Mamak, Chinatown

Cheap, delicious and BYO, Mamak is my kind of place. It is deservedly popular, and arriving at 6.30pm on a Friday means an hour-long wait. Not always practical but worth it when you need a good Malaysian roti fix!

Lontong with sate, cucumber and deep fried shallots

My Malaysian aunty first made lontong for me ten years ago, and I’ve loved them ever since. In Indonesia and Malaysia they are served alongside grilled meat skewers along with chunks of cucumber and sate sauce. When trying to create a vegetarian alternative to my favourite chicken sate skewers, these delicious little pressed rice cakes came to mind. They turned out to be the star of the evening!

Sem-sav quaffing

 Though I’m not usually a fan of the semillon grape, this semillon sauvignon blanc had just the right amount of tropical sweetness to balance our rich, spicy Malaysian meal at Old Town Kopitiam in Melbourne. In keeping with the down-to-earth style of the restaurant, this bottle was a mere $18 (not BYO sadly) and kept our total meal cost to less than $50 for two of us.

Kammadhenu, Newtown

I’ve been to Kammadhenu many times over the years, and I’ve always been impressed by the food and blown away by the value. The service can be erratic but it’s always friendly, and when you’re paying $15 a person for delicious food I can deal with waiting a little longer for the bill/glasses/whatever.

Albee’s Kitchen, Campsie

Tonight my passion for Malaysian food took us to Albee’s Kitchen in Campsie, which I’ve been hearing about for a while. It sounded like just my kind of place – simple decor, straightforward service and all the focus on the food.

Nasi daun pisang

 

Working in Lakemba is a both good and bad for a foodie. Good in that there is an incredible variety of authentic, down-to-earth, international restaurants and bakeries everywhere you look. Bad in that one has to restrain oneself from the very strong temptation to eat a shangleesh for breakfast from Al Cheik bakery and nasi daun pisang for lunch from a local Indo supermarket every day of the week.

Malacca Straits, Ultimo

Since my trip to Malaysia last year I have been preoccupied with Malaysian food. Luckily Mr Black loves it too and is more than happy to accompany me to Malaysian restaurants all over Sydney.

I discovered Malacca Straits on my own one day and ever since I’ve been keen to share it with Mr Black, various foodie friends, and of course readers of this blog. So this week I booked a table us and four lovely friends to go and share the spicy goodness. It was lucky we booked – I’m obviously not the only person who has discovered this hidden gem, as every table was occupied or reserved by 7pm!

Old Town Kopitiam, Melbourne

I had begun to worry that all my reviews were positive. A bit like Homer Simpson when he first embarks on a (short-lived) career as a food critic. His love of all food means the whole town of Springfield overeat, everywhere and everything.