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Located in Continental Centre, Ellie is a casual cafe serving up Malaysian and other asian delights.
Very very good curry Hainanese chicken laksa! Big portion too for under $8. Service was ok but the waitress seemed kind of clueless/slow that day. The place is a bit small, seated very close to the next table. But would come back just for that laksa!
i had gone here previously and had been pleasantly surprised by the food this small quaint restaurant had to offer so i felt compelled to bring my sister there for her to try it out.
food: i had the spicy beef noodle last time and was craving to have it again this time and it was just as good as i remembered. it's pretty flavourful and not a lot of soup the way i like it. the brisket is very tender and i luv the garlic, spice, and minced preserved veggies. the roti canai was good, warm/hot and very crispy. unlike another review, i dont think that this restaurant premakes any of their dishes. they may prepare sauces, premarinate meat, etc ahead of time but it's def not microwave food!
service: last time i was here they were busy and the waitress forgot our tea, never refilled out tea, forgot to refill our tea when asked, took forever to flag down and this time there wasnt a huge improvement. the girls arent lazy, but they're just not "alert". they're just so focused on their task at hand that they're oblivious to 3 diff't tables trying to flag someone down. the high counter def doesn't help. but once u do get someone they are very polite.
ambiance: the interior is fairly clean and bright. there is a nice mix of asian and english music playing in the background at just the right volume so u know it's there but you can still chat away.
overall: i think i would still come back for the food. the food has been fairly consistent and came out at a decent time. taking a bit longer to get my tea or bill wont stop me from returning!
Food: Not bad. Really liked that roti type dish that you dip into satay sauce. I had the crazy spicy noodles that weren't all that crazy but kinda spicy so it was alright. The only thing that bothered me was that every other bite, I would bite into something that was crunchy, kind of like eggshells... Never did really figure out what it was but could have been the stems to one of the spices but not quite sure.
Service: Servers were not mean but they were def. horrible at their job. The counter in there is too high with too much stuff on it so most of the time, they can't even see you if you're trying to wave them down. Took us a good 5 min to get their attention to order and a good 10 min to get more tea.
Ambiance: I dunno what the decor is supposed to denote. Is it aiming for Malaysian? Tropical? Chic? I dunno. The seats and tables were nice and comfy and the place was quite clean. I really liked the big palm tree in there since it reminded me of Vegas.
Overall: Maybe I'll go back but there's just so many other places I could go for a meal in Richmond. So maybe sometime in the future, I might go back to try some of the other dishes people have been saying that were good.
I went with some friends to try this place based on the reviews here. We had a great meal. The ambience is a little weird, with gigantic MC Escher prints on the bright yellow walls, and fake palm trees (including one in the reasonably clean w/c). We got seated right away and scanned the menu. So many choices!
We had seafood laksa, gyoza, clams with sambal sauce, squid sizzling plate, seafood fried rice, and chicken satay. All were very good, but the laksa deserves special mention.
Our teacups were kept full by the attentive staff, and the place was reasonably comfortable if slightly packed. My only regret was that we didn't try more of the menu items. We were too full!
Overall a very positive experience. Plus it was a very inexpensive meal. The strip mall where Ellie is located has about a dozen other restaurants so we will definitely be back to sample more savoury delights.
Recommended.
(this repost is to correct my star ratings)
I will go again
Being in Richmond, this restaurant offers the *ahem* "level" of service you have come to expect from many establishments in north Richmond.
Having said that, the food was delicious, full stop. Nicely flavoured curry, well-prepared satay, loved the sambal fried green beans. It's worth a try for sure.
I don't know that I'd say the food was outstanding, but it merits more than only 3 stars in my opinion.
I come here once every few months to fulfill sudden cravings for Malaysian food. Although Tropika has better roti canai, the ones here are still quite good. Other favourites include the chicken with lots of garlic cloves & green onions (can't remember the name), house special fried rice w/ shrimp & masago, pork & kimchi paper hotpot. Always end up eating the same stuff because when we do come, we miss the food and know exactly what to expect. Food's decently priced too.
Service is being given a 2-star rating. You get the bare basics for service. Tea gets plopped down on your table, order gets taken, no quality checks are done. You sometimes have to ask for tea refills, napkins, and even table settings.
The decor in this restaurant is a little weird. They've got hanging on the walls these massive pictures which always look like they're going to fall. There's also palm trees and (Christmas) lights around the place... not sure what kind of feel they're going for. If you get stuck at the row of tables in the middle of the restaurant, you can feel quite cramped for space as the waitresses walk by on either side.
Even though service and ambiance aren't great, I still find myself returning for the good food & cheap prices.
Heard about this place from a friend and decided to give it a try. Took us a while to locate it though.
We had the Satay, Hainanese Chicken Rice, Laksa and Bak Kut Teh. The Satay and Chicken were very good, Laksa was exceptional, but Bak Kut Teh disappointing.
We noticed lots of Taiwanese food in the menu as well. Will probably give it a try next time out. They have tons of items in the menu, but the place only seats about 50 people. Makes you wonder how many of the items are pre-cooked and sitting in the fridge waiting to be heated up.
The service was friendly but slow, and ambience decent.
Will return, if I happen to be in Richmond. A good alternative to Banana Leaf.
We encountered this place by accident and soon it becomes one of our favorites. They also offered free meal less than $10 on your birthday with at least $15 purchase. Not Bad. I loved their Chicken Rendang, Chicken Three Spice (one of the best and would share the same rating as Pearl (most popular cafe on the same complex just couple of stores away) and definitely much better than VOGUE...which I think is way too overrated...), Their soup on paper is not bad. We totally fall in love with their ice slush with strawberry and sour green mango mixed with kumkuat juice and condensed milk.
Went for dinner during a Friday Evenning
Food: Ordered the Chicken Satays - tasted great (will come back for this)
Nasi Lemak - Flavour was alright but it was definitely not authentic. The rice was the glutinous rice used for TW food and Sushi sprinked with black and roasted seaseme seeds. Should be coconut flavoured long grain rice of some sort. The 1 piece of chicken included was definitely precooked and most likely microwaved. While the sambal with fried fish mixture tasted like it an anchovy and kimchi stirfry?
Malaysian Hoiken Mee - Wasn't what I had expected it to be. Tasted like a sweet soya sauced version of shanghinese long thick noodles.
I dunno.... As some advice to the next patrons, I'd definitely go for the satay, roti canai, the popular TW dishes and any other popular snack dish
Service: Glasses were constantly refilled. Everything was fine.
One thing that had my concern was that we were the only table there during the Friday night dinner service. Where are all the other diners? I had walked around the plaza mall and every other restaraunt had at least 5-7 tables.
Go there for snacks and drinks.
Unfortunately one of my favourite restaurants is now closed. We happened to pop by on the last day....and we didn't even know it was their last day until a friend we were talking to on our cell mentioned it when we told him where we were having lunch (they had a dinky sign posted on the opposite door that people enter in and it wasn't eye level).
Unfortunately the owner has some health issues, so they decided to close the restaurant.
No more lemon chicken, spicy tendon, fish flakes on tofu, chilli sole, etc, etc. =(
Hopefully they'll open up again somewhere else one day!!!
I'm quite an avid fan of Malaysian/Southeast Asian food and Ellie is the restaurant that I frequent the most often to settle my cravings.
Dishes I recommend from Ellie include their House Special Fried Rice, Chicken Satay (used to be super cheap, but they've recently upped their prices), and the Spicy Beef Noodles. Their yellow noodles are very tasteful, and the curry is also exceptional. Last time I tried their vermicelli, they seemed to have overdose on the salt a bit.
Recently, I've noticed that Ellie has changed a few prices on the menu; it used to be an extremely good deal, but because of the price changes, I've been reluctant to come here more often.
Service has always been typical, nothing special about it. The servers greeted us in Mandarin, and although we understood, I'm not impressed when they automatically assume we know what they're talking about. However, it is understandable coming from a Richmond restaurant. The servers are tri-lingual, so that's a plus for them.
In terms of atmosphere, I've found it to be pretty alright and standard. I've heard that because there's actually no roof to the washrooms, there's a public washroom scent throughout the restaurant. My parents noticed this, but I didn't.
All in all, Ellie is somewhere I still enjoy going to. The food can get quite oily so I come about once a month.
I've been to Ellie's several times now. The service isn't great but the food makes up for it. I agree it's not authentic Malaysian/Singaporean but it's still might tasty to me! Their fried tofu with dried fish is one of the best items there.
I prefer this little place to Tropicana, honestly. It just seems more personal and cozy, and the attention they can give to you and your food seems more focused. I like their chicken satay the most and the naan -- malay fried bread? Other items on the menu are mostly good, but anyway, I come here mostly for the satay.
I love South East Asian cuisine, and Ellies is one of my favourite for value and quality!
My repeat dishes are the satays (love the peanut sauce), roti, anything randang, seafood paper hot pot, and their house special fried rice.
I don't think I've ever had any dishes that I particularly disliked. Everything is flavourful and tasty without being overly greasy.
Their service is alright...there was one waitress there (who seemed to ALWAYS be there) that always served us and she was on top of things. The newer ones seem to be slower and weren't as attentive.
I go here knowing that I won't be disappointed =)
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