Mamak - Chinatown, Sydney

8/02/2010

I have heard a lot of raving reviews about this Malaysian hawker eatery in a street-stall style, located in the Sydney Chinatown. Every time when we walked past this eatery, it is always full house.

So, I decided to try it out one lunch time on a Tuesday, and was hoping that it would be less busy. I took my sister with me. As we entered the restaurant, it was so busy with patrons. What was I thinking? With such a good reputation and Australians are so into Malaysian cuisine these days, how could this place not be packed?

There was a man (I presumed he’s the boss) at the counter and he was busy attending to something else. As soon as he’s finished, he quickly attended to us and we were seated after waiting for about 5 mins. I was worried that he would have just ignored us completely, but he was very friendly once we got his attention.

We ordered the followings:

Nasi lemak with addition of sambal sotong
Nasi lemak with addition of sambal prawns
Roti canai with 2 curry sauce dips
Chicken satay (half a dozen)
Two teh tarik (kurang manis – less sugar)


Verdict:
Good
Food quality = 7/10
Ambience and cleanliness = 7/10
Value for money = 7/10
Service = 6/10

Comments:
We thought the nasi lemak was a bit plain and also the condiments were quite hard, especially the ikan bilis (deep fried small fish). Overall, the dish was quite dry.
Perhaps, it would have been different if we had ordered the curry chicken instead as the mixture of the curry sauce on the coconut rice would certainly make the dish a bit more saucy.



However, we did enjoy the roti canai, the curry sauces were very authentic. It tasted similarly to the ones that we’ve had in the mamak stall back in Malaysia.


The chicken satay was lovely, but the peanut sauce was very different. It tasted kind of sweet. It would have been great if this dish came with some ketupat (cooked rice wrapped in palm leave) on the side. Anyway, that’s typically how a Malaysian satay dish would be served in Sydney, without the ketupat.


We really enjoyed the teh tarik. I asked for less sugar, and the tea came up perfect.



The bill came to about $45. The prices are reasonable, however, don’t expect big portion servings.

It’s definitely a good place for a quick meal, and it’s open until 2 am on weekends. However, I would advise against bringing young infants as it’s not a toddler/stroller friendly restaurant.

22/06/2008 - Lunch at Catalina Cafe, Westfield Miranda

Main – Mom had the curry chicken with rice. I had the grill fillet of fish with salad and chips. Kevin had the bacon and scrambled egg breakfast with chips.
Beverage - I had latte, mom had a flat white and Kevin had a vanilla latte.

Total cost for 3 = $55.

Ratings
Food quality = 3/10
Ambience and cleanliness = 5/10
Value for money = 5/10
Service = 5/10

Lily's comment: Poor. This is one of the worst cafes I've been. When the meal came, it was cold! Our coffee was cold too. My grilled fish is like a fried fish, and I found a strain of hair in my salad. Mom's curry is just way to average. Kevin's breakfast looked decent, thank god they finally got something right. It's just breakfast, how could the chef have gone wrong, even though I thought the bacon was too oily. I won't recommend this cafe to anyone at all, not even if it's free dining!

Old Vienna Coffee House, QVB

21/06/2008 - Lunch at Old Vienna Coffe House at QVB

It is located at the 1st level of the QVB. Nice ambience with high ceiling with Austrian mosaic-style painting. There were the painting of 'Kiss' by Gustav Klimt.

Main – Mom had the Salmon Linguinne in creamy pesto sauce. I had the smoked salmon sandwich with cream cheese and avocado toasted on brown bread.
Beverage - Mom had a flat white and I had a large latte.

Total cost for 2 = $46.

Ratings
Food quality = 5/10
Ambience and cleanliness = 7/10
Value for money = 6/10
Service = 6/10.

Lily's comment: Average. I should not have requested for the brown bread to be toasted as this would hardened the bread seed, and making it difficult to bite. Mom's pasta is only average but the portion was huge. It will be a nice place for toast but overall was disappointed with the main meals.