Day 10 Mamak

Sydney’s best Roti’s are at Mamak

After hearing people rave on about these delicious roti’s for quite some time, I finally decided to venture out to China town to see what all the hype was about! And boy was I surprised when I approached the bright red restraint. Ques. There was a que of people extending out a couple of meters from the store.. AND this wasn’t even on the weekend.

After sitting around the pavement for a good 30mins, we were finally seated on a table for two. Though the shop was functional inside, it was still pleasant! Originating from India, the ‘Mamak’ are traditional Indians who moved to Malaysia due to British colonisation and opened street stalls to survive. These street stalls specialise in roti, satay and mi goreng noddles; and have become very popular all around Malaysia.

Kari Ikan ($10.50)

We started off with the Kari Ikan lunch special, which was a fish curry served with rice. The curry was very flavoursome and the decent pieces of fish were very soft and flaky, just melting away in your mouth.

Lamb Murtabak – at the back of the picture ($11.50), Roti Kaya – at the front ($7.50)

We then had the delicious ‘Lamb Murtabak’ which is a thin pancake like parcel which is filled with spicy meat, cabbage, egg and onion. It is a large serving and even sharing between two people wasn’t enough to finish it! The Lamb Murtabak is served with 2 curry sauces and is also available with chicken filling.

Last but definitely not least, we finished off with the ‘Roti Kaya’. Having quiet the sweet tooth, this was definitely my favourite dish of them all! The Roti Kaya is filled with a traditional spread made from pandan and coconut. It is absolutely delicious!

With such great food at such cheap prices, Mamak is probably the best Malaysian restraint in Sydney. The Roti (especially the sweet selection) is absolutely legendary and should not be missed. I now understand what all the hype was about and definitely will be going again!

- Tharanya