Mamak: Sydney's Holy Grail of Roti, Haymarket (19 Feb 2010)

15 Goulburn Street, Haymarket, Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.mamak.com.au

Is this Sydney's best roti?

Before its latest renovations I've been twice to Mamak with family and Malaysian relatives and friends and sadly on both occasions was a bit disappointed with certain dishes like the squid, rojak and a very dryish nasi lemak at the end of a lunch service. I seriously thought the food was overrated by many except for the freshly made-to-order roti. This time arriving at 2 pm I'm glad there's no long wait for a table which is often the case at this very popular restaurant. I sometimes see people queuing outside before it's even opened its doors for dinner. The roti at Mamak would have to be one of the most food blogged in Sydney — it seems like a rite of passage for all food bloggers to visit. I was keen to revisit and try the much loved Roti Tisu I've read so much about.

This time around I thought I'd keep my orders to the classics and thankfully I finally enjoyed what Mamak seems to do best. The Roti Canai came with 2 curries which were somewhat watery but still have enough flavour to be identified. The generous sized Kari Ikan lunch special (fish curry) had decent sized pieces of fish and I actually preferred dipping my roti into this curry which I found more flavoursome. My favourite of the meal was the Ayam Goreng with a tasty and crispy outer shell and tender moist meat inside — just the way it should be. The finger sized Chicken Satay are slightly larger than authentic ones but a lot smaller than westernised ones. They were tender enough with a nice charcoal taste but the peanut sauce was quite sweet and I would have preferred a more smokey peanut taste with more visible crushed peanuts throughout. The traditional onion and cucumber is served with the satay but still no sign of authentic compressed cubed rice cakes (lontong). The reasonably priced Ais Kacang on this occasion was very pleasing with a good hit of rose water which I like. I also really enjoyed the huge dessert finale of Roti Tisu. Both visually appealing and confusing to know how to eat it for the first time. I ended up breaking it down to small pieces and spooning a bit of ice cream on it. Coated in crystalised sugar it's a diabetics nightmare but so addictively yummy — I now know why it's so appealing to so many.

Other Mamak food blog reviews to check out:

• A Table for Two

• Chocolatesuze

• Here Comes The Food

• Nom It Like It's Hot

• Citrus and Candy

• Jenius

• Grab Your Fork

• Eat Show and Tell

• Pigged Out

• Pikelet and Pie

• Tasted By Two

• D Bites

• Raspberri Cupcakes

• Richard Elliot

• Moot!

• Gosstronomy

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Reasonably priced, Freshly-made roti, Efficient service, Authentic-like

CONS: Very popular so expect long queues during peak times which seems like all the time

MUST TRY: Roti Tisu, Roti Canai, Ayam Goreng, Ais Kacang

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Roti Canai $5

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Kari Ikan lunch special $10.50

Ayam Goreng: Malaysian-style fried chicken $3.50 each

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Chicken Satay $8 (6 pieces)

Ais Kacang $5

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Roti Tisu with ice cream $9
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

2 pm lunch crowd

Closing time near 3 pm

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