Sijori Malay

The Verdict

The best part of holidays is obvs eating all of the foods – so honestly, why do we bother booking holidays anymore? If you’re after an authentic taste of the southern Malay archipelago, Sijori Malay in Bundoora has got you covered.

This casual eatery serves traditional Malaysian delicacies, and has all of your lunch and dinner needs sorted. Their menu is delicious but concise, which means you won’t struggle for hours deciding what to eat first. If you want our not-so-humble opinion, start with their specialty dish, the Laksa Johor. It's a traditional southern knockout that's like a dry version of laksa, with a fish base rather than curry. 

But if you can't look past a big bowl of steaming laksa (we don't blame you), look no further than the Katong Curry Laksa. It's made with silky rice noodles in a clean seafood stock, flavoured with coconut milk and dried shrimp, topped with fluffy tofu, prawns, fishcake, beansprouts and laksa leaves. We've eaten a lot of laksa in our time, and we can safely say this is one of the best. You can even pick the star ingedients, so fussy laksa eaters get a chance to mix and match: pick from seafood, chicken, or hearty veggo.

One more thing. We’re claiming Sijori Malay as one of the best roti houses in Melbourne. Its fluffy housemade roti chanai is made fresh daily, and it’s best enjoyed with one of their curries or a zingy peanut sauce. Bit of crunch, bit of fluff. That's just what you want.

Image credit: Sijori Malay