Golden Triangle The Triangle Centre Phone 63-951 B.Y.O.

Press, 25 February 1987, Page 31

Golden Triangle The Triangle Centre Phone 63-951 B.Y.O.

By

LES BLOXHAM

A trip to the Golden Triangle in Christchurch holds none of the sinister connotations attached to the area of the same name along Thailand’s north-west frontier. In fact, a night at Christchurch’s Golden Triangle is perfectly legitimate, and pleasing to the palate to boot.

This intimate restaurant on the first floor of the Triangle Centre offers a superb choice of Malaysian and Chinese food

based mainly on dishes from the Ipoh region of northern Malaysia. The menu’s "StraitsChinese” factor, is, therefore, strongly Cantonese rather than Hokkien, the rather bland and sweeter cuisine found further to the south around Malacca and Johore. Some of these dishes are offered by the Golden Triangle, together with a smaller choice of IndianIndonesian favourites such as traditional curries and satays. Dishes are served in the

Chinese custom of communal dining — a tradition now widely observed throughout Malaysia. Servings can be ordered in three sizes — small (for one or two persons), medium (three to six), and large (seven to 10). Prices go up by about 50 per cent for each size. For instance, a small serving of satay costs $6.70, a medium dish, $10.20 and a large dish, $15.20. We started with chicken and corn soup which we consumed in true western style — before even looking at our other courses. Malaysians, on the other hand, prefer to dip into their soup during a meal while the Chinese take theirs last to cleanse the mouth. Satay was a “must” and from the choice of beef, lamb, chicken, pork, and combined, we opted for the beef. The sauce was smooth and subtle; not too hot and very easy on the tongue. It is a pity, however, that New Zealand’s stringent health regulations prevent barbecuing over charcoal. That flavour is the crowning glory of any satay bought in South East Asia.

Chilli king prawns is a popular Cantonese dish but here again the local chefs are at a disadvantage. They can’t get decent sized prawns and have •to make do with tiddlers compared to those available in Malaysia. A king prawn there isn’t really a king until it can straddle a plate and pretend it’s a young lobster.

Nevertheless, our more modest prawns were succulent after being lightly pan fried and served with a gentle chilli sauce.

Then we moved on to one of the restaurant’s

most popular attractions — diced lemon and ginger chicken.

This was served with an order of Ipoh fried rice, one of the Golden Triangle specials.

We finished with diced beef and oyster sauce and vegetables after passing over the menu’s eight curry dishes and three vegetarian choices.

I consider that the total cost of $5O for our sixcourse meal was good value. Service was efficient and pleasant and our waitress was knowledgeable and helpful when we were planning our meal. By the way, the restaurant will “hot up” its spicier dishes to suit the temperature gauge of individual palates, but it pays to give the management a few hours advance warning. The Golden Triangle serves a smorgasbord lunch 12 p.m.—2 p.m. on weekdays. It opens for dinner at 6 p.m. every night of the week, except Monday.