An unassuming long time favourite of Darwin City lunch goers, Rendevouz Café in the Star Village Arcade Darwin City Mall boasts a mixture of top Malaysian-Chinese treats. Every weekday lunch time without fail you can bet there won't be a seat left in the place by 12.30 - best to get in quick or you'll be taking away. Even on the Saturday when I last visited it was near capacity (Darwin City Mall being rather dead on weekends). Along with the self proclaimed best laksa in town, they also have beef rendang, gado gado, red and green curries, nasi lemak, chicken pandan, noodle soup and last but not least chicken rice. The decor isn't much to call home about and the seating is cramped, but that keeps the places honest and importantly for your wallet keeps the prices reasonable. Prices average $12-14 for a big plate/large takeaway container which is quite good given the quality of the food.

Pandan Chicken from Rendezvous. It doesn't come with pandan leaves as is tradition, buts its a nice (oily) comfort meal.

 

Their curry sauces are rich, creamy and steaming hot, the laksa will make you sweat like its supposed to and the gado gado is classic Malaysian. A special mention must go out to the chicken rice dish. The official dish of Singapore, it consists of delicately slow poached chicken, served with a side of broth and condiments. It might not look and sound like much, but you'll be blown away by the natural flavour and tenderness of the chicken. I've had it at a few other places around Darwin, but none reach the level of the Rendezvous version. I pig out on this stuff every time I'm in Singapore or Malaysia and I feel I have sufficient evidence to say that Rendezvous does it as well as the best of them. Whenever the office decides to have a team lunch, this is the place we go to (not just because its close by of course....) We send someone off to collect and 15 minutes later they come back with a big box packed full of goodies. Seconds later the conference room is filled with the aroma of curry sauces and happy workers.