Our clever friends Cliff and Kathy discovered Mamak, a little eatery in Chinatown specialising in authentic Malaysian roti and satay.
Apart from being ridiculously cheap, the flavours here are authentic and addictive, and the atmosphere reminiscent of street stalls in Malaysia and Singapore. The restaurant operates on a no-reservations basis, and there is often a cheery queue out the front, waiting to be seated. It doesn’t take long though, as the service is fast and friendly, and the tables turn over very quickly.
The core of the menu is the roti canai (pronounced “chan-eye”) – an Indian bread made by folding, flipping and frying a thin batter. They’re traditionally served with a couple of dipping sauces – in this case a spicy curry sauce and a dahl puree. The dish below costs a tiny $5 and would make a perfect late night supper (the restaurant opens until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays).
The roti planta, for a dollar more, is a wicked buttery bread, again served with the curry dips.
Also on the menu was this traditional nasi lemak (coconut rice), served with peanuts, half a boiled egg , kari ayam (chicken curry) and cucumber.
Mamak serves authentic Malaysian satay – small (as opposed to the large clunky ones on offer at most restaurants) and charcoal grilled, then plated with a sweet and spicy sauce that doesn’t taste like peanut butter!
Finally, dessert was a roti bom (photo at the top as well) – a decadent, slow-cooked caramelised pastry, served with vanilla icecream. Fantastic stuff!
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Mamak Malaysian Roti and Satay
15 Goulburn Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel: 02 9211 1668
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