There aren't many places who serve "modern Malaysian" cuisine, but Blue Chillies has been doing it for years. I stumbled across here with my parents probably around 2001 with my last meal there somewhere between 2007-2009. Although the years have gone by and the owners have changed hands (the floor and management staff may be the same), I still fondly remember the duck in this beautiful sweet and tangy sauce. If Longrain's deep fried pork hock in soy caramel sauce has an equal, this could be it.
With great anticipation I ended up back here on a quiet evening. Lo and behold the duck still exists and lots of other dishes sound fantastic too.
- Black Pepper Soft Shell Crab (with ground peppercorn sauce and aromatic curry leaves) $15 - a reasonable starter although the sauce had a better flavour than the intrinsic crab flavour (both a good sauce and an underpowered crab);
- Pork Ribs (wok roasted and caramelised with chilli jam) $36 - the ribs were huge for pork but the meat texture was quite firm and chewy and the sauce not deep and caramel enough. An expensive dish and one I don't think I'd get again;
- Salt & Pepper Okra (coated in a light rice flour batter and wok swirled with garlic, chilli and spices) $19 - the vegetable dish was made more palatable by frying into a soft slightly crisp batter. The seasoning was nice overall but I could've used a touch more salt and chilli in it;
- Thrice Cooked Duck (served in a sauce of wild ginger flower, lemongrass, chilli and lime juice) $30 - the final dish brought out was as dreamy as I remember. I'm not sure what thrice ways the duck is cooked, but I'd guess steamed, roasted then fried. The combination of textures with excellent duck flavour and then the incredible sauce to top it off makes it wonderful. Nothing has changed in years and for this dish nothing needs to.
Next time I would order the thrice cooked duck every single time. I'd complement it with duck rendang (if not considered duck overload), or a fish dish (barramundi or crispy fried snapper) and try the spicy eggplant as the vegetable option.