Good Eats: Mamak, Chatswood

It's only been nine days since I got back from my holiday in the Philippines. N-I-N-E. And I already find myself having travel-envy. I'm back on the daily grind of going to work, dying in the pool and emotionally tormenting myself as I forcefully subsist on canned tuna (I'm so sick of salmon, to be honest).

As a creature of habit, I'm back to combing Skyscanner and Expedia for whatever deals they have on offer. I speak as if I can afford it at the moment but in a Utopian world, I would be walking around Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur now, just eating my body weight away. Budget Flights gods, hear me out?

Malaysia's one of the countries I never really had thought of much, if not at all until I first traveled to Australia. As I've previously elaborated on before through my shameless foodstagramming, food is a major selling point for me when it comes to travel. There's an already sizable and still growing population of Malaysians especially in Sydney so it's not surprising how you could easily walk past a restaurant that proudly shouts of home. My Mamak experience only wrote my promise of travelling to Malaysia on stone.

From what very little understanding I have, "mamak" basically refers to a food stall that sells Malaysian/Muslim/Hindu dishes. That's the great thing about Asia, you never have to walk to anywhere to enjoy a delicious meal because these food vendors just come at you from everywhere!

Malaysian-style Iced Tea with milk

It was the perfect last supper to be had. Mamak in Sydney was sitting firmly in my list of restaurants for my holiday which led to my frustration because each time we planned on eating there, getting seated was just ridiculous. It had to be at least an hour and a half wait outside their Chinatown branch! Newsflash: head to Chatswood on a weekday instead.

I had an early onset of separation anxiety and I was certain only Asian food could make me feel better. That feeling coupled with the tower-high expectations I had of Mamak's food, I was in choice-paralysis. Luckily, I dined with two people who had good heads over their shoulders and an accountable Malay food experience, I let them do the ordering for us.

Mamak's pride and joy

We start with some Malaysian staples like the Teh Ais and Roti Canai. Many people would argue Mamak to be The Best Malaysian restaurant in Sydney however I think there is no contest when it comes to their Roti. Fluffy, almost pillowy in texture, and then doused in either of the curries and the spicy sambal sauce. Wow.

Stir-fried Maggi noodles

It felt like an instant throwback to my childhood when the Maggi Goreng landed on our table. I haven't had Maggi noodles in forever! I remember how exciting it was to have it each time because of the free Disney stickers in every packet. However. I didn't find this too special as I thought it to be lot similar to pancit canton (and also because I'm not a fan of noodles). I was saving my food rage on the satay and nasi lemak.

I'm a peanut-head yet it was still dumbfounding to me how brilliantly thought of the dishes were! Everything I needed in life that time was literally served on a plate. I would particularly harp about the nasi lemak. The dried fish sweet, the sambal spicy, the fried chicken salty, the cucumber fresh and the peanuts perfect, it was an epicurean dream come true.

Malaysia, stop flirting with me like that.

I'm not sure if writing about this is the scratching my travel-itch warrants.



Nope, it's not. Off to Skyscanner I go.