Mamak, Sydney

Well back in the big smoke, well actually these days it kinda feels like the “not so big smoke”. More and more when I return to the places I used to live, I marvel at how big and sophisticated they felt; now I look around amazed at how little they’ve changed, or how much I have. Restaurants that used to dazzle now pale in comparison to street side stalls and markets, the bustle of a busy street is nothing after you’ve experienced Tokyo or New York at rush hour, most of all it makes me laugh at how big and important I thought my tiny little part of the world was.
But I digress; we were back in Sydney and looking for something tasty and soulful to begin what we hoped would be a fantastic gastronomic couple of weeks (little did we know). Had heard a rumour this little place down on the edge of Chinatown was supposed to be throwing down the real taste of Malaysia, and after 7 months in Japan we were in dire need of those sorts of flavours.
From what we had heard Mamak down on Goulburn street was small, casual and super authentic, sweet! We took a stroll down George St (haven’t missed that) and hit Mamak bang on opening. Just as well we did within minutes there was a good size queue standing at the door wishing they had arrived earlier.



We order a few things to share starting off with the rojak; a salad we first experienced in Singapore. It arrives piled high with a great mix of crispy tofu and prawn cake, fresh cucumber and pineapple as well as a boiled egg, usually the salad is covered in a spicy sour sweet sauce, in this case the sauce was pooled under the salad but the flavours were oh so there.



The next dish to arrive was Roti telur bawang, egg and onion sandwiched between two roti sheets served with two curry sauces and sambal, it’s really hard to describe how amazing the flavours were after so long without.



Then a nasi lemak, usually for breakfast, but it’s always breakfast somewhere right? The plate piled with rendang, sambal prawns, peanuts, cucumber, egg, crispy fish and balanced on the top of the coconut rice a fantastic fried chicken leg. We tried hard not to wolf it all down, but, well, y’know.



Now that we had decided we were full, but not so full we couldn’t manage half a dozen satay sticks. We ordered some up much to the dismay of those still standing in the doorway waiting. The sticks arrived a huge bowl of satay sauce balanced on the satays some cucumber and red onion.
First mouthful and it was instant transportation back to the streets of Jakarta (yes I know it's not Malaysia but thats where it took me), minus the traffic and street dogs but that’s all just atmosphere, smoky, spicy and with a touch of chilli and lemon grass. Oh so good.
When we finally rolled out past the green eyed monster stares of the masses, I was so happy that our former small world still had some big food.

Mamak
15 Goulburn St,
Haymarket, Sydney
Open 7 daysLunch: 1130am to 3pmDinner: 530pm to late

Sungei Road Laksa, Singapore

The words Singapore and Laksa go hand in hand ... So this morning we set off into the blazing sun in search of one of Singapore's finest. The Wong brothers and their family have been at it for more than 50 years (and you can tell!) in a small lane at the back of Little India of Jl Berseh.

The laksa gravy is still kept warm over a charcoal fire

The soup was not to thick, but still full of flavour. Extra chili smeared on the side of the bowl was a nice addition. There was bean sprouts, rice noodles, fish cake, saw tooth coriander and optional cockles, for those who like it modern. They serve it with just a spoon, with everything including the noodles, small enough to eat without hassle. Everything was superb, the flavours balanced, the spice just right and at $2 a bowl, you could easily go back for a 2nd (possibly even 3rd) helping. There were many who did, lah.

In the small food complex there were only 2 hawkers who had ques and were constantly busy... The laksa and a small Rojak stand.

Of course we were curious to try. Rojak is a kooky salad of fruits, vegetables, fried bread, tofu and sometimes grilled cuttlefish in a tamarind & chili prawn paste topped with crushed, roasted peanuts. This particular version had chunks of pineapple, cucumber, jicama, bean sprouts, torch ginger, warmed fried bread and tofu. It was all coated quite thick in the moreish tamarind dressing, so each bite a surprise as to what lay underneath... At just $2.20 a plate it was enough for 2 and an excellent follow on from the laksa.

Sungei Road Laksa is open daily from 9am - 6pm

It is closed the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month

The rojak stand looks like she closed up about 4pm

Blk 27 Jln Berseh # 01-100 Jin Shui Kopitiam