Mamak Chatswood, 10 Oct 2010

It’s finally open!

Mamak, rumoured to be opening a second outlet for many months in locations “somewhere up north” such as Manly and Neutral Bay, recently opened in the revamped complex adjacent to the Chatswood train station. More than a year in the planning, the opening of a sister outlet has been highly anticipated for this Malaysian eatery which began life as a stall at the Friday night Chinatown markets followed by a move into a narrow shop space on Goulburn Street before acquiring the space next door. All this, and the place still has people queuing before it opens for dinner each evening following a brief closure in the afternoon.

I’m a sucker for teh ais, the cold version of teh tarik – that pulled tea made with condensed milk which has a frothy top. We are here on opening night with Gingerbreadman, Dr King, Kiki and friend. With multiple people, of course we are going to sample a selection of Mamak’s famed freshly-made roti. I think I end up with half the fluffy roti canai to myself as everyone else’s focus is distracted by the more hearty murtabak (parcelled up with lamb, cabbage, egg and onion) and the egg-filled roti telur.

Rotis aside, we have a nasi lemak to share with its coconut rice, cuttlefish, hard-boiled egg, peanuts, sambal, ikan bilis and that thing which neither Dr King nor Monsieur Poisson enjoy eating – cucumber. No one has any issues with the dozen smoky chicken satay sticks and their spicy sweet peanut sauce however.

We have a few dishes to share as well with rice. Kangkung belacan is something which I’ve only grown to like in adult years, previously being a purist for water spinach to be stir-fried with fermented bean curd, even though both offer salty chilli flavours against the crunchy vegetable. Kari ayam (curry chicken) is ordered because Mamak has run out of ayam goreng (fried chicken) from the previous day’s soft opening for friends and family. I discover that Dr King doesn’t eat chicken skin unless it’s fried and crispy, which may or may not have led to someone scouring the bottom of the bowl for rejected pieces. Mee goreng (stir-fried noodles) has good ‘breath of wok’ and is not oily while sambal udang has prawns with plenty of heat but are addictively good with spoonfuls of rice.

And we end with what we start with – a roti. But it is the paper-thin roti tisu crisp and sprinkled with sugar, best eaten pulled apart with fingers, with a scoop of ice-cream on the side for dessert.

There are no queues forming at Chatswood. Yet. The food is identically as good as that of the original city store so make sure you visit soon, as word is spreading quickly!

PS. Mamak is now also offering a catering service. Amongst other things, there are 10 litre drinks kegs with taps! Give them a call to find out more.

Mamak Chatswood

Shop P9, 1-5 Railway St, Chatswood NSW

Tel: (02) 9411 4411

Opening Hours:  7 days  11:30am-2:30pm (lunch)

                                    6:00pm-9:30pm (dinner)

happy eating!