifully. It’s a bit thicker and bigger than what most places will serve.
• It must be eaten with their curries. Yum!

• Tofu Goreng 3/6
• Deep fried tofu with bean sprouts and peanut satay sauce for dipping.

• This is a very popular Malaysian appetizer that Malaysian people would order. The recipe isn’t authentic here.
• Again, better if you eat-in, and again it’s not a poplar item and they do make it better at other places. The best I’ve had it is again at Kedah House.
• The tofu was big pieces, which is good because some places serve it with tiny pieces.
• It’s very crispy, but didn’t have soy sauce or chili sauce. I’m not sure if they serve it differently when you eat-in, but tofu goreng has to be served with chili soy sauce.
• The peanut satay sauce on the other hand was amazing! There was lots of ground peanuts, garlic, ginger and I think some honey to combine it all and sweeten things up. It was very fresh with fresh pureed lemongrass too. It was thick, slightly spicy, sweet, and nutty.