Review Kotajaya Restaurant - Bayswater

This place has always been our family favourite! Went there on Friday night and ordered some dishes such as the fish clay pot, golden crispy chicken, guinese pork, stir fry veges and our old time favourite, homemade tofu!! Wish they would offer homemade tofu more often not just on Friday and Saturday night . Definitely would come back again.

7 of us had dinner here tonight & we enjoyed the typical Chinese-style Malaysian dishes. Authentic. Owner is very friendly & hands-on. Proper COVID protocols in-place & practiced.

The chicken rice here is definitely one of the best in the eastern suburbs. It’s very authentic and reminds me of Malaysia. Not to mention the honey chili pork ribs on rice is one of my favorites that I always try to have for lunch. And for dinner? All the dishes are well cooked and so delicious. We’ve come here for so many family and friend dinners and we are satisfied every time.

Was disappointed in CKT and nasi lemak. I had high expectations after recommendations from 2 Malaysian friends in Melb. Imho, junior Tan HC and Gateway Cafe are much much better in taste for these 2 dishes

The building is very old so eventhough I have passed it many times, didnt get to try it until recently. The inside is as old as the outside, reminds me of old places that do yumcha. They do lunch special though and it was about $13 each. I had their roast duck noodle. I love the portion that it is more than enough for me. I love the sauce from the duck which were plenty to pour onto the noodles making it more tasty. The only thing that isn’t perfect is there were big clumps of noodle in my bowl. So just need some love. Otherwise very happy and will come back to try other meals.

Rarely leave reviews but this place deserves one! Unassuming exterior but delicious food and great value! One of the best (or maybe the best?!) Hainanese chicken in Melb - succulent chicken, flavoursome rice. Salt & pepper chicken ribs also on point. Will be back!

What can I say... this place is our go-to spot for a REALLY AUTHENTIC plate of chicken rice! The meat is juicy and the rice is ever so fragrant. It comes with a bowl of soup too to wash down the deliciousness of the meal 😋 highly highly recommend to call in advance to reserve your chicken rice as they usually sell out pretty fast!

Good Malaysian, great hianese chicken rice (only fri sat sun lunch) at a great price $13.50?. Staff are always lovely and very nice. I keep coming back, first time I've taken a photo though.

We called for take away lunch, ordered Hainanese Chicken Rice and Seafood Curry Laksa. The wait time is 25m, which is rather long compare to a lot of other take away places we've been to.<br/>Portion: 3.5/5 (Size is alright but its full of rice and noodle)<br/>Quality: 2/5 (Chicken itself was ok, the Chicken Rice is not fragrant, and no ginger sauce was given. Seafood Curry Laska only has 1 to 2 little pieces of some seafood, not impressive. And the broth is very salty, not so fragrant.)<br/>

We are regular customers here at kotajaya, because they’re food is decent, but we will most likely order from another restaurant from now on. The last 2 weeks when we’ve ordered takeaway the call taker has stated 30min for pick up, but on both occasions we’ve had to wait an hour for the order to be ready. No apology, no explanation, poor communication, bad attitude on the phone when asked why it was taking double the time. Don’t come here unless you have all afternoon to wait for your lunch.

Often came here for lunch and dinner. They serve very delicious Malaysian good. Our favourite are ayam goreng nyonya, kangkong balacan and home made tofu. Also try their crème brûlée it is the best one I ever had. Cheap price taste like michelin star!

Left feeling very ripped off and unhappy. Parking here is also difficult.<br/>Came here for chicken rice on a Sunday, thinking it should be somewhat similar to Tasty Dining (as the 2 originated from Kotaraya in Oakleigh). Also ordered a serve of steamed beanshoots, which we usually do - at Tasty Dining 2 x chicken rice and the serve of steamed beanshoots should come to around $28.<br/>Was shocked when the bill came to $42 - they argued the steamed beanshoots was not a menu item and charged us $17. This is unacceptable as the cost of beanshoots should be extremely trivial, and all they are doing steaming it and adding soy sauce and sesame oil - this should not cost more than the chicken rice itself. Tasty Dining also usually charges us not much for it, even though it's an 'off-menu' item.<br/>Chicken rice is about comparable to Tasty Dining, maybe Tasty Dining's rice is nicer (probably a bit unhealthier though). Portion at Tasty Dining is also better.<br/>If you're after very well priced good chicken rice, don't come here - go to Tasty Dining.

Great service reasonable price great choice of rice/noodle dishes around lunch. Good portion of chicken over hainanese chicken rice. Popiah taste really good I ate it for the first time and don’t think I’ve found them in other Malaysian restaurant that I’ve been to (yet)

Great restaurant of local Malaysian cuisine, delicacies does not include just Hainanese Chicken rice which is one of their signature dishes, but please try their curry prawns, lo Bak and other great new dishes. Host and owner Eric is fantastic with customized service and great staff to make sure all have a good time. You will not regret going.

Staff were friendly. The chicken rice is definitely worth trying! Had good flavours and wasn't too salty. Everything else was average. Saturday nights are definitely busy there so you may want to book in advance.

In the middle of the suburbs on the main road is this Malaysian restaurant serving all the classic traditional Malaysian Chinese dishes you would expect to find. <br/><br/>It’s nothing fancy inside, simple decor inside. <br/>The restaurant looks like a house with a big dining area with families and groups sharing a meal. <br/><br/><br/>We ordered: <br/>gado gado - this vegetarian tofu dish served with peanut sauce is extremely spicy - I’m warning you now. It was quite tasty. <br/>Hainanese chicken rice - this dish is normally just available for lunch unless you pre-order. It is a decent chicken rice dish, at lunch it comes with a bowl of soup (we ate for dinner. <br/>Mongolian beef - nothing special and underwhelming, it was meant to be a pepper sauce but not much pepper, it was more just oyster sauce. <br/>Garlic morning glory - standard veg dish <br/>Rockling dish with garlic and ginger - not a strong ginger flavour, it’s a healthy dish to balance the other dishes we ordered <br/>Sago pudding - this was quite a nice and unusual and unlike others I’ve had, it was served with a cluster of green sago, coconut milk and malaka palm sugar syrup. <br/><br/>If you are in the area and after a hearty meal, pay this place a visit otherwise, it’s nothing special and I wouldn’t drive all the way here just to eat here.

Authentic malaysian food place.<br/>There used to be one go to place for me when I crave for those warm hot spicy laksa, or those yumm nasi goreng but that place has gone to different owner with different chef.<br/><br/>I was glad my friend referred me to this place where they still offer authentic Malaysian dishes. Note that Malaysian food is pretty much the "gado gado" of many cultural food like Indian, chinese and the malay.<br/><br/>We usually go for the usual, nasi goreng, roast duck, hor fun, and also hainanese chicken rice.<br/><br/>I'm pretty sure their other dishes also nice judging by the amount of people who always queued to get a seat.<br/><br/>Beware that car parking can get a bit tricky as they have limited place.

Nice food. Second time here. Order entree and mains and was hoping entree will come first but didn’t... but it’s all good :)<br/>Ordered: lobak - nice! Will get again <br/>Coconut butter chicken - taste is ok. Both my hubby and friend like it but I felt that the butter taste wasn’t very strong and the chicken is over cooked<br/>Eggplant - very good. Taste and the texture of eggplant is good<br/>Tofu pork pot - I was expecting more tofu but I guess I have more meat so I shouldn’t complain haha. Overall nice food. Recommended and will be back. Friend said he is bringing his friend here next time too

Referred by our friend, came here tonight for dinner with a group of 5. Very friendly staffs , delicious food , good price . Love the grilled Tofu and the fried calamari .

Nothing to excite vegetarians in this restaurant as the choices are meat, meat, meat and meat. I thought the menu might have included a rojak, but no. It is supposed to be Malaysian, after all. Also I had to bring my own water bottle as no water was provided. That is extremely ordinary in this day and age. I would not opt to return.

This is one of my another favourite places in Bayswater, situated on mountain highway opposite to Safeway. A must try restaurant.. having lot of verity in the menu which can accommodate anyone’s common dietary needs. Cost effective too.. Staff are very friendly and attentive with a fast and accurate service. Will definitely come back. Suggest you to try if you haven’t been here yet..

hubby bought roast duck dry noddles and chicken rice for my lunch today. absolutely beautiful. 5* . chicken is well cook but tender , duck skin is not as crispy as HK BBQ but is very delicious. will definitely eat there again

HAINANESE CHICKEN | Kotajaya located around Bayswaters is a local favourite and has some travelling from far away. Lunch starting from $10.90 is a steal for Malaysian food relative to other restaurants. A lot come for the chicken so I had to give it a try. 🍴🍴🍴/5 #forkyass #forkyassmelb<br/><br/>The chilli was not offensive, had a real good kick and paired nicely with chicken. The soup had bits of white cabbage which added more depth to the dish and rescued the very dry rice. Center stage, the chicken was mediocre and moist (what you'd expect). It's a value for money dish but without the strong disappointment and will leave you feeling satisfied but not exactly hyped.<br/><br/>Thinking about coming lunch time? Get there on the dot at opening or 12.00pm. You can also order takeaway.

Food: 3.5 Service: 0.5, Gluten Free, Egg Free and Nut free: 2 dishes you must try, their stired fried Beef and Vegetables, and their Coconut Popcorn Chicken. I loved their Thai fried fish with the special sauce, OMG! I never have enough of that sauce. Definitely you must try if in the area, especially when we cannot find much place where they can serve, nut free, gluten free and egg free food. Good for group of 8 to 10, but make sure you booked before coming in on Weekends.

Family style malaysian eatery<br/><br/>Ambience: the place is pretty spacious, though the table we sat at was pretty crampy for the 8 of us. Nonetheless it was pretty well kept and since it was day time, it was nicely lit.<br/><br/>Service: The staffs were pretty nice, an acquaintance had reserved the chicken and place in advance but it still took some time for them to arrive to our table, reasonable wait though.<br/><br/>Food: We all had hainanese chicken rice (only avail fri, sat, sun) since that's what they said was famous. It was a good hainanese chicken rice, that's for sure. The chicken was tender and pretty generous, rice was good flavor as well, bit gingery and just the right saltiness. Chili sauce was bit too sour. I wouldn't come back just for the chicken rice, though.<br/><br/>My sister had their fried kway teow and it was pretty good, and nice portion. My sister did feel it was a bit too salty.<br/><br/>Price: pretty decent prices, especially their lunch specials. (10.90)<br/><br/>YUM: maybe the chicken rice?<br/>NAH: none<br/><br/>photos: hainanese chicken rice, fried kway teow<br/><br/>( follow for more!✨)<br/><br/>ｘｘ，ｊｏｅｌｌｅ.

i visit here quite often with my family, mum seems to enjoy it. it’s very well priced and food is always great ang customer service often varies.

Not as good as it used to be.  The chicken rice is what most go there for still and this can be a "hit and miss" depending on the cook that day.  Rice was not as flavoursome and some portions did not feel like it was cooked.  Prices are up...which makes other places better value now.  Service is not as good as it used to be...sad.

I rate this place a 3. Whilst decor and service would merit a higher score, the price vs. food quality brings it back down. May return in the future.

Was back there with my family and friend. Told my friend how good the food was. Felt disappointed. Everything was super sweet. Standard has dropped. Had the banana fritters again. Presentation was still the same but another disappointment. The bananas was not ripe. Informed the in charge. He just said sorry after a lot of excuses. Sad. Poor service recovery. Did not offer other dessert to compensate.

Really delicious and good price, staffs are very friendly, environment is normal, families like the fried fish and chicken. Yummy...........

Friendly staff and great food. We ordered the salted egg fried chicken, century egg spinach, Peking duck and the calamari. The staff is very helpful when I told him my son have egg and dairy allergy. He made some food suggestions that are egg and dairy free and made some adjustment to the food we ordered for our son and ensure there is no cross contamination when serving his food and our food. Very pleased and will definitely come again.

We came at 11.30 on a Saturday and they opened doors at 11.40. It was raining however heaps of people were lining up already under the tiny sheltered stairs. We ordered hainanese chicken rice for our hungry little one (and pregnant me!) immediately to a waiter as soon as we sat down. Then we also ordered chilli spare ribs on rice which came out in 10 minutes. We waited for another 10 minutes but we saw no hainanese chicken rice on our table. Other tables already got theirs so we asked the waiter. He looked confused, then called a waitress to come and speak to us. After we cleared the matter, we finally got our chicken rice! We were quite dissapointed with this hiccup, the waiter and waitress didn't even say sorry. However the hainanese chicken was succulent although it lacks taste. The chilli spare ribs were spot on, I would recommend you to try it next time you're in Kotajaya.

<br/><br/>Had a meal with visiting family here again almost every two month. Im surprise is oh my goodness how things have changed.  Ordered our meals and all other meals arrived within fair waiting time. Mine arrived 30mins later after everyone has almost finished theirs. Prompted waiter in regards to this and she said she would follow up. No urgency in trying to get my order ASAP as I've already waited over 30mins.<br/>Waited another 20 mins and my meal did not arrive, by then everyone have finished and I just told them to leave.<br/><br/>The portions were small and most of all the flavor and taste has actually gone down. My relatives hd told me about changed chef definitely understood that if a Chef changed will be a troble in.<br/>I was furious and just walked out.<br/>Terrible service and communication with the floor staff.<br/>They have also closed the other half of the restaurant but after eating there this time it's appropriate as I wouldn't be going there anymore. 

Tasted every bit of home. For anyone who misses malaysian chinese food, highly recommend this place. The tofu with minced chicken is super good. The kailan with garlic and the seafood soup was excellent. I’d pass the kung pao chicken. But I’ll be visiting again soon to try other dishes!

<br/><br/>First and last time here, service terrible food even worse. We had to ask for everything, cutlery, soy sauce, prawn crackers (which were stale i might add). We ordered the combination noodle and he brought us the seafood combination, when i said it was the wrong one he told me they only had the one combination, i pointed out on the menu which was i selected and he replied sorry my mistake. The calimari so to tough, vegies were really hard and unchewable no sauce in the dish at all ..my friend told me honey sauce chicken was nice..the sauce were lacked that night look like waterly. we picked at it but it was cleared off the table virtually untouched. When we went to pay the bill we were charged for credit card .the dish i complained and were nothing offered . i refused as there def wont be a next time. So many better restaurants around. Save your money !!!<br/><br/>

Terrible service and food was average. The garlic prawns main dish only had 5 prawns in it which was not near enough.<br/>Was left waiting most of the night for someone to serve us and when someone did come they would get our request wrong.<br/>Hard to relax over dinner when you don't get any service and you have to stop talking constantly to check if anyone is going to take our order.<br/>Then to top it off at the end of the night they even tried to charge us extra on our bill.<br/>

This place called value for money. Authentic Malaysian Chinese cuisine. <br/>Those 3 dishes are actually quite big. We are 4 adults and 3 children. We can’t finish all of them are in total we paid $50+ incl rice and tea. <br/>Very flavorful indeed. Perhaps if I am picky I would want less salt next time just because sometimes it’s slightly too over powering. Would come back next time definitely.

Great Chinese restaurant.good Services Very popular .lots of dishes to choose from. parking is a bit tight best in Bayswater .😎!!!!! ☆☆☆☆☆☆

A colleague told me about this place and was raving about the hainanese chicken. She was right about needing to get there at 11.30am. There were people already queuing up to get in which is most bizarre.  <br/><br/>Ok down to the Hainanese Chicken rice. The rice is made with chicken oil and lemon grass which is better than your typical very yellow msg chicken powdered rice elsewhere. The chicken thigh is boneless and it has an elastic feel to the teeth because when it has been boiled it has been dunked into ice or cold water instantly. The chilli sauce is the thing that made me quite thirsty. <br/><br/>Kwoay Teow is a huge portion but my colleague recommends the dry egg noodles with roast duck as well. Not bad for the price.

Love this place. Nice authentic Malaysian food. Honey chilli chicken, hainan chicken, belachan kangkong are among the best dish here. The host Eric is super friendly guy.

I've had the Chicken Rice many times here and even after they change management, it still tastes great! The only regret is that it should be served piping hot (even the soup was cold), and a lettuce leaf as greens is simply miserable. But for $10.90, which is lower than most places, it's still a pretty good deal! <br/><br/>On another occasion, I had Lo Bak and Duck Rice - simply one of the best in the eastern suburbs and meaty duck!

I absolutely adore their food, especially the Hainan chicken rice, the roast duck noodles and the Mee Siam. The food is authentic, delicious and quickly prepared. Don't go for the ambiance but if you would like to try amazing and inexpensive Malaysian cuisine, this is the place to go when you are out this way of town. <br/>The staff is friendly and efficient.<br/>They don't take bookings and on the weekends it is a very popular place amongst Asians (which is obviously a good sign). If you go around 12.30pm, expect to wait a few minutes for a table. <br/>Parking is limited as well, be careful of traffic when parking on the main street. They charge extensively when paying by card, so make sure you have cash (if not, just get some cash-out from Woolies across the road).

Kotajaya hainanese chicken rice finally! We had dined here for dinner a few times already which had been awesome experiences. Authentic food, great service, great prices. Our hainanese chicken rice today was ze bomb! And it's only $10.90 cash price too! Can't wait till my parents get back and I'll take them again!

We've been to Kotajaya a few times for lunch on weekends. As mentioned by others, their weekend specialty menu include hainanese chicken rice- authentic! They have pay less with cash policy for weekend lunch. Following our satisfactory lunch experience, we make several visits to Kotajaya for dinner. We're not disappointed. Recommended dishes: home made tofu on sizzling hotplate and honey pepper beef.

Love this place !!! I have spoken about this place with my coworkers from Malaysian . They name it the most authentic Malaysia cruising Melbourne wide 👍 well done !

Great authentic Malaysian food.<br/>Came here on Mother's day with my mother. We ordered the char keoy teoh, curry laksa and lobak.<br/>All dishes had a absolutely punch of flavour and the perfect amount of spiciest. The lobak has a delicate tofu crisp around it and the proportion was great.<br/><br/>Absolutely best place if your craving Malaysian food. Also the place can speak Cantonese which is great.

Have been here for lunch many times and it was never a let down. Very reasonable prices and portions are generous. <br/>All the dishes are nice and very tasty but the nonya chicken dish wasnt really to my liking. A bit strange i thought but am keen to try other dishes ~ <br/>Always a queue when i arrive but it is definately worth the wait :) Staff are friendly and service is fast. <br/>Good good good. <br/>

Chicken rice was amazing. Best in Vic that we have found. Comes with chili and black sauce. Really authentic and homely despite the one piece of long hair I found in the rice. :( But still very very good and tasty. Reasonable prices. You have to queue. The guy in charge says sometimes the hainanese chicken rice runs out by 130pm. They open from 1130am. Worth queuing up for! Chicken rice only available fri to sun.

I always enjoy eating the Hainanese chicken ( sold out  ) maybe they should cook more. Enjoy Sar hor fun and also it bring back the memories when I was a child living in malaysia. Very attentive waiter and waitress, service is fast  Place is clean , very busy atmosphere . Highly  Recommended.

Came here for lunch last week after a very long break. This was my go to Asian restaurant....sad to say I wasn't impressed. the food quality had really dropped and very little care was taken in regards to platting and flavour. <br/>The wait staff was lovely as always however! <br/>Found out recently that the place was under new management...that explains A LOT! <br/>please up your game and get some tips from the old owners they did an awesome job. <br/>Sad to say I will be finding a new venue :(

This place serves some really nice and authentic Malaysian cuisine, it's no wonder it's so popular with both Malaysians and Aussies!<br/>I've only been here for lunch a few times so this review is based on those experiences. <br/>The food is generally great. Their hainanese chicken. The chicken is one of the most tender chicken I've ever had! The rice is so aromatic too. Unfortunately I found the dish a little bland, even for hainanese chicken rice. That said, my friends loved it so I guess it's a matter of preference!<br/>I've also tried their salt and pepper chicken, and sweet and sour pork. I really enjoyed these ones! The servings are quite generous and they tasted quite authentic. <br/>Also the food is really good, I decided not to give it a 4.0+ because of the waiting time. Every time I've been here (for lunch on a weekend) the waiting times have been quite dreadful. If you come around peak hour lunch, be prepared to wait. We waited each time around 20 minutes for a table, but that was fine with us. It's just that we had to wait really long for the food too! A couple of times we found ourselves waiting for over 40 minutes for the food (minus waiting time for table), which was definitely way too long. Also, it is also quite difficult to find parking. <br/>Nevertheless, the food and prices are great. It is extremely affordable and great value. Just beware of waiting times and parking.

Malaysian food here is quite impressive. Love most of the dishes although some may be catered to the Australian taste buds. We have been here a few times and most times are very pleased with the service and the food. The only complaint I would say is the odd parking spaces this place has, very narrow and often full around dinnertime. Best place to park is Woolies and to walk over if you are dining in.<br/>But back to food, our favourites picks are:<br/><br/>Coconut butter prawn with the fragrant coconut and deep fried prawns where can you go wrong!<br/>The other dishes that we love are, the Nyonya chicken and Honey Chilli Pork. The nyonya chicken has a lovely nyonya sauce that goes with the chicken that sometimes reminds me of home. <br/>We've tried the green curry as well, they make their own sauce which is pretty good overall.

L O V E the food here!! I've sat in for both lunch and dinner. They have a special menu for lunch, and if you're a chicken rice lover, make sure you book a seat to not be disappointed! The chicken rice on the other hand, is so satisfying!!!!<br/><br/>If you enjoy rice and dishes for dinner, KotaJaya in Bayswater is worth the trip. They're dishes are so tasty and delicious. I enjoy the Hot plate tofu with mince pork very much especially having the sauce with my rice. SO GOODDDD. Veggies are fresh and fried well, the Thai fried fish is also tasty. They're starter soups are also very nice to have before your main meal! Come try!!

Lucky to get a table without booking on a Saturday night ! This place looks and feels like a typical Chinese restaurant in Malaysia, perfect for family dinners. The food I must say, was pretty good and authentic ! Will definitely come back for other dishes.

Has not gone for some time. We think that it is last year June of the visited.This time back, happy to see once of a familiar face, been told that original owner just sold to an employee. The peace of mind is that funny and cute Tracey comes back here to work again .Fortunately She helps us alot on menu when we were confuses. All the dishes still good and authentic. There is no big change of management too.<br/>Compared with the last visited, this time with her warmly welcome, such plentiful laughing and lively a lot .will back again soon

Have been to this place a few times for dinner. Always have had pleasant experience, food is good and the service staff very pleasant. Prices also reasonable. I'll be back again!!!

The best restaurant in Bayswater.  The food is fantastic and the choices excellent.  The staff are lovely even when flat out which they are all the time.  Extremely good value.

Very nice authentic malaysian restaurant, super friendly staffs, hainan chicken rice by far the best in town, noodles and fried dishes are recommended, very valuable meals, love it , you will go there again once u try it,

Nice place on the edge of the Bayswater precinct! Ordered vegetarian Nasi goreng with a teh tarik. The Nasi was delightfully tasty with a good level of spice! A great place for a quick takeaway dinner or even eat in although the decor could do with a revamp!

Unfortunately.After turning owners of this restaurant Not as good as imagined, just people's nonsense rumors.I lived in Monee ponds distanceto try. Environment there is no intermediate like restaurant anymore, just the same as hawker food restaurant. Business as good but noisy and messy as a foodcourt.Secondly, serious corrections here , they are not the inermediate level restaurant.Upon entering , you will feel yourself in an ordinary Chinese restaurants only.<br/>Also, don't count on them good with any service or hospitality, definetly the new owner ignore the service just Because they want to end guest's dining meals with rapid speed.Food is still alright , price is still cheap same as before So would have the feeling of fast-food restaurants.Distance to attempt, but Extremely disappointed,never thought they are only simple ordinary restaurants with after change.<br/>If you think there is a fancy restaurant with hospitality service, you're wrong.(Maybe I'm too high expectations on the previous)

Super yummy and great value for money! We loved the sambal Kang Kong! Tasted just like my mummy's dish! The Hainanese chicken rice is just like the Singapore hawker centre chicken rice! Yum! Definitely will go back again!

Back to this restaurant previously but been telling by a friend that bussiness were sold and this reasons bring me back with questionnaire .<br/>When you entered to restaurant,there are back to tranquil ordinary restaurant. Im was pleased with Trace & Sherry 's absence.<br/>Without warmth welcomes and amicability greeting bussiness here become dull & slack.<br/>Their laksa, stir salted squids,beef rendang still remain as before . <br/>Environment with lacking disorderly and dirty utensils should be supervised .<br/>Overall , still a restaurant, just a generalise restaurant without excitement and friendly service .

<br/>Food is pretty tasty. Service seems to have suffered a bit though lately. Still good for some great Malaysian dishes <br/>Seems the Business going drop , the cheaper lunch menu on weekdays and selection of dishes so Can't go past a big meal done in your choice of styles for less than $15 only.<br/>As i said ,can no longer tolerate the poor attitude and sometimes rudeness of the reception staff particularly the front couter staff .Definitely disagree with their process of arrangement waiting table of weekends .<br/>highlight his lack of manners.On the plus side, the food is lovely and the rest of the staff are nice. It's such a shame this place is going regress and it's a pity my last experience of it

Pretty much everything dished out was “just passable”. Nothing spectacular yet marred with some inherent flaws. <br/>The condiments that came with the Nasi Lemak was fresh. The chicken was fresh out of the microwave though the chicken itself has probably been sitting in a freezer for a while. The rice sambal sauce was bad though. It was like a mix of savoury and sweet sauce with a jam-like texture. Super weird and not pleasant in general.<br/>Wait staff were less than motivated. Fortunately, I was at a company function so there were some distractions.<br/><br/>No sure why I dislike this restaurant with their staff untranind on customer satifaction. Must trained them on observation and listen .im kept called staff on that night and they just passby without any service.

great place for authentic Malaysian food. A variety of dishes to try and for a cheap price. Portions are large and service is alright. Fridays are busy as it is one of the days they only serve chicken rice.

We were on the second sitting at 730. Good was very good and service was terrific. Highlight was the Thai green curry. Only downside is that they shoo you out the door at 9:30. Go for the food, it really is very good<br/>

It's about time I wrote my thoughts on this place as I have now had opportunity to sample their menu, service and standards for a while. <br/>Originally I did not come here as the queues and chaos this place causes on Mountain Highway did concern me. But this is for a very good reason. As indicated on my rating as most people would know their chicken rice is very top notch and is hard to beat for the price. <br/>Careful planning and organization can avoid some queues but at most times you will have to wait for a table as it is quite small at seating capacity of 70 people from memory. The parking is the biggest issue. Weekday parking does not allow easy access before 6pm. Weekend you might get lucky if you do come early.<br/>However the quality of excellent all round and cheap. Their menu is quite broad and covers a lot of all time favorites. But it is quite common to observe a full table of 4-6 people all feasting on their famous chicken rice. The chilli to some people can be seen as too hot but this is pure heaven to many others. The rice is flavor some and aromatic. The chicken is soft, juicy and tasty. What else to ask for? Will strongly recommend and some others state they do drive from quite far to indulge in what Kotojaya has in store.

Really enjoyed the hainanese chicken rice - the rice was really aromatic and flavoursome! Chicken was juicy and tender too.<br/><br/>Great value for $10. Only shame is that it's so far from where I live!! Make sure you book beforehand because they do sell out on weekends.

By far the best Malaysian food in Melbourne. we travel from st Kilda to come here, it's THAT GOOD! Everything is delicious, the salty fish and chicken fried rice is legit and the banana fritters are to die for. Would highly recommend!

17 July lunch: Came here after a year because it's a little far from home. Very tasty and delicious chicken. Rice was a little hard. Cucumber on request was sweet and crunchy. Chilli a little hot but ok. Service was great<br/>14 Aug lunch: on the way home from Ferntree Gully I had to drop by at Kotajaya for the chicken rice again. Gave myself a treat ordering the kangkong belachan. Definitely a 5* for this dish<br/>26 Aug: Brought 17 friends here for dinner. Hainanese Chicken Rice had to be pre ordered. Apart from this signature dish, we had roast duck, curry fish, kang kong belachan, beef rendang, sizzling tofu on hot plate and ice cream fritters for dessert. The best dish for the night? Hainanese Chicken Rice. With its luscious-looking and finger-licking chilli sauce, it's definitely, in so many of my friends review, the best in Melbourne 👍👍👍

It is one of the BEST salted pepper deep fried calamari that I have ever tasted before! Not exaggerated until you tried it yourself!<br/>The rosted crispy pork, and the roasted duckling wanton noodles... just so so . And omG... YUMMILICIOUS ..the chillies honey crispy chicken The taste and the meat texture was just nice. This is the 1st time I'm willing to wait for the food despite we are all very hungry on sunday lunchtime . The restaurant is fulllllll by 11.30am . Unbelievable! The service was very fast and efficient! Very satisfied.<br/>However, the lady boss who taking the order never SMILE nor approachable. Very unfriendly. This might need to be take into consideration for future improve as this is service industry. Your customers might not be back before of unfriendly service eventhough the food is yummilicious.

Absolute MUST TRYs are the Laksa , Homemade beancurd and Sweet chili pork ribs only.<br/>Before this restaurant receive their good food review on website , food portion were reasonably. But after that, now , food portion has been small and not that tasty anymore, I guess this recent owner got greedy with the profit. <br/>That both senior waitress who used to work there were dissappear too ,used to be more efficient, friendly and more knowledgable. Hence will driving away a lot of the old CUSTOMER.<br/> You don't have to to believe me, you can be the judge by trying it out yourself. Why not drive another 15 minutes to Glen Waverley.

Awesome food , try the Peking duck and Singapore chilli prawns, and the truly amazing salt and pepper chicken spare ribs.<br/>Great fresh tasting food and friendly service <br/>

Came here for lunch today with the family. Was hoping to try the Hainanese Chicken Rice as we heard that it was one of the best in Melbourne. Sadly that dish is only available on Fri - Sun. We were given the lunch and dinner menu to choose from. We ordered the mee goreng, char kway teow, and nasi lemak with chicken rendang. Unfortunately, none of these dishes lived up to expectations. The mee goreng was tasty, but let down by the thick egg noodles. If you like thick egg noodles, then you will enjoy this dish. I understand that it's hard to find the 'Malaysian' egg noodle used for mee goreng here in Aus, so that's fine. Would have been nice if they offered a substitute with maggi. The char kway teow was terrible. It was sweet, the flat noodles were soggy, and did not taste anything like what I would find back home. The char kway teow at Pappa Rich Aus tastes so much better. Lastly, the nasi lemak was the ultimate let down. It did not look fresh at all when it arrived. The chicken rendang looked and tasted like it was frozen for weeks. The rice was greatly lacking in coconut flavour. The only redeeming elements were the sambal and peanuts, which were not amazing, but good enough. <br/>On the bright side, we did order food for takeaway for dinner. We had the spicy Szechuan eggplant with minced chicken and the roast pork. Now these dishes were delicious. I'd say 4 out of 5, considering we had it as takeaway and not fresh. I was glad to find that there was no overpowering vinegar taste/smell when eating the eggplant (as that seems to be a common issue at a lot of the Chinese restaurants I've eaten at). The skin on the roast pork was crispy, the flavour was present, and there was a good balance between the amount of fat and meat. Service was good, the waiter was friendly and attentive. The atmosphere is that of a typical Chinese restaurant, which I am fine with because I'm there for the food. The restaurant was clean and there was a good amount of space between tables so it didn't feel crowded, which is always a plus. I'd come back again to try the chicken rice and the other a la carte dishes, but probably not for the Malaysian dishes (with the exception of the kangkung belacan as it was very pungent, could smell it from the outside of the restaurant).

  Authentic asian food , the price is cheap . Cozy interior with a nice ambience .setting of cutlery were little bit dirty could be cleaner. Nothing bad and nothing best. <br/>

Used to be my #1 referral to anyone visiting, but since they turned into a new management , it all went pear-shape.. And they never recovered since i hv been here months ago . I kept going until recently, but the inconsistent quality, particularly the roasted duckling noodle that most likely different taste compared with last time (used to be the best duckling but not longer now) so that my family no one has to take this dishes anymore. I was so turned off by the poor service that I had a hard time enjoying my meal . We had a group of 10 and had a reservation and check-in earlier then our booking time. I don't know why, but the waiter seemed so annoyed by us. I wanted to apologize if our dining there was an inconvenience for him and w won't be back again.

We went to celebrate Mothers day and we were given a time frame of 6.00 - 7.30 pm but one of our meals did not come out until 7.35 pm. When we booked we were not told of the time limitations and this ruined a mothers day for all of us

Probably more "Asian" than Traditional Malay, however a pretty good selection of Chinese, Malaysian, Nonya, and Thai dishes. <br/><br/>The duck pancakes and Lobak were nice. Our mains of Char Hor Fun, Chicken Curry, and Balachan Kang Kong were excellent. <br/><br/>Overall great value, and there will be something here for everyone. Worth a try, and I lived closer, would be one of my regular haunts.

Generally you wouldn't associate great restaurants in Bayswater, however, in this little stretch of Mountain Hwy there are about a ten to twelve restaurants that fiercely compete with one another they are mostly Asian and most are great and authentic. This place has delicious authentic style Malaysian food its busy and has plenty of atmosphere but what makes it great is the friendly, happy staff who know the locals by name and treat them like family. I was recommended this place and in a short time they made us feel at home. The prices are amazing considering the quality and service. If you are down this neck of the woods drop in its worth it!

I find myself coming back here quite consistently and have only ever had one truly bad experience,definitely wont be back. * From comments below- might truely believed that the treat is poorly , seems one of the girl staff was stop work and their service become worse and worse * All staff were unfriendly & useless, they merely just make conversation in between and cause the service always a hit and miss ).hainan chicken is lacking which is feather still there and not really well cook;veggie was over seasoned .

I had been here few times now.i hd been ordering their laksa and chakueyteow and i really liked it.just recently i came here with my bestie few times but i did realise that they were change owner and the service were not that well as last few times anymore.the owner young lady wasn't there anymore and can tell that old staff cant manage run business well like before.but the food is still alright not that bad (im not sure this restaurant aren't someone took over,because just so so of the service ,not that friendly service ) Does anyone know where that lady going or else they really change owner but hope they can manage well soon.

Was delighted with the variety of choices on the menu. Thoroughly enjoyed the food and brought me back to my childhood dinners with the family in KL. Service was pretty good and am definitely looking forward to another dinner here soon.

The hainan chicken rice and crispy pork rice are the best dishes here, however, they are only served on fridays and weekends. Very nice Malaysian restaurant

Came here for the Hainan chicken and it didn't disappoint us. If you are planning for dinner, make sure you pre-order the hainan chicken before dinner as it was not on the dinner menu. The sizzling homemade tofu is also very delicious. The honey chilli pork was well recommended and well received too. The dishes over here are a little bit spicy for the young ones. So make sure you order some no chilli dishes if you cater for little kids. The downside of this place is the serve is not very big, a little bit too much MSG and the sago pudding was ordinary and there isn't much choices for dessert. The service is a mix. One of my friends was pissed because the waiter knocked down his drinks twice and the second time wet his phone and his outfit and the waiter still think it was funny 😅. They did apologised but we were hoping they would waive the tea at least for him as compensation.... Nope. So I have to mark down on the service but overall, not a bad typical malaysia service restaurant with authentic Malaysian food.

TGIF, Friday's Lunch in Bayswater ... 29/01/2016<br/><br/>Location wise, great.<br/>Stand alone building, plenty of parking, just be cautious when entering, one way for both IN & OUT traffic.<br/><br/>The place was buzzing when I got there, it's quite a big building, nothing extraordinary with the interior, just your typical modern Asian/Chinese restaurant decor, linen covered with paper tables and clean we like that.<br/><br/>Service was quick, unpretentious and friendly.<br/><br/>Food wise, tried the CKT, Char Kwee Tiaw, it's the benchmark for any Malaysian restaurant in my view ..... for $9.90 what can I say 7/10, not the best CKT I've had in Melbourne, but value wise, incredible 10/10 easy.<br/>I gaze through the Menu for my next lunch here, for what they are charging for lunch, it's remarkable, you can't beat a quick, good Friday's lunch, all you need is a good coffee next and your day is done ..... and I found Coffee Interchange on the other side of Kotajaya.<br/><br/>Turning out to be a VERY great Friday, TGIF.

Not too sure if I've enjoyed my experience here and not too sure if I've ordered the wrong things on the menu. It didn't taste very authentic to me. My Curry Laksa was very bland and my aunt's Mamak Mee was very sweet. It is disappointing that Hainanese Chicken Rice was only being served on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but I would however come back here on a weekend for the hainanese chicken rice.

I have used this restaurant for the first time for some take away tonight. Imagine my surprise when I saw fried rice which could just about pass for cous cous. I have never seen grains of rice so small it really isnt very palatable at $9.90 for a large container is excessive for something which is not very nice. Also I ordered the mongolian beef and extremely disappointed with the vegetables in it, you get julienned vegetables, which are so thin they look like they have come out of a packet, but the broccoli is in very large pieces. I will not be going back.

My favourite Malaysian eatery in whole of Melbourne! Haven't gone a month without visiting them. <br/><br/>Hainanese chicken rice, fried kuay teow, satay chicken on rice and crispy combination noodles are my personal favourites for the lunch menu. The chicken dishes I have ordered so far have always been cooked to perfection.<br/><br/>For the dishes, coconut butter chicken, hot plate tofu (only weekends), belacan long beans / eggplant are regular favourites. <br/><br/>Place is clean and service is fantastic as well. Definitely a must go for Malaysian / Singaporean cuisine fans!

I've been a few times and it's not bad. It doesn't stand up to other local Malaysian restaurants when comparing hawker style food but their main dishes are pretty decent. It's usually packed so they're doing something right. Service is friendly.

This place was recommended by one of my Malaysian friends. The restaurant was at capacity when we arrived but thankfully we had a booking so there was no wait. The infamous Hainanese chicken rice is only served at lunchtime, Friday to Sunday, so we went on a weekend so I could try it.  I was not disappointed. The rice was cooked in chicken broth with remnants of chicken seen throughout, the chicken itself was served boneless, moist and tender; and the homemade chilli sauce not too spicy for my palate. They also offer a dark sauce on the side which I think is a thick soy sauce but it was not needed as the dish had plenty of flavour. It was a great dish overall and I will return soon. Note that they offer a cheaper price for the lunch specials if you pay cash (a $2 difference I recall).

Fantastic food, small lack in service but who cares?! Or would you prefer fantastic service & lousy food?THE ONLY COMPLAINT was about the old lady boss , her face always obviously didn't smile with customer ,means she really has driven a lot of customers away. Well, maybe she's already earnt enough money from this restaurant and can't be bothered being nice.nowonder she always gv everyworks to her daughter (luckly , her daughter was'nt same dirt face like her,she will nvr forget your name and always welcome you with a smile , her daughter apparently better service and friendly than her) .Wish that this lady boss will gt improvement after reviewer . Anyway, enough about the lady.By the way, that all server staff were great service and efficient. The food still tastes pretty much nicer and nothing to complain about. there was a good variety of dishes of good quality.

Great authentic Malaysian food. Good value for money. Love the weekend lunch Specials. The service is good and the food always comes out really quickly.

Very rude lady as the hostess/cash register (Saturday lunch) Could do with a lesson or two when it comes to customer service. Food was good value and tasty.

Been here twice but never got to try the hainanese chicken rice. Finally today we made a booking at 11.30am and I got to try it! The rice was very fragrant and generous portion of chicken was served. Chicken was juicy and tender. This is probably the best chicken rice I have eaten in Melbourne. Even my daughter said its very good. If there's ginger and dark sauce served together, it would make it perfect!

Simply delicious! Hainanese chicken with rice is just sublime. So glad I stumbled upon this gem. Places like this are the reason I am a foodie. You just can't put into words how great my experience was here. 10/10 from me!

I LOVE THE HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE HERE! Probably one of the best I've eaten in Melbourne? If you are craving for authentic Hainanese chicken rice, must give this place a try. Apparently, it's only available from Friday to Sunday. The chilli was very authentic too. However, I found it a bit too spicy, but that's just me. 👍🏼👍🏼

Best Malaysian food around the area. <br/>For the price and the quality I rate them 5.0!<br/>Very good hainanese chicken (BONELESS!!) and their homemade chilli sauce is so good. <br/>Price is reasonable around the hood. <br/>Because it worths its value I always come back with family. <br/>Recommended dishes:<br/><br/>Hainanese Chicken (need pre order)<br/>Honey Chilli Pork <br/>Balaca Kang Kung

Have been coming here regularly for months now; definitely one of my favorites. It's VERY busy Fri-Sun so be warned. But busy for good reason ... food delicious, prices reasonable, setting clean and pleasant. My wife loves the Chicken Rice (Fri-Sun only). Also recommend the Butter Coconut Chicken.

Bumping my 4 up to a 5. <br/><br/>Good lord! The butter prawns are sensational. <br/>The CKT takes you back to Jalan Ayor. <br/><br/>Get a reservation ahead of your drive!<br/><br/>=====<br/><br/><br/>Simply the best Malaysian food this part of town. <br/>Great service and always good for a fine in (pre-book!) and take away. <br/><br/>Love their Ipoh hospitality.

not too bad but not impressed.first of all,service were great,i found the waitess which was warm full ,attentive and over friendly.other wait staff seemed quite cold,but unfortunately,so i just happened to have been served by this one not-so-friendly -owner.of the restaurant named shannon,she so rude that its not even funny anymore ,dissapoiting blast from the past,not going back again because of her.hope that you guys enjoy and will knows the happened after been there.

Family came here for dinner tonight. Service was quick and efficient, food arrived super quickly which is fantastic. Had the basil chicken, honey and chilli pork, nasi goreng and spicy eggplant. Everything was tasty, the highlight was the honey and chilli pork - sticky and crunchy goodness. Very happy

Disappointed. My husband and I went here for dinner. Very noisy. Tables too close together. Very cold. Service good. No car parking. Food ordinary and nothing to write home about. The chicken was really weird. It was swollen with a funny texture like it had been soaked in something. I thought we'd try the place before coming back with all our family but won't be back.

Best chicken rice. I'm real picky when it comes to authentic Singaporean dish, but it amazes me how consistent they've kept the dish all this time.

Best in bayswater. This place is busy for a reason. Amazing food and service with an outstanding price. Had the lunch menu shredded duck soup, Szechuan chicken dumplings upon reading other reviews, salt and pepper quail and the roast pork with soup. Everything we had was fantastic, the staff are attentive and friendly. I couldn't recommend it enough.

Lunch Time Faves. This is our favourite weekend lunch venue. The curry beef noodles has mouth watering "rendang", chicken rice is a hot favourite ordered by almost every table, char kway teow had generous helpings of fried pork lard. Friendly and efficient staff makes us feel welcome too.