Bonta Vita has closed its doors indefinitely. It was a sad discovery particularly for the team of HctF, as it is the first and only restaurant thus far to recognise our review of it to the public by printing and displaying it (lol).

On a less grim note, Mamak is back!  Uhh, well it has been back for a few months now; but, this was my first time revisiting this restaurant with the new look. If you can remember the previous Mamak posts (1)(2), there has been nothing we can fault it on; it has received nothing but praise and love by this humble blog.

Alas, change in a restaurant is either for the better or worse, my recent experience resulted in a conclusion that Mamak is indeed changed: gone are the days when you could arrive at Mamak during peak hour and easily secure a seat for a large group; furthermore, the portions of dishes from the kitchen have dwindled. Thus, one finds himself eating at ‘just another restaurant’ that sacrifices quality and flavour for an eager stream of virgin-Mamakians whose (most likely from word of mouth or the ‘Best Asian’ award in SMH’s Good Food Guide 2009) eyes palpitate at the theatrical display of roti being flung, thrown and whirled  through the fish-tank-esque kitchen.

But, the roti is still divine. So, can the negatives be outweighed by the singular argument of roti? I am of the view that this can be affirmatively answered – I may be wrong the next time I visit Mamak, perhaps the chef was having a bad day or something. I am still a fanboi of Mamak.

Here Comes The Food

The kangkung belacan is bland (perhaps bland is an odd word to use in this description as the flavour of belacan seeps into your skin and is very noticeable) and the dish lacks any hint of the definitive element of red onion which has a flavour that ‘brings it all together’.

Chicken skewers are bite-size and makes you feel a bit cheated in terms of portion, they are also a fraction of a second going cold and the motley bunch of vegetables that sit under the satay bowl is a bit of a laugh factor (there was more red onion with the chicken skewers than found in the kangkung belacan, maybe the chef forgot to add it in?).

I do enjoy the peanut sauce however as it’s texture is thick with crushed peanuts and accentuates the addictive flavour of charred skewers when smeared and double-dipped – even triple-dipped at times onto the chicken.

The Nasi Lemak is ok I guess, the sambal is just as good as before – wickedly spicy. The rice is flagrant wafts the flagrant and warming aroma of coconut.

Roti bawang – flaky, good on its own or dipped in the curry, puffy, combined with the sweetness of red onion pieces and an sort-of-scrambled egg, one of my favourite roti to order from the extensive menu.

Roti Canai – I’m not sure who else out there orders it with condensed milk since in the previous Mamak post I recommended this not-on-the-menu variation, but it the only way I can eat it now. Try to keep it on the down-low…otherwise Mamak might cut back on the generous portion of condensed milk or something … make sure you drenching torn of pieces of canai with the condensed milk, the more you soak up, the better it is.

mmm roti pron.

No doubt I will be returning to Mamak, where the atmosphere is vibrant, the service attentive and with a hope that the dishes will be as good as it was…in the ol’ Mamak days.

Note: If any of our readers can get us up on the Mamak review wall (in the little corner of the door just before you enter), I will be forever grateful.

Note Note: Why do all my shots with a crowd always have at least one person looking at zie camera like a stunned deer?

D

Mamak

Open 7 days
Lunch: 11:30am to 2:30pm
Dinner: 5:30pm to 9:30pm
Supper: Open till 2am Friday & Saturday

15 Goulburn St, Haymarket, Sydney
T: (02) 9211 1668
F: (02) 9211 1669
No reservations