While having dessert at Sir Cafe, the owner tipped me off about a new Malaysian cafe on Hutt Street called Long House. Keen to see what they’re all about, I decided to pay them a visit.

The first thing you notice about this place is the pink facade. As you enter the cafe, the main wall on the ground floor is painted different shades of pink. The pinkness reminded me of BTS, but that’s as far as the similarities go. The decor is fairly basic with tables and chairs that can be found at IKEA. The kitchen takes up most of the space on the ground floor, however, there is more seating upstairs. There’s no views of Hutt Street from above, but the windows allow a good amount of natural light in.

The majority of the food here is Chinese Malaysian. There are street food options, as well as noodle, chicken, meat, seafood and vegetarian dishes. There is also a range of traditional Malaysian drinks available as well as a decent wine list. Most new places these days have the one lunch and dinner menu with the dinner prices. I was glad to see that this place had lunch specials at more palatable prices.

Today, I ordered the Pad Thai. The dish was ready 15 minutes after ordering and was nicely presented. The Pad Thai did not taste like a Pad Thai. Had I not known what it was, I would have thought it was just a noodle stir fry. The noodles were dry and flavourless, and all you could taste were burnt noodles. The chicken was tender and succulent, and healthy breast pieces were used. The vegetables were fresh, and the peanuts and bean sprouts gave the dish a nice crunchy texture. The serving size was probably a bit smaller due to the lunch time prices, but sadly, the meal itself was disappointing.

The staff were warm and welcoming, and the service was above average. The atmosphere was relaxed and the pricing was fair. It was probably my mistake to order a Thai dish at a Malay place, but if you’re a great place to eat at, everything on your menu should be tasty. Why offer something that you don’t cook well?

WHERE: 174a Hutt St, Adelaide