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As I step from the heat and bustle of Lakemba’s Haldon Street into the colourful interior of Island Dreams Cafe, the first thing to catch my eye is a giant, very old-style Italian espresso machine. It has clearly been lovingly cared for over the decades, but it looks so ancient that it might have hissed and puffed out an authentic Italian espresso for Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday. This vintage glamour is characteristic of the décor and atmosphere of this cool and welcoming café restaurant. The aquatic-green walls are decorated with faded island maps, coconut fronds and photos of perfect island beaches.
The décor is unique and (while I don't like to overuse the word), the food at Island Dreams is extremely unique – it’s the only restaurant in Sydney serving the cuisine of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. This isn’t surprising, given that the islands have a population of just 600 people. They are situated off the northwest coast of Australia and, although the islands have been part of Australia since 1955, they are geographically closer to Sumatra. Despite this proximity, this ‘Aussie’ fare has a distinctly Malay character, but it is mostly served Sumatran-style from the huge bain-marie that dominates the room.
Island Dreams opened in 1996, and it’s run by Alimah and her husband, Aman. They describe themselves as ethnically Malay, and they speak a language called Basa Pulu Kokos, which is a combination of Malay and Scottish English. This unusual combination came about because a Scottish merchant family lived on the islands for 150 years before they were formally transferred to Australia. Alimah and Aman’s recipes have been handed down for generations, and this history is evident in the authenticity of the flavours and the respect they show for their ingredients.
On the day I visit, there’s a selection of beef rendang, ikan goreng (fried fish), chicken curry made with whole drumsticks, fish curry, sautéed liver and onions, curried greens, potatoes and mixed vegies. In addition to the ready-made dishes, the à la carte menu includes nasi Lemak (a combination of curry, rice, crisp anchovies, peanuts, cucumber and egg), mee rebus (thick noodle soup), roti chanai (curry with flaky bread), sambal udang (chilli prawns) and satay sticks – plus a café menu of coffees, teas, banana bread, croissants and cinnamon scrolls.
I choose the fish curry, liver, a whole fried fish and (what I thought was) Malaysian-style cassava leaves stewed in coconut curry. My dining companion orders sautéed vegies, beef rendang and chicken curry. We sit at a lovely, booth-style corner table by the window and look at the action outside of a row of biriyani shops across the road.
When I take a bite of the cassava leaves, I realise this is a spin on the classic Sumatran dish. The leaves are sunshine bright, fresh and still al dente, but this version is made with silverbeet leaves, rather than cassava. It’s a tasty take on the classic – stewed with turmeric, ginger, galangal and lime leaves. The liver is served in a thick onion gravy, and it’s perfectly cooked. The gravy is garlicky, salty and sweet, with a warm hum of chilli heat.
The fish curry is made with salmon cutlets, and the curry is a punchy sour-balanced tomato and turmeric gravy. While the whole fried fish is small, about banana-sized, and served with a generous scoop of spicy red sambal. It's firm-fleshed, and charred so deliciously crisp that I can pick it up to eat it.
I also sample some dishes from my friend’s plate. The potatoes, green beans and onions taste like they’ve been oven roasted to a sticky light brown before being gently sautéed, and the beef is a text-book-perfect, Malay-style rendang – creamy and packed full of caramelised shallots and ginger, with tall chunks of meat that I can carve with my spoon.
Not only is Island Dreams a great place for lunch or dinner, it’s an absolute bargain. You can get three choices with rice for $16 to $18, depending on how many meat dishes you choose. All dishes are halal.
After lunch, we step back out into the stream of grocery-shopping pedestrians on Haldon Street, passing Desi Dude (a barber specialising in haircuts for South-Asian Men) and a crowded North African café, serving mint tea and bubbling shisha pipes on the street. Although Island Dreams represents a rare glimpse into a relatively unknown part of Australia’s cultural and culinary history, far from being out of place in this buzzing stretch of Arabic groceries, biriyani shops and al-fresco shisha tea houses, it fits right in.
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