Mamak is known for having the best roti on the other side of the Indian Ocean and offers authentic Malaysian cuisine full of bold spicy flavours. Crowds are lined up every night and the best part of it all, Mamak isn't pricey. Two weeks ago I tried the select lunch special which is even better value. Total cost of the bill was like $33 for two.
To avoid queues at Mamak it's best to go there during lunch time as opposed to dinner. Surprisingly I was there on a Friday for lunch and there was no line, phew!!! We could order our food and you don't have to wait so long to get it served to your table. Of course when you're at Mamak, you must try their roti canai! It's so crispy on the outside and fluffy on the insides. There's also two different sauces, one that is a hot chilli sauce and the other is more mild. I even tried the roti canai at More More Cha which was just down the road from Mamak. It still doesn't compare to Mamak's quality even though it was fresh too because you can see this man at the front of the restaurant spinning the roti and tossing it into the air. The roti there was certainly fluffy but not crispy like Mamak. Then there's Petaling Street's roti canai described on their menu as extra hot but in fact it was not that spicy. Their roti doesn't taste like it was made on the day as it certainly wasn't as crispy nor tasty like Mamak. The fact that it was flat even though layered also meant that it was not fluffy nor flaky on the inside at all. The only difference is that Petaling Street has tender beef briskets immersed in hot curry sauce to go with their roti.
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| Roti canai - $5.50 @ Mamak |
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| Roti canai @ More More Cha |
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| Roti canai - $5 @ Petaling Street |
The main dishes we ordered were Kari Kabing - $16 (spicy lamb curry slowed cooked until tender) and Ayam Berempah - $16 (bite sized chicken pieces stir fried with whole spices). Both these two dishes were delicious. The spicy lamb was indeed tender and when you take a bite, it falls into pieces. Then the chicken was crispy and so tasty because of the added herbs and spicy. I love this place. Food must not be too salty for me and it must be flavoursome. Mamak will not disappoint you in both these aspects! It is no wonder the lines are always long at this place because the culinary delights of Mamak is undeniably fantastic. It certainly is far more authentic than other competitors (Petaling Street, More More Cha, Ipoh on York) and who have seen the success of Mamak over the years since 2007. I've also eaten at the other established Malaysian restaurants like Chinta Ria, Temasek and The Malaya and yet Mamak is still my favourite! It doesn't matter that the decor is not as fancy as Chinta Ria nor the Malaya, I'm in it for the food so long as the place is clean.
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| Kari Kabing - $16 |
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| Ayam berempah - $16 |
The iced lime drink pictured below was very refreshing and great when you're having hot and spicy Malaysian food. Instead of sugar they put some syrup to make it sweet. If you want something other than plain water to wash down the spices, this is a great choice.
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| Iced lime drink with syrup - $3.50 |
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| Mamak |
Summary review of Mamak:
Food rating: 9/10
Service rating: 8/10
Ambience rating: 7/10
Price rating: $ (cheap)
Overall rating: 8.5/10
Mamak has two locations - one in Chinatown and Chatswood
Mamak Chinatown Mamak Chatswood
15 Goulburn Street Shop P9, 1-5 Railway Street
Haymarket, Sydney, NSW Chatswood NSW 2067
T: (02) 9211 1688 T: (02) 9411 4411
Lunch 11.30am - 2.30pm Lunch 11.30am - 2.30pm
Dinner 5.30pm - 10.00pm Dinner 5.30pm - 9.30pm
Supper til 2am (Fri & Sat) Supper til 10.30pm (Fri & Sat) |
| Petaling Street, Malaysian Hawker Food, Chinatown |
A week after, I tried Petaling Street in Chinatown, the same precinct as Mamak. To my disappointment the food was not authentic. The decor was pretty simple like Mamak but the food does not live up to my expectation. However, one good thing about Petaling is that once you've ordered, the food is served quickly so you don't have to wait and starve. We started out with some chicken skewers with pieces of cucumber and purple onions. We only had three sticks and it was $7 or something ridiculous. The chicken wasn't burnt which was a relief but they could have been a lot more generous with their servings and it tasted pretty average.
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| Chicken satay skewers |
The other dishes we ordered other than the roti canai were the Nonya fish dish and Maggie Mee Go Reng. The Maggie Mee Goreng (had egg noodles, eggs, tomatoes, choy sum, dried fried onions, lettuce and chicken pieces with soy + chili sauce to give it spiciness) wasn't too bad but nothing spectacular but the Nonya fish was disarmingly good. The fish was soft and battered in a sweet and sour sauce. It was a chef recommended dish and it was the only dish that stood out.
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| Maggie Mee Goreng |
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| Nonya Fish dish |
The total bill was $45. It was more expensive than Mamak but we had an additional entree and a noodle dish. Overall the menu was very extensive but they are priced higher than Mamak. Other dishes they had were Nasi Lemak, Buk Kut Teh (spare rib soup), Hainanese chicken and other traditional claypot dishes.
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| Petaling Street |
Summary review of Petaling Street:
Food rating: 6.5/10
Service rating: 7/10
Ambience rating: 6.5/10
Price rating: $ (cheap)
Overall rating: 6.5/10
Petaling Street
760 George Street Haymarket NSW 2000(02) 9280 1006
Opening Hours:
Open 7 days 11am til late.
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