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.
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!

27 comments:

  1. Ooooh....I might just have to drag my family here after exams =) I've only been to the original Mamak once, and we've been planning for a second trip but getting to Chatswood is a lot easier- yay!! I didn't know that it started out as a stall in the chinatown markets!! =O The food looks really yummy....I'm drolling over all the rotis!

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  2. OMG, 10 litre keggers of teh tarik!!!!!

    I might order that just to drink in front of the tv :P

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  3. There were queues when I went last friday for lunch! Much power with the name and tasty roti too

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  4. I can hear cheers from both sides of the bridge - north-siders because it's close to them, and the rest of us because there will hopefully be less people at the Goulburn St outlet!

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  5. Looks like you all chose pretty wisely, it's an impressive selection of food. I'll happily eat any leftover cucumber - like your kangkung belacan it's something I've only started to like recently, and I've gone from HATING it to really liking it. Still, not so sure I'd want to waste too much tummy space on it with all this other food :)

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  6. I might have to give this place a go, even though I'm not very good with spicy food!

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  7. Wow, everything looks so yummie, specially the dessert...so pretty :-)

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  8. argh- I've been seeing lots of comments about Mamak. I've never had seriously good Malaysian food so If I'm ever in Chatswood- I will have to stop in!

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  9. damn, not lunchtime yet and I WANT nasi lemak...

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  10. 10 litre drinks keg? Oh yeah! Great to see Mamak spreading the love across the Bridge.

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  11. Ah, what. No late night suppers? Sadness...

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  12. OMG, I need Mamak now!! I would happily eat everything you ordered! Can't believe they ran out of ayam goreng! haha...

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  13. There was a queue on Friday.. all the way around the corner >_<

    Can't wait for 2am closing time.. to catch supper after/during mj :D

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  14. I use to work across the road when it was still under construction and the only reason I wanted to stay at my old job was because it was opening!

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  15. I went here a few nights ago and still no queue! I love it :) Oh and I spied that catering menu with the kegs of teh tarik as well... I WANT!

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  16. OOhh your post has got me all excited about eating rotis when I head o/s soon! I love the dessert - looks like a miniature edible tee-pee (hopefully with noone inside it!)

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  17. Hey Fiona, next time you're in Sydney, skip your usual yumcha ritual and eat at Mamak before heading back home!

    Hey Von, best of luck with your exams! Perhaps this new location will be easier for you and your family to get to.

    Hey Karen, heheh, I know...10 whole litres of teh tarik!

    Hey FFichiban, there were queues when I walked past yesterday evening as well!

    Hey Bel, haha, hopefully it'll ease things up a bit.

    Hey Conor, leave the cucumber for cooling and crunch purposes only in between all the other stuff.

    Hey Maria, some of the things aren't too spicy, esp the chicken satay.

    Hey Juliana, freshmade roti - absolute beauty!

    Hey Gastronomy Gal, when you're next in Sydney stop by either their Chinatown or Chatswood stores!

    Hey chocolatesuze, I know! 10L keg = party, right??

    Hey Reemski, love how you get a bit of everything with nasi lemak =D

    Hey Helen, so much closer to home for me now...and so dangerous!

    Hey Simon, no supper session yet but they've applied for council approval. Fingers crossed!

    Hey Betty, no ayam goreng =(

    Hey KiKi, haha the queues have started already and it hasn't even been a month!

    Hey Aimee, haha, now that's devotion! You can still pop back to eat though =)

    Hey Jacq, it appears the queues have started... The first thing I saw on the catering menu was that keg!

    Hey Ladybird, have great fun on your holiday, amongst other things, eating!

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  18. Ooooo - I've been dying to try Mamak, but am put off a bit by having to line up to get in (I'm lazy). Shall give this one a go though - looks delicious!

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  19. *drools* I've wanted to visit mamak way before even knowing about food blogs, when they first opened up and had the roti chefs spinning and tossing dough at that window. Great to know that standards are consistent between the stores, and will definitely visit next time I'm in Chatswood and have a say over what to eat for lunch!
    OMG did you say a KEG of teh tarik? *dies*

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  20. So glad there's another restaurant in Chatswood as the city one is just too small for the Mamak groupies, and so equally glad that the dishes taste just as great!!!!

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  21. Here at lunch now, there was a queue of people waiting 30mins before it opened ! Yummy yummy roti!

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  22. Looking at your pictures and I would swear you were in town. Glad you now have one closer to home. I adore their roti tisu!

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  23. Hey Melba Toast, thanks for dropping by =) The queues have started at Chatswood but it seems only in the latter half of the week. Well worth a try!

    Hey yygall, haha, that 10L keg seems to have caught everyone's attention!

    Hey Trisha, or perhaps another location to tempt us? =D

    Hey Anonymous, I'm seeing lunch and dinner queues from Thursday through to Sunday. Perhaps the tip is to stick to dining there early in the week?

    Hey Sara, the roti tisu is so much fun to eat!

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  24. oh yum - no lines? thats awesome! I hate lining up lol

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  25. Hey Betty, I'm afraid I spoke too soon and queues started forming around a week after opening!

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