Mamak (Haymarket-Chinatown)

      
I'm sure we all know how popular Mamak is, not only because it is located in the heart of
Chinatown, but also for its cheap price for traditional Malaysian cuisine. As they do not take bookings, you often see a line outside the restaurant way before its opening time. Although if you join the queue about half hour before opening time, it is very likely you will get a table straight away.

Or if you didn’t manage to get seats when it opens, you can still look inside the window and be mesmerised by the Roti being flipped and tossed around like circus performances. Close your eyes for a moment and try to imagine yourself in the middle of the vibrant city of Kuala Lumpur, and listening to the voices of food hawkers from the far distance...

Teh Tarik $3.50

You may find this classic Malaysian tea interesting with the mixture of different textures, the top was covered by a thick layer of foam and the bottom was silky and warm with sweetened flavour.

Satay (chicken/beef ) $9 for 1/2 dozen or $16 for dozen

You can't go wrong with an entree of ½ or a dozen of Satay, and the Satay at Mamak were grilled to the right temperature.  All you need then is dipping them in the sweet and spicy peanut sauce to create that tempting aroma, and bite it down with satisfaction.

 

Roti Canai  $5.50

This original Roti is probably for people who don’t like complicated tastes where fillings blend with the sauces. You simply just want to immerse yourself in the aftertaste that lingers from the finger-licking curry dips and spicy sambal sauce, nothing more. Well, you got it! Get ready to put your hands on 1 of these!

 

Murtabak (chicken/lamb) $11.50

While this choice can be flavoursome, personally I think it lost the whole purpose for the sauce dipping.  With all the salty tastes of eggs and onions, the bits and pieces of meat and cabbage, you won’t know where the centre of your attention should land for this dish.

 

Ayam Goreng ($14 for 4/ $4 per piece)

Just take a look at it and I’m sure it instantly arouses your appetite! Rip a tiny piece of the skin and you can already see its juice rushing out for a breath. Then you take a bite and feel this tenderness on your tongue and down your throat, nice and warm and full of combinations of spices. Excellent fried chicken! I would give it a big thumb-up.

Roti tisu $9.50

This sweet, thin, and extremely crispy Roti was served tall along with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream, I wonder whether this make you question the way to eat it? (Estimate about 20cm tall?) You can try chop off its peak and snap down the layers by following a clock-wise or anti-clockwise direction.

Overall, I thought Mamak would be an ideal place for students to catch up with friends after class on a weekday, an interesting dinner experience for any travellers, and for those all-nighters craving for a quick supper or snack on a typical weekend.  




Address:
15 Goulburn Street, Haymarket, Sydney

Phone number:
T: (02) 9211 1668 No reservations

Opening hours:
Lunch 11.30am -2.30pm
Dinner 5.30pm -10pm
Supper till 2am (Fri & Sat)



View Larger Map

Ichi-ban Boshi (Town Hall-CBD)

Ichi-ban boshi always have a queue around lunch or dinner time, fortunately they have a quite efficient ticket system that call out your number once tables are ready. If you are willing to share tables, you can probably get a seat faster. Numerous people who work or study in the city would recommend this venue for a quick lunch or dinner. Others who love books can also go there to eat after a browse at Kinokuniya bookstore next door. One thing to note about this restaurant is that the staffs are usually busy so it’s probably the best to signal them once you are ready for your order.

Iced lemon tea ($3.30)

It can be good to start off the meal with some iced lemon tea, simply because it’s refreshing and you can choose how sweet you want it to be. It's served in tall glass along with a small pot of syrup to mix with the lemon tea. I would recommend to add half of the pot, where it’s not too sweet to cause you a toothache and not too sour to make your expression twisted.

Appetizer: Edamame – Salted Green soy beans ($4.80)

You can pick a healthy plate of Edamame on the menu for your choice of entree, but before eating them, I really wonder how many of us will have explosions of “Mameshiba” videos in our brains? Those cute peas just pop out and say the most random things ever! For those who don’t know what this is about, check out here.

Very hot Ramen – Spicy chilli soup with vegetables and roast pork ($11.90)

Extra toppings - $4.00 – 4 slices of roast pork

A very popular Ramen at Ichi-ban Boshi is the “Very hot Ramen”, this will be something you’d definitely want to eat in the middle of winter! The noodles were fresh and pure, and it fulfils your mouth with the right amount of chewiness. With a choice of adding extra toppings, Roast pork becomes a desire to match up with the vegetables and traces of white sesames swimming on the chilli soup.  Funny how the color of the soup make you think it must be unbelievably hot, but the reality is...it’s not hot enough to make you sweat like a pig, perhaps just a runny-nose(For anyone who tried this Korean 2-minutes noodle called “Shin”, this is probably not even as half as spicy). But then, it all depends on your tolerance for spicy food.

Ebi curry – crumbed deep-fried king prawn and curry on rice, served with salad ($13)

Apart from the well-known Ramen from Ichi-ban Boshi, their “Ebi Curry” can also be a delectable dish. Just imagine yourself with golden crumbs stuck all around your lips and how tasty the prawn core can be after dipping into the sea of steamy curry. There goes 1 bite after another, you just really can’t stop! Meanwhile you also get the salad on the side, just incase you need to refresh your taste bud from overloading curry flavour.

Yakisoba omelette – salad, soup and pickles are not included- yakisoba noodles wrapped in an omelette with pork topped with special sauce (tomato, bbq and mayonnese) ($13.50)

Lastly I’d like to introduce my favourite dish to you all, the “Yakisoba Omelette”! Although beware this dish can take excessive amount of waiting time, but I guarantee the wait will be worthy. The omelette was cooked to the perfect level of thickness, and it goes very smoothly with the secret sauce to create that sweet-sour and creamy flavour. As you dig deeper with your fork, you will see a few pieces of pork and capsicum wrapped by the heavy load of yakisoba waiting to be discovered.

You should visit this restaurant if you want quality to match up with price, however, the place itself can be noisy and overcrowding at certain times. The easiest way to get to Ichi-ban Boshi is probably by train as it’s very close to Town hall station, and you can always walk around The Galeries to hunt down some goodies after the meal!

Address:

Level 2, The Galeries, 500 George Street, Sydney NSW

Phone number:

(02) 9262 7677

Opening hours:

11am - 9pm (everyday)

View Larger Map

Welcome!

Hello everyone, "My Hunger will go on" is finally alive!