Tea Woks Perth review: April Ooi visits authentic Malaysian restaurant in Hay Street for bubble tea, noodles

I don’t think I’ve been a true regular anywhere until now. I’ve always wanted to walk into a venue and say “the usual”, but having to try new foods all the time is part and parcel of working as a food reviewer, and of running my social accounts. Thus it’s hard to make frequent returns, even when I have my favourites. However, I realised I had hit regular status recently when the lady at the counter at Tea Woks looked at me with a knowing smile and asked: “Grapefruit tea?” Tea Woks is a Malaysian restaurant near my work specialising in Sarawak cuisine and bubble tea. My work bestie and I are always customers one and two for our 10.30am tea fix but for the purpose of this review, I took my brother out for dinner to give their food a proper whirl. I ordered pan mee ($16.90), flat mid-width handmade noodles with minced pork, anchovy and chilli oil. It was topped with a soft-boiled egg, which emulsified with the rest of the sauce to create a creamy concoction. It only gets better, with a generous portion of charred barbecue pork with yummy blackened edges. I also enjoyed the fried wantons ($7.90) which were airy, with bubbly fried skin and a salty stuffing. My brother had the vegetarian mee ($11.90). This time the handmade noodles were stringy-thi,n and I was impressed they pulled out all the stops with the toppings. He had mushroom, spongy tofu, black fungus, hard-boiled egg and plenty of greens. My fussy brother is no stranger to just eating the noodles and leaving the rest — but even he could not resist trying a bit of everything. I wasn’t brave enough to try the durian boba, but the Malaysian spin on bubble tea is something unique to Tea Woks. I let my brother try my usual grapefruit green tea with no sugar ($6.10). I like to get it with pearls, but my brother opted for grape jelly ($0.80). I tried the bandung with grass jelly ($5.30), which is a rose syrup drink popular in South-East Asia. The strong tea taste is unmatched at Tea Woks, and it honestly makes it hard to go to other bubble tea joints where pre-mixed drinks and overly sweet syrups are the norm. For dessert I noticed a sign for tau fu fa ($5.80) at the counter. This is a finely milled soybean pudding dessert, sweetened with brown sugar syrup, which tastes like an earthy creme caramel. It’s not the most glamorous looking dessert, but to me it was heavenly. I’m so glad I gave Tea Woks’ cuisine a go. I’m already there every day for the tea, but this may be an excuse to get sloppy with bringing lunch to work. If there is a rank above being a regular, I’m about to get promoted. Tea Woks 2/369 Hay Street, Perth OPEN Tuesday-Friday, Sunday 10.30am-2.30pm, 5pm-8pm CONTACT 0444 555 150 BOOKINGS Yes THE VERDICT Authentic Sarawak cuisine with generous portions and toppings. The excellent bubble tea is a bonus. 18/20