Friday, March 12, 2010

Mamak - for awesome roti!

This post has been a long time coming ... I first experienced Mamak with a good friend late October 2009 .. I had a great time and the roti (for which Mamak is famous) was awesome! Since much time has passed and suffering from a distinct lack of photos to go with this post, I decided I just had to go again!

This time I had Yaya and Bisycl in tow ... And we ordered up a storm!

First up, Roti canai
; soft and chewy, it was light and perfectly accompanied by the sambal and curry dips.


Roti telur (roti with plain egg filling); denser than the plain roti, but lovely mouth-feel as the egg was cooked just right and not too tough.


Chicken murtabak (roti filled with chicken, cabbage, eggs and onions); again was cooked just right with the meat still tender.


Beef satay; a little bit disappointing as the meat was dry and kind of tough. It had good flavour though and the satay was not as nut heavy as Thai satay.


Kari sayur (vegetable curry); flavoursome and not too spicy.


Nasi goreng; rice was nice and al dente. It smelt great when they brought it out and it didn't disappoint the tastebuds either!


Rojak (Malaysian style salad) was a nice refreshing dish in our mains line up. The shredded yam bean and cucumber fresh and juicy, the prawn/coconut fritters adding crunch, the fried tofu adding something chewy and peanut sauce something sweet.


Once we'd chowed down all that we could, we packed up the leftovers to savour the next day moving straight onto dessert!

Cendol (pandan noodles in syrup and coconut milk over ice shavings) .. This was a bit disappointing. I have to admit I'd never had this before, but noodles were a bit mushy and bland. We also suspect it had been siting for a tad too long before they brought it to us, because instead of a flavoured mini-mountain of ice shavings it was a puddle of noodles/syrup/coconut milk, with some ice floating around in it.


Roti kaya (roti filled with pandan/coconut spread); arrived piping hot and super-sweet - the vanilla ice cream a perfect accompaniment.


If I were to be perfectly honest, as good as the other dishes were, they all came a distant second to the roti. Soft but chewy, savoury and sweet, what else can I say but YUM?

A word of warning, if you are more inclined toward instant gratification, do not plan on getting a meal at the peak service hours at Mamak. Mamak is notorious for its queues which sometimes go a good way down the street! Having said that, the queues do move due to quick turn-around on tables, and you're provided with plenty of entertainment, as the roti is made in the windows facing the street - mesmerising stuff!

Sugar and spice and all things nice,



la chouquette sucrée

Mamak
15 Goulburn Street
Haymarket Sydney 2000
Tel: +612 9211 1668

Open 7 days
Lunch: 11:30am to 2:30pm
Dinner: 5:30pm to 9:30pm
Supper: Open till 2am Friday & Saturday


Mamak on Urbanspoon

9 comments:

  1. i'd have to agree with your comment that some of their other dishes come a second compared to the roti although i find the ayam goreng, and roti tisu really good as well :-)

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  2. I have heard a bit of this place. The rotis look as great as promised. Although not a fantastic looking dessert the Roti kaya sounds like it tastes great.

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  3. Have to agree, the first time I went to Mamak I was blown away by the flavour and textures of the Rojak but it just didn't taste as good this time, I think the quality of the rest of the food has dropped a little but the roti is still THE BEST!

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  4. Lots of good food at Mamak! It's a shame about the waiting, but like you said, it doesn't take that long to get a table, and the food is worth it.

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  5. Yum! I've yet to try most of the dishes you've reviewed here, but quite like their nasi lemak and ayam goreng.

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  6. Ahh yes those queues! When I went it was around 6pm and there was already a big queue. I was amazed! :P

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  7. Mamak is one of my favourite places to eat. The first time we went we just beat the crowds and didn't have to wait. The rotis are spectacular!

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  8. Queues .. Yaya managed to make it there just before opening and there was already a queue! Personally, for future reference, I'm wondering how the roti survives take away ... :)

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  9. You ordered a lot! The food looks really good! I'm yet to try mamak, but I've read so much about it! The roti looks so yummy......

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