Sataybar
Cnr of Flinders Lane & Custom House Lane (map)
Phone 03 9629 1466
Satay Stix
Now closed
On one of our days off last year, we decided to do a satay challenge for lunch. We wanted to know if we can find authentic, cheap and tasty satay in Melbourne CBD. Firstly, I have to say that I really hate how South East Asian hawker foods are so damn pricey here. I mean, a satay stick costs a few cents in Singapore, but here it’s a few dollars! I know that there are differences in labour costs, rents, etc.. but I think part of the issue is that hawker dishes are served as a restaurant food, whereas in SE Asia, it’s just street meat. If someone would just set up a satay cart instead of serving it in fancy surroundings, the price might go down. The public should also refuse to pay exhorbitant prices for street food! OK rant over.
We hit up two places that specialised in satay – Satay Stix and Satay Bar. Note that Satay Stix has since closed (let this be a lesson not to leave posts sitting around for too long), however, they did indicate that they might reopen in the near future. So whose satay reigns supreme?
The satay at Stix looked the business. The trimmings were all there: raw onion, cucumber and (shock horror) ketupat! These compressed rice treats are an essential accompaniment but virtually no restaurant in Melbourne serves them with their satay. We were very excited to see them, and they were quite tasty. The sauce at Stix was also very good – peanutty, smokey and with a great spicy kick. The let down was actually the meat on the skewers. The portions were a bit too big (satay is meant to be petite portions of meat) such that they resembled kebabs, however, the marinade was not too bad. The satays were around $2 a stick.
The next place, Satay Bar, is a slick cafe-style set up that’s still in operation and catering mostly to the weekday business lunch crowd. For $10.60, you get a satay pack that includes 3 skewers, 3 sides and sauce, with sides including chopped salad and crackers. Instead of ketupat, you get steam rice in the pack. Unfortunately, we found this satay to be a let down. Firstly, the sauce has been doused all over the satay, as you can see in the pic. This would not have been a problem had the sauce been better. Instead, it was like eating liquified peanut butter. It was far too rich, thick and cloying for our liking, and we ended up scraping most of it off. Which is too bad, because the rest of the pack was OK. The meat was quite nice and better proportioned than Satay Stix, and the salad was crisp and fresh. I don’t get the crackers though. It must be an Indonesian or Malaysian thing, because I’ve not come across this in Singapore. If someone can verify, that would be great.
So which is the superior satay? Really, both had shortcomings but in this comparison we must give it to Satay Stix. Although the proportions were all wrong, it was very tasty, the sauce was kickass and it had the added bonus of ketupat! Pity that it’s now closed, as it had potential. Satay Bar’s sauce was just too thick, rich and peanut butter-esque. Maybe this appeals to their clientele, but I thought that it really wasn’t proper satay sauce.
Oh well, the search continues. We have since tried Old Town Kopitiam Mamak’s satay and it was quite good (no ketupat though) and I’ve heard good things about Jack’s Satay Bar. Does anyone have any good satay recommendations?
Yeah, the crackers are krupuk — prawn crackers, basically, except Satay Bar uses vege ones — popular in Indonesia and Malaysia.
I quite enjoy Satay Bar’s sauce in a junk food way. It’s one of the better value meals in that part of the city, where portions are typically tiny and super expensive.
The best satay is the one that is home-made when I am away from home. The one at OTKM is good but like you said, no ketuput!
Let’s have a satay party soon. Keen?
My wife works close to Satay Bar and swears by it. I met her near there once and we grabbed some after hearing her rave about it so much. I tried it and didn’t like it at all.
Liquified peanut butter is probably an apt description. That said, my wife goes gaga over anything peanut butter (and went nuts when in the US last year), which probably explains a lot.
Just got back from KL and I amen the lament on ‘street food’ prices here! Especially you consider that some of it is terribly unauthentic…obvious case in point would be the peanut butter sauce! And I can authoritatively verify that the crackers are a no-go on the Malaysian front. An Aussie twist maybe?
Thanks for everyone’s comments. The krupuk must be an Indonesian thing then, as I’ve also come across them in places like Warung Agus and Coco House.
Penny, a satay party sounds like a great idea!
Aw, when I saw your post total I thought ‘hoorah, finally a place to get great satay in Melbourne!’. I ate at Satay Bar years ago and it didn’t leave any significant impression. Guess the search continues…
Jetsetting Joyce
PS Please, please satay partay!
Having done lots of satay research myself, I’d go either Satay Bar or Kopitiam. It’s about as good as it gets here.
Was in M’sia last july. 1 stick of satay is about 40-50 sen.
Exchange rate then was AUD$1 = MYR2.8. It’s about 3 now.
Satay Bar is ok. I think their standards have slipped a bit. ie. the salad is a bit soggy etc…
They have kangaroo on wednesdays. It’s actually pretty good.
And I’ve never got any kerupuk with satays in M’sia.
garamerica, indonesian restaurant in south melb…satays are served with ketupat, sauce is nice and smokey and the satays themselves aren’t bad either.
I luuuurrrrv satay. Yet to find one that really rocks my world, though. Maybe I should get serious about searching!
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oooh! A food battle- which reminds me, gotta do this months…eeek! Yes, agreed, hard to find good satay around here.
Agreed with y’all- a satay party for sure!
Can’t help to not comment on a post about satay
I go to Kedai Satay for my fix, they’re located near Albert Park golf course, somewhere off Queens Rd.. You can choose chicken, lamb or beef satay. The grilled beef ribs are also a must-try.. and yes, there’s kerupuk, but unfortunately no ketupat! For an Indonesian this place’s so far the closest to how they taste like back home.
My favorite for years has been Golden Orchid’s in China town, little Bourke st, cant remember the prices but whether I go with family, friends or wrok colleagues we always devour hundreds of them!
I recently went to the the Old town Kopitiam in QV. Just opposite to the open square across from Max Brenner. they have chicken and beef satay by thr 6 or the dozen. If i can remember right, it’s about 12 for a dozen? I loved them. nice burnt flavour, well spiced with herbs and served with a good amount of peanut sauce that has small crunch bits and not overly sweet. I am not an expert in satay (Taiwan born), but I loved it.
I know the search is for a good satay in Melbourne but I’ve not had any satays in Melbourne that I can honestly rave about however, Mamak in Sydney deserves to be RAVED about! Started with three guys quitting their white collar jobs, went back to Malaysia to learn to cook the authentic way…went back to Sydney and opened Mamak. The satay is not chunky but has just the right amount of meat on the stick with a little crunch from the burnt fat..the sauce given was very generous and my of my…was it good!!!! Not too thick or like running peanut butter serve at most places but the taste is full of flavour and I can’t even pin point all the ingredients because it was so well blended. Hubby and I even dipped our cucumbers and red onions to try to finish the sauce after the satays were long devoured…only thing missing is the cubed rice, that would have just topped it off. There’s ALWAYS a queue, even before opening times but it’s well worth wait!
Great Post! I wouldn’t recommend Jack’s satay bar… it used to be great but now I feel its just become run of the mill (we were there a few months ago, probably wont go back in a while)… no point of difference and hence you settle for a so-so dining out experience…. happy to hear other positive stories though
Taste of Singapore at Clayton has satays that taste close to the ones in Singapore for $6.50, you get 5 sticks, some cucumbers, ketupat (I think..) and of course, the all-important sauce. Worth the drive out!
can try keday satay at 29/33-34 Queens Rd
Melbourne VIC 3004 (03) 9866 7177 authentic indo owned… near my office lor… last time went there to eat lunch.. now regularly go there…quite good for the meat!! i love the ribs thou but they serve the satay too but im too in love with the ribs… i love the salad too for takeaway as a snack.. worth a try lar…
Kedai Satay has now open at 186 King Street in the city. As far as satay and the satay sauce goes, I feel they are one of the better ones in Melbourne. Went there yesterday and enjoyed the grilled beef ribs as well. Definitely much much better than Satay Bar.
There is no good satay in Melbourne.
Just Satay in Mitcham was good, but it’s gone downhill in recent years since they started mass-production.
The best Satay in Australia is from Sydney Kopitiam in Ultimo, Sydney. Nothing in Melbourne comes close. Sad but true.