Review: Mamak, Sydney

I've been to Mamak several times already but every time I turn up with a different group of people. On this particular occasion, it was with a close group of collegues from my previous work place and we had agreed to meet there at 6:30pm. The wait was brief which was greatly appreciated by my growling stomach.

We were quick to decide on our choices, picking at least on dish from each section. We started off with drinks for myself and SL who asked for Teh Ais without the Ais because she didn't like it diluting her drink. My personal preference though, is actually for the ice to melt before I drink it because I find the milk tea a tad too sweet.

Teh Ais $3.50

Not long after the drinks came, the food came too - much to our stomachs' delight! Service has always been swift at Mamak and this time was clearly no exception. First up was the Sambal Udang which is a midly spicy tiger prawn dish. The prawns were cooked just right - we loved it! So much so in fact, that even after we had finished devouring the prawns, SD wasn't about to let the sauce go to waste - letting it soak into her mound of rice.  

Sambal Udang $18

Our two orders of Roti Bawang and Murtbak Chicken arrived soon after. On previous occasions, I've always ordered the plain and classic rotis, having fallen in love with the fluffy crisy texture without the interruption of any fillings. This time however, I found that I've been missing out - that the addition of red onion is just...amazing. The sweetness of the onion doesn't detract from the roti at all, but adds to the beautiful flavour with a dash of you choice of curry dips or the sambal sauce. Sambal was once again, my favourite!

Roti Bawang $6

When it came down to the Murtabak, I was a bit confused. To me, it looked pretty much the same s any other roti but I'm told that traditionally, it is made with minced mutton. Our particular dish, which came with a choice of lamb or chicken, was filled with an array of ingredients mildly spicy chicken, cabbage, onion and egg. I'm big on all things egg - so what better way to enjoy it but with a combination of roti and an egg omelette inside?

Murtabak Chicken $10.50

I was a bit disappointed by our Nasi Lemak with a side of Fish Curry. Amongst the four of us, only three of us got a small tasting and I totally missed out! That small hitch aside, I am still a dedicated fan of this dish! I love the array of flavours that you can just add to the rice yourself - not too much effort but it's like customising your own dish! Next time I'll make sure that I take a piece of the side curry before I try anything else!

Nasi Lemak with Fish Curry $10.50

Finally, we were graced with the presence of our tender lamb curry. It gave our meal the full variety of meats and the way it was slow-cooked, left the lamb so tender and flavoursome. I normally avoid lemongrass at all cost, so the curry itself didn't hit the right spot for me, but the fact that we ordered more rice lies testament to its taste.

Kari Kambing $15

The Ais Kachang was in short, delicious! Every other time I've visited here, I've been awed by the Roti Tisu which is served high in a crispy cone form. This time, dining with a separate group of friends, our dessert range was different. I feel like I've missed out! The Ice Kachang was incredibly tasty. My only criticism, shared by SD, was with the red beans and the syrup down the bottom. I personally felt it could have done with less of the red beans and a tone down with the sweetness of the rose-syrup. That said, that minor addition didn't stop me from wanting more!

Ais Kachang $5

Our other order of dessert, the Roti Pisang was equally scrumptious. A thin rectangular piece of roti containing freshly sliced banana and served with ice-cream - I think that even as EA kept complaining about how full she was and how difficult it was for her to stomach the final mouthful, I could tell she was in dessert heaven.

Roti Pisang $7.50

Sitting not far from us was a large group booking who we later found out were celebrating a birthday here at Mamak. By this stage, we were already up to our dessert and as they sang their 'Happy Birthday' song, it got me thinking, what would it be like to have a birthday cake made entirely from roti? It would be delicious I bet!

Now that I'm actually in Singapore, I'm finaly going to have a point of comparison of how good Mamak actually is. Personally, I think it really is one of the best places on this side of the Indian Ocean. Rest assured more post will be made about this place!

Review: The Malaya, King Street Wharf

One can never have enough excuses to go out to eat. If you're anything like me, then the "my birthday" excuse can never be used too many times.

For me, after waking from the Etch-induced food coma, I headed towards The Malaya at King Street Wharf to feast myself in an evening of luscious Malaysian cuisine.


The scene was perfect, albeit a little cloudy - but the gentle lapping of the waves outside were more than enough to produce a wonderful calm and beautiful evening out of the grey.

Service here was highly attentive and professional. I must confess that I did feel a little rushed by the waiter, but to be fair we knew we only had a 1.5hr booking (December babies have to always duke it out with Xmas parties at restaurants), and at the pace we were going, we wouldn't have even managed to start ordering before the time was up.

San Choy Bao - $18 (per serve of 4)

Not long after we ordered, our entree arrived steaming hot and bursting with flavour. Despite being a "Westernised" dish, I could seriously not care less when we ordered this because I just absolutely adore devouring a well plated San Choy Bao. The lettuce was crisp and fresh, cut neatly to form a near-perfect circle to wrap the spicy wok-fried mince filling.

Once the table was cleared for the mains, our mini banquet proceeded to take shape fairly quickly. Dish after dish were brought up to our table and we happily lined them down the long table for sharing. We were kindly informed by the staff that rice was charged per head, which meant the boys could eat to their hearts content and refill until their stomachs burst. It most certainly brought a smile to everyone's face.

Mee Goreng - $22

I'm usually no fan of the REAL meegoreng, preferring the fake, MSG-coma-inducing packet stuff. This one here was an exception, and definitely worthwhile for the meegoreng lovers out there.

Chicken Rendang (Dry Coconut Base) - $25

Beef Rendang (Tomato Base) - $25

Beef Rendang (Dry Coconut Base) - $25

So you may be wondering how on earth we ended up with three different Rendang dishes? Truth be told I have no idea, except that we each ordered one dish and this is how it turned out. The dull side of things is that we did end up with three Rendang dishes, but the bright is that I LOVE rendang, which was why I chose the Beef Rendang in Dry Coconut Base pictured above. There's an added bonus in that this also provided the perfect opportunity to conduct some surveying of taste palates and comparative studies.

My findings?

There was a consensus that the Dry Coconut Base outstriped the Tomato base by two lengths of a horse. However we were evenly split between chicken lovers and beef lovers. I'm an avid beef rendang lover, and no amounts of moist chicken could trump that. So I'm a little biased going in to make the judgement that: Beef Rendang in Dry Coconut Base wins!

Nasi Goreng - $19

Emperor Nasi Goreng - remember the Telstra ad? - Undoubtedly another usual favourite making an appearance. I love the freshly wok-fried taste that the rice somehow captures during the cooking process. It's one of those things that you have no choice but to eat out for because unless you have a commercial sized wok burner at home, there is no simple way of replicating that somewhat smokey flavour in home cooking.

King Prawn Laksa - $24

DW distributing the laksa

Laksa - a regular DW favourite - and possibly the reason why I eat Laksa at work 95% of the times when I work with DW.

As you can see in the pictures, the prawns were bursty and large, no doubt soaked in a lot of bicarb. But you know what? It tasted great, and I was too sad that there wasn't enough broth to share around all the individual bowls.

Chicken Kapitan - $25

Prawn Kapitan - $29

Much like the Rendang, we also ended up ordering 2 different Kapitan dishes. Prawn wins hands down, and the consensus was that it was the best dish on the night. The lightly battered prawns were soft and fully soaked up the sweet and spicy flavours of the coconut curry sauce. The prawns were much like the ones in the laksa - large, sweet and bursty with every bite.

This is on my list of recommended dishes - something which you MUST try if you ever visit.

Overall, The Malaya may be a bit pricey for Malaysian food - but you really do get what you pay for. Excellent and attentive service, delicious food, and a great view for an extra pizzazz. It may not be Temasek, but heck I wouldn't mind coming back here again.


The Malaya
39 Lime Street
King Street Wharf
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel: (02) 9279 1170

Review: Tropicana, Kingsford

Chicken Laksa - $7.90

Simple loves.

If you've ever watched How I Met Your Mother, one would know of the significance of McLaren's in the lives of Barney, Lily, Marshall, Ted and Robin. To be honest, I think there's a McLaren's in everyone's hearts - a place which brings back fond moments in your life spent with your friends, time and time again.

For me, there's a few - Cafe C'ador (Strathfield), Tropicana (Kingsford), Pepper Lunch (George St) and Maloney's (the old one. On George Street - don't judge, it's a rite of passage okay?)

Beef Laksa - $9.50

I've been to Tropicana around 5 or 6 times now. All in the one year. And everytime I've visited, I've somehow managed to be slotted away in the same cubicle in the corner, which almost feels like home now.

The food here is simple, yet student-friendly and casual. Little needs to be said about the laksa -- the rich creaminess is always a stand out. I decided to try the beef laksa this time, semi-expecting bicarb-soda soaked pieces of meat floating around in my broth. To my surprise, the texture of the beef was so beautiful tender, as if it had been slowly braised for hours before.

Fish Ball Noodle Soup

DW and PC both ordered the Fish Ball Noodle Soup. DW wasn't feeling too well on the day, and at first did not want to eat anything at all. With a little encouragement, she decided to give it a shot, and these noodles definitely gave her a little pick-me-up after a long day.

Simple loves.


Tropicana
243 Anzac Parade
Kingsford, NSW 2032
Tel: (02) 9662 8896

Review: Mamak, Haymarket

This visit to Mamak must have been my fourth, but only the second time since its renovation and expansion. My first visit had left an extremely good impression on my taste buds and so when WX suggested, or rather wholeheartedly demanded, that we pay a visit to the Malaysian restaurant, I was only too happy to oblige. Since the capacity of the restaurant had increased two-fold, I was happy to say that although the queue was long, we managed to get inside within 30 minutes. A word of caution however, to those sneaky diners out there, the queue for this restaurant does not get any shorter as time passes, especially on Friday and Saturday nights when it opens till 2am in the morning for supper and dessert. But rest assured, even in the long long line, you can stand outside and be mesmerised by the skill of the roti-making chefs!

For those of you who have never dined here before, or have not visited since its expansion, you’ll immediately notice the dramatic change that the restaurant has undergone. The new décor expressed through the bright red walls accompanied by beautiful black and white photography as well as the well lit and more spacious seating area contributed to a great atmosphere to ease me into the mood for eating. That was already box number one checked off on my list for the evening!

Mamak is well known for its authentic Malaysian cuisine, most notably the roti varieties available both in sweet and savoury. Naturally, the first thing that WX’s eyes darted towards was that section of the menu. After a short period of time where all five of us simultaneously salivated and pored over our menus, we came to a quick decision of sharing six dishes. First up, a serving of Roti Canai and Roti Telur Bewang each with two varieties of curry and a spicy sambal sauce.

Roti Telur Bewang $6.50

Roti Canai $5

Not being much of a curry fan (and I know WX would strongly oppose me on this point), I hugely favoured the sambal sauce as a dip for both the roti variations. The slightly crispy exterior with a fluffy, soft inner was just an amazing little combination in my mouth, flaring up with the spicy sauce. With the added omelette-like combination of egg and onions in the Roti Telur Bewang, these two dishes served to be the most blissful and left me with no complaints whatsoever. I love good food, I love different foods and cuisines...but most of all I love all of the above served on a platter which leaves barely a dent on your wallet!

Beef Satay Sticks $14 for a dozen ($8 for 1/2 dozen, also available in Chicken)

Eating as a group of five, beef satay sticks by the dozen, was a must on the agenda. The sticks had been lightly charcoal grilled and served with a sweet and spicy peanut sauce. So what was my quick and dirty verdict? Nothing special. When you order something as common as satay sticks, the expectations are hitched up a couple more bars and both WX and I agree that these were really not that awesome. The beef itself was a tad overcooked which left us struggling to tear the chunks of meat off the stick - almost impossible to remain civilised.

Ayam Berempah $15

Next on our agenda was the Ayam Berempah. Just looking at it made my mouth water! Although the description of the dish was ‘bite-sized chicken’, I hardly felt that that was accurate. Having said that, I’m not one to complain that each time I picked up a piece of the stir-fried chicken, I could get in several bites. Cooked with mildly hot whole spices, the sensation left in my mouth was nicely melding in with the lasting flavour of the sambal sauce I had with the roti! Yum yum yummmmmm!

Nasi Lemak $7.50
The final two dishes on our main order was the Nasi Lemak and the Nasi Goreng. Both being rice dishes, the frequency of my hands subconsciously moving to get an extra helping of the Nasi Goreng was enough to convince my brain which tasted better. It's always interesting to see how your tastebuds talk to the rest of your body - or rather, control it. Although the variety of 'side dishes' surrounding our mound of coconut rice was both interesting and delicious – including an ensemble of peanuts, crispy anchovies, diced cucumber, sambal and half a hard boiled egg – it didn’t pitch quite as well as the well seasoned dish of Nasi Goreng. That’s not to say that both dishes weren’t extremely scrumptious but I had my little internal battle of choice – that’s all.

By this stage, everyone seemed relatively satisfied with the amount which filled their stomachs but to be honest, my quick metabolism was urging me on to continue the movement of my mouth. This desperate call was duly answered, perhaps overly so (especially considering out planned Sugar Hit after dinner), by our order of a sweet roti, Roti Tisu and our resident Malaysian, JC’s recommendation of Cendol. The Roti Tisu can be likened to a cone made from a sugar coated crispy crepe, which was served with vanilla ice-cream and (we later also begged for…) condensed milk. I’ve tried this once before, and have accepted the fact that it’s not a dessert to be consumed by one or two people…it really exemplifies the concept that ‘sharing is caring’. The only down side with this sugar delight this time round, was the base had gotten a bit soggy which left some of us chewing towards the end.

Roti Tisu $9

On the other end of the spectrum, the Cendol was an icy and refreshing bowl of pandan noodles, gula-meluka syrup and coconut milk. Not too sweet or filling, it was a perfect way to end the meal (in preparation for our Sugar Hit!)

Cendol $5

There is no doubt that Mamak will become one of my frequent haunts in town, especially on those late nights when all you want to do is sit somewhere and eat your heart away after a long day of walking around in the Sydney CBD. I know that WX and JL are already planning to make their second visit very soon – let’s hope they don’t mind me chiming in!

Mamak
15 Goulburn Street
Haymarket Sydney 2000
Tel: (02) 9211 1668

Review: Malaysian Food House, Sydney

Last Thursday DW and I decided to venture past the cute little courtyard where we usually have our work lunches into the somewhat haphazard depths that is known as Hunter Arcade. The food here is relatively cheap compared to places elsewhere in the CBD, but the quality of food really does vary quite substantially from place to place.

We had originally planned on going to the Naughty Chef (hee hee) down in the tunnel section, but the line was extraordinarily long by the time we arrived, and given that we only had an hour to lunch, we didn't think we could finish our meals in time and actually enjoy the experience.

So Plan B was then to visit Malaysian Food House. Tucked away in a corner located at the bottom of one of the billion sets of escalators in the place, this place offered quick, cheap Malaysian meals during the busy lunchtime period.

Har Mee - $7.90

I chose the daily special, which was the Har Mee (Prawn Broth Noodles). I've always looooooved Har Mee (along with Satay Mee) and I was pretty excited to be eating it for lunch. However the broth was very disappointing. It was quite heavily concentrated in MSG rather than the distinctive taste of prawn broth. I spent the afternoon drinking copious amounts of water just to stay alive.

Oh and there was only one piece of prawn. What the heck?

This is our second visit to this place, and I was really quite surprised by the quality of food on this occasion. DW selected the Chicken Laksa, which I had ordered last time. The soup was definitely tasty, and very very coconutty, but as DW slowly tucked into her noodles, she realised that whoever cooked the dish had forgotten to put any chicken in.

What the heck right?

Oh well, perhaps they were just too busy on the day? Either way, knowing us, we will probably try our chances again at this place some day down the track. I may find myself dissatisfied yet again, but when you're hungry at work with a limited time to suffice that hunger, sometimes common sense just flies out the window...

Review: Jaya Malaysian, Sydney

Beef Laksa - $8.50

So...

For those of you who may be wondering how on earth I've been supporting my appetite (and tendency to roam around Sydney looking for the greatest noms), well... long story short... I work.

Shock horror isn't it?

And because DW and I both work on Fridays during the semester, we have made it a weekly routine to eat around work. Last week (yes, I've been lagging behind with my posts recently. I'll explain after I'm done talking about food), we decided to have laksa again.

Why? Because DW loves to have laksa at Jaya Malaysian, which is a tiny outlet tucked away in a courtyard at the Maritime Trade Tower down in Wynyard/Millers Point. If you weren't working nearby, I seriously don't think you'd find it.

Chicken Laksa - $8.50

Personally, I quite like the laksa here too. It's not too creamy and on most days the flavouring is pretty much spot on. The tofu is plenty squishy, full of creamy goodness from the soup, and goes wonderfully with both the chicken or the beef. (I've had both.)

The place isn't anything fancy, but I must say that the courtyard is beautifully covered by the greenery during the summer months, and filled with sunlight during the winter months. It really is a quiet, secluded haven amidst a bustling city during the day, perfect for a quiet lunch with a friend.

Jaya Malaysian at Maritime Trade Tower
Level 3 Retail Courtyard
201 Kent Street
Sydney, NSW 2000


P.S. My posts will be only just trickling through in the next two weeks as I'm in the middle of my final exams. This is where I start kicking myself for nomming away too much during the semester and ignoring my beloved textbooks for a good 12 weeks.

Pray to God that I'll live to tell the tale.

Review: Satay Delight, UNSW

Here's the basic storyline to all my foodtales:

• I walk up to A telling he/she that I just had the best XYZ in my life at some place
• A proceeds to convince me that my tastebuds are completely deprived and that I should try XYZ at some other place
• I give A a "oh really? well why didn't someone tell me earlier!??!"
• A gives me a "you're a crap foodie" look
• I proceed to try XYZ at the some other place...and then it ends up here on this blog.

And hence it brings me to this post.

Once upon a time I professed to the world my dedicated love for laksa. Someone who was within my vocal radius heard my profession and immediately proceeded to shut me down by suggesting that I had not yet even tried a "real" laksa.

"But of course I have! What nonsense is this!" I replied.

I can't really remember what was said next, but whatever it was it left a little girl with a heart broken into a trillion little pieces.

I'm feeling the muse tonight can you tell?

Chicken Laksa

Alas I digress.

The point is, whoever that person was pointed me in the direction of "that Malaysian Place up in Matthews" for the best authentic Malaysian laksa. That place, as I discovered, was Satay Delight.

The above picture is DW's Chicken Laksa. She wasn't a fan of it because it didn't taste like the coconutted laksa which we're used to (and then I suggested that she give Tropicana a try). The broth was thick, nevertheless, but it lacked the sweetness of coconut milk, as you can probably tell from the pictures.

Soy Chicken Laksa

I had mine with Soy Chicken. I personally enjoyed this version of laksa very much. I can't say it rates as one of the highest in my books, but I blame that on the fact that I've grown accustomed to the Westernised version, which is really quite a shame at times. The serving was quite large and I paid extra for extra tofu (you cannot have laksa without the spongey tofu!). The chicken was nice and tender, full of flavour which blended quite nicely with the broth.

Overall the experience was enjoyable, including the part where we splashed laksa broth all over DW's Legal assignment - haha!

Best nommed straight after class.

Satay Delight
Matthews Arcade (The Fare), UNSW
Anzac Parade
Kensington, NSW
Tel: ? (Just visit, kay?)

Review: Tropicana, Kingsford

Hello there sexy! Mmm Tofu Laksa

Some people say you are not a student of UNSW until you have experienced the Tropicana Laksa Broth.

Well...actually they don't, I just made that up. The point is, I can't stress enough that if you're ever wandering past UNSW or running a marathon down Anzac Parade, it is an IMPERATIVE that you drop by this Malaysian eatery for a bit of nom nom.

Having said that, despite my years at UNSW, this was my first time nomming at Tropicana.

That was my bowl of Tofu Laksa. I had been previously warned of the richness of the Tropicana laksa broth, but it never occurred to me just how rich and thick it was. There was definitely a sense of guilty pleasure in me as I slurped up the delicious noodles and spooned the coconutty goodness into my mouth.

It doesn't register all that highly on the heat-o-meter. In other words, if you're looking to eat laksa with spice-noobs then this place is definitely worth considering. However, the tofu was a tad on the salty side, but the broth was simply delicious.

SL's BBQ Pork Laksa

I'm not the biggest fan of BBQ Pork, and the thought of having it in laksa still makes me raise my eyebrow. However, judging by the look of the dish, it was probably just the exact same broth plus a few pieces of BBQ Pork thrown in. I suppose that's how they do it in a lot of places - nothing wrong with that, who am I to complain about a perfectly well tested method?

JL's Seafood Laksa

If there ever was an enemy of the sea, the first person to come to mind is JL. (The last being LT hehe). Once again, the broth was pretty much the same rich broth that came in the other two, but this time filled with the likes of prawns, tofu, fish balls and sliced fish cakes. The prawns looked bursty enough - nicely soaked in bicarb water for the texture to be all nice and almost crunchy.

Given that this place targets poor uni students as their main market, you could probably expect quite good value for money. However, I don't think I would ever make the trip out to Kingsford for this bowl of laksa, but at the same time, this place is definitely one of the perks for a foodie going to UNSW.


Tropicana
Shop 2, 243 Anzac Parade
Kingsford, NSW 2032
Tel: (02) 9662 8896