Mamak, Haymarket

Why is it when you can't have something you just want it even more? This is what happened when I found out that Mamak had closed for renovations, which made me crave the flakiness and puffiness of their freshly made roti more so than usual! Luckily they reopened in July and so off we went to satisfy my roti craving.


We head there around 8.30pm on a Thursday night hoping to avoid the queues and although there was a queue it was relatively short and we are seated within 10 minutes.


While we wait we watch the roti chefs flinging dough around and stretching out til it's paper thin, then wrapping it up again to make the roti. Then the roti is placed on a hotplate where it puffs up and becomes golden and flaky. Mmm...

Teh tarik: Classic Malaysian sweetened tea, 'stretched' for a frothy topping - $3.50

Sir D and I order teh tarik which is frothy and deliciously sweet.

Roti canai: The original roti. Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside - $5.00

We order the usual roti canai which isn't as hot as usual, maybe because they were really busy and didn't bring it out to us straight away. It hasn't lost its flakiness though and we dig into this with gusto, dipping it into the curry sauce and spicy sambal.

Kari ayam: Classic chicken curry cooked with freshly ground spices and chunky potatoes - $15.00

Our kari ayam with rice arrives and it's a big bowl of curry with bits of chicken and potato. I must admit they were a bit stingey on the potato since there were only 3 pieces but that might be just because I love my potato. The curry is not too spicy (even for my low spicyness tolerance tastebuds) but after a while I find myself needing more rice to go with the curry to tone down the heat factor. Sir D remains totally unfazed since he loves spicy food and can take quite a lot of chilli.

Roti tisu: Paper-thin, extra-crispy and served tall - $9.00

And for dessert - more roti! Having seen the fabulous photos on Grab Your Fork and chocolatesuze of the roti tisu with condensed milk, I had to order it. And when it came out we got ice cream and condensed milk - bonus! The paper-thin roti is shaped into a cone with caramelised sugar in between the layers. Sir D and I are actually quite full but the crunchy, sugary roti is so good with the condensed milk that we consume every last flake. And with one single meal at Mamak, my roti craving has finally been satisfied. For now.

Mamak
15 Goulburn Street
Haymarket NSW
Ph: +61 (02) 92111668
Open 7 days (no reservations)
Lunch: 11.30am-2.30pm
Dinner: 5.30pm-9.30pm
Supper: Friday and Saturday until 2am
10% surcharge on public holidays

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