Auckland Malaysian restaurant Sri Pinang’s beef rendang has made the top 100 Auckland Iconic Eats list three consecutive times - something owner Angie Siew says shows there is lasting love for the dish.
In 2022, the restaurant also made the Condé Nast Traveler Magazine list of being among the 210 best restaurants around the world “worth travelling for”.
It was the only restaurant named in New Zealand that year and only one of nine in Oceania.
Siew and her husband Kun Kaw opened Sri Pinang in 1991 and Siew said their beef rendang has consistently been one of its best sellers.
"We make our beef rendang using all fresh ingredients and is perhaps the most time consuming dish to cook,” Siew said.
“This is one dish that we cannot rush as it has to be slow cooked and a lot of effort has to be put into it, unlike stir-fries.”
Rendang is a Malay-style dry curry made of beef or chicken that is usually eaten with either roti or rice.
“Although being named among the world’s best was exciting, I think being consistently nominated by Aucklanders for Iconic Eats means so much more because it shows that their love for us is not just ‘fly by night’,” Siew added.
“Running a restaurant isn’t easy, especially in the current climate, but recognitions such as these are rewarding to know that people have still not forgotten us and gives us a boost in morale to keep going.”
In 2022, Thai chef and restaurateur Pim Techamuanvivit wrote the blurb for Condé Nast Traveler, saying Sri Pinang's food is delicious.
Techamuanvivit said: "The food is simple, homey, and very more-ish—think sambal prawn (in the shells), roti curry, beef rendang, char kuey teow, and stir-fried beans in black olives."
Among the accolades, Sri Pinang’s roti canai - made fresh by Kwa at the eatery daily - had also previously been named to be among the best rotis in the world.
Food writer and TV personality Annabelle White said “it’s hard not to get emotional about the delicious beef rendang at Sri Pinang”.
She described the dish in her Iconic Eats nomination as a “tender, flavoursome beef curry”.
“Way before Karangahape Rd was the fashionable foodie strip it is today ,people who knew good food would come to visit Angie Kaw and for many she introduced them to superb affordable Malaysian food that is very much the fabric of Auckland,” White said.
“Their commitment to great flavour has no boundaries - they source fresh coconuts and grate and then roast them and source the spice ingredients from three different suppliers around the city to make the paste - this beef rendang curry paste alone reflects the rich tapestry of the city multi-cultures and so incredibly good and time consuming.”
White said that on days when she needed a little assurance and extra love, she would visit Sri Pinang and order the beef rendang and “get a little teary”.
“It’s so good the care radiates from the plate,” White added.
Sri Pinang is located at 356 Karangahape Road, Auckland CBD, 1010, New Zealand.
Operating hours:
Monday: 5:30 PM – 10:00 PM
Tuesday to Friday: 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM and 5:30 PM – 10:00 PM
Saturday: 5:30 PM – 10:00 PM
Sunday: Closed
