This canteen in an industrial precinct serves some of Melbourne’s best Malaysian food

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In an industrial precinct in Melbourne’s south-east, Hanna Md Diah, a former bank worker from Johor in Malaysia, and her husband, Matt Mohamad, a one-time car mechanic, have turned a no-frills lunch spot into a cosy, easygoing destination for homely, heartfelt Malay food. I think it’s some of the best in town.

You’re greeted by up to 30 bain-marie trays groaning with colourful, fragrant dishes: a golden tumble of fried chicken, glossy beef rendang, fish in turmeric-bright coconut gravy and much, much more.

The room smells of toasted coconut, roasted chilli, shrimp paste and strong tea – sometimes with a background whiff of durian, a tropical fruit used in some savoury sauces and desserts. Whether it makes you think of your aunty’s cooking or you’re here for your first nasi campur (“rice mix”), one thing is clear: some hard choices lie ahead.

Nasi campur is a concept rather than a dish: it involves rice accompanied by a selection of braises, fries and grills. In Malaysia, customers often help themselves from a buffet. At Matt, you pick and point and a friendly staff member will serve you. There are no wrong choices and the selection changes anyway, according to whim, season and customer pleas (that’s how salmon curry made it to the menu one week).

Bitter melon is battered and fried, as light and crispy as excellent tempura. Spinach is tossed with carrot and dried anchovies to create a veg-forward dish with a salty punch. Lamb curry is spice-laden and fragrant, the meat easy to pull apart. Eggplants are fiercely fried so their skins turn to dark chips and their insides are molten and creamy.

Nasi kerabu, Matt’s signature, is a scoop of rice, dyed blue with butterfly pea flower, accompanied by toasted coconut, fish crackers, shredded cabbage, sambals and fried chicken (or another protein of your choice). It’s a pretty dish, but your job is to mess it up: mix and eat with your fingers because every Malaysian knows it tastes better that way (although forks and spoons are fine, too).

Other a la carte dishes include a punchy, sour Penang laksa, strong on tamarind and mackerel, spilling over with fresh cabbage and cucumber.

Nasi campur is a concept rather than a dish: it involves rice accompanied by a selection of braises, fries and grills. There are no wrong choices.

Remember the cendol biasa when you’re looking for a summer heatwave solution: shaved ice hits the spot, especially when it’s soaked with palm sugar syrup and piled with corn cream, kidney beans and squiggles of pandan jelly.

Matt is halal and, therefore, alcohol-free, but the tea and coffee selection is a ticket to Kuala Lumpur: my pick is the teh tarik, “pulled” milk tea that’s thickened and made foamy by being poured a number of times between vessels.

This isn’t a fancy place, but the well-worn room is full of personal touches that signal care and pride. Patterned batik cloths cover the tables, which are, in turn, covered in easy-wipe plastic.

Everyone’s here. Solo diners slurp soup. A young family shares chicken and rice. Hungry shoppers swap stories about big-box bargains (there’s a Costco nearby) as they browse the selection and strategise. Boxes of kuei (handmade sweets), hanging greenery and Malaysian music are expressive of the villages being channelled in the food.

As often happens, the seed was a hankering for home. Hanna phoned family for recipes, cooked for friends and the dream escalated into Matt Malaysian, which opened here last year. Nostalgic and enterprising, it’s a business built on longing and fuelled by enthusiasm.

This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.