Gone are the days of just having Thai, Chinese or Japanese meal options when you feel like a taste of Asia. More and more we're seeing a variety of other cuisines popping up in restaurants all over the place, including Vietnamese, Filipino and Malaysian.
If you feel like venturing a bit further than a plate of fried rice, I can hand over heart say that a fantastic option is Mamak in Sydney's Chinatown.
And the best thing is, not only does it pile the most delicious Malaysian food thinkable onto your plate, but it's cheap too.
If you feel like venturing a bit further than a plate of fried rice, I can hand over heart say that a fantastic option is Mamak in Sydney's Chinatown.
And the best thing is, not only does it pile the most delicious Malaysian food thinkable onto your plate, but it's cheap too.
We arrived on a Thursday night at 7pm and the line was already out the door, which is not unusual for this restaurant. It did however stretch down the road and around the corner. This is usually a good sign and the food was well worth the wait.
An obvious tip: go early, or hire someone to stand in line for you while you have a drink up the road. Pay them in roti- they will love that.
An obvious tip: go early, or hire someone to stand in line for you while you have a drink up the road. Pay them in roti- they will love that.
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To be perfectly honest, my foodie vocabulary fails me when trying to describe the food at Mamak. Every single dish was amazingly tasty, cooked perfectly and just made us sit back in our seats and savour every. single. mouthful.
We opted for:
And pictured below:
Picking a favourite dish is like Maria choosing her favourite child from the Von Trapp family- it's almost impossible. If I was stranded on a desert island and could only eat one of these for the rest of my life though, I would choose the Rojak. It had prawns, tofu and let's face it- a deep-fried salad is my kind of salad. The shredded yambean and cucumber cut through the drrp-fried goodness nicely and dressing on this was sticky and sweet and gorgeous.
I absolutely love the roti at Mamak as well- it does what it says on the tin, is crisp on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. There is also quite a bit of butter involved in the making of this roti and that just makes it delicious.
We opted for:
- Rojak (A Malaysian-style salad: prawn and coconut fritters, fried tofu, hard-boiled eggs, freshly shredded yambean and cucumber, topped with a thick spicy peanut sauce)
- Kari Kambing (spicy lamb curry slow-cooked until tender)
- Roti Canai (original roti, fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside)
- Roti Bawang (roti with lashings of sweet onions)
And pictured below:
- Kangkung Belacan (stir-fried water spinach with chillies and shrimp paste)
- Sambal Udang (stir-fried tiger prawns with fiery sambal sauce).
Picking a favourite dish is like Maria choosing her favourite child from the Von Trapp family- it's almost impossible. If I was stranded on a desert island and could only eat one of these for the rest of my life though, I would choose the Rojak. It had prawns, tofu and let's face it- a deep-fried salad is my kind of salad. The shredded yambean and cucumber cut through the drrp-fried goodness nicely and dressing on this was sticky and sweet and gorgeous.
I absolutely love the roti at Mamak as well- it does what it says on the tin, is crisp on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. There is also quite a bit of butter involved in the making of this roti and that just makes it delicious.
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Mamak is all about sharing a range of dishes and splitting the very affordable bill at the end. Mains at Mamak range from $14-17 and a Roti Canai will only set you back $5.50.
If you want to give your tastebuds a treat after a season of Winter soups, wake them up with some Sambal from Mamak.
The Particulars
Website: Mamak
Twitter: @Mamakrestaurant
If you want to give your tastebuds a treat after a season of Winter soups, wake them up with some Sambal from Mamak.
The Particulars
- Mamak can be found at 15 Goulburn Street, Haymarket, Sydney.
- Open 7 days for lunch lunch 11:30am – 2:30pm; and dinner 5:30pm – 10:00pm.
- Open until 2am Friday and Saturday.
- Dinner mains range from $9 – $19
Website: Mamak
Twitter: @Mamakrestaurant
