Tropical decor and ample seating feature at Pandan Leaf Restaurant. Photo: Tenele Conway.
The Capital Food Markets in Belconnen is nearing capacity with many of the empty shops now finding their tenants.
Among the latest round of openings is Pandan Leaf Restaurant, a Malaysian dining venue whose shopfront opens into the markets and out onto the street.
The dual frontage allows Pandan Leaf to trade during the day but also kick on into the evening after the internal market space is closed.
It joins a number of restaurants in the outward-facing tenancies catering to dinner service, making this a dinner destination to consider.
Sushant’s Indian opened in February, trading five days a week for lunch and early dinners.
Hanok Korean BBQ, sitting next to Pandan Leaf, has gone all in for dinner service and isn’t open for lunch at all.
Florence Gelato trades until 9 pm, four days a week, and Halal Meats and Kebabs is serving up dinner until 9 pm, seven days a week.
Pandan Leaf Restaurant in the Capital Food Markets opens into the markets and out onto a street frontage. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Since the markets opened in December 2023, it’s been a slow burn to fill the spaces. The team at Pandan Leaf Restaurant is hoping trade builds further, concerned shoppers still prefer the nearby Westfield.
With a capacity for more than 60 diners inside and another dozen on the sunny outdoor seats on Ibbott Lane, Pandan Leaf is catering for a sizeable turnout.
Thoughtfully designed, the restaurant features backlit green arches filled with tropical wallpaper. An abundance of hanging plants drop from timber framework that creates a false ceiling. Rattan chairs, long benches and booth seats are gathered around clusters of tables.
The menu is full of Malaysian favourites spanning a wide array of styles.
A range of roti canai dishes starts at $18 and includes chicken curry, rendang beef and sambal prawn. Roti canai tsunami is a curious addition to the roti menu. I look forward to finding out what that is first-hand.
The laksas start at $20 for vegetable and tofu and range up to $28 for dry wagyu laksa.
Rice sets such as Nasi Goreng start at $18 and mains including Hainan chicken rice, Malaysian curries, signature eggplant with chicken mince and belanchan kangkong (water spinach) with king prawns range from $24 to $32.
Having wandered in at 11:20 am on a Wednesday, I was slightly too early for the Hainan chicken rice, which requires a little extra preparation time. Put on the spot, I pivoted to satay chicken skewers, having completely forgotten I had only weeks ago sworn off satay skewers due to an increasing propensity for the dish to be a flop at most places.
The satay chicken skewers at Pandan Leaf are a winner. Photo Tenele Conway.
With low expectations, I was more than pleased to be way off base. The satay here is, quite frankly, incredible.
The heavily textured chicken obtained from high-heat cooking combined with deeply marinated meat and a thick, rich, jammy, nutty topping was so, so close to being on par with the famous Mamak in Sydney.
The overall taste wasn’t smoky. My guess is that these aren’t being cooked on charcoal, which can take skewers to the next level, but the level of aromats in the marinade make up for it.
Flavours including turmeric, lemongrass, cumin and coriander were a counterpoint to the sauce, which was deeply caramelised into a jam-like consistency.
I found myself dragging my cucumber cubes through the jam to mop it up and when the cucumber was gone, I’m not ashamed to admit I did the same with my finger.
As I left, I remarked to staff that the skewers were the best I’d eaten in Canberra. They proudly replied that in the two weeks they’d been open they were already finding a repeat clientele with some customers already returning two or three times.
Pandan Leaf Restaurant is open six days a week for lunch and dinner, closed on Mondays.
