Mamak Don
9 Parkway, Camden Town, London NW1 7PG
Nearest Tube: Mornington Crescent
Buzz Factor 3.8/5 stars
Food 3.8/5 stars
Value for money 4.2/5 stars
3.9 Yummy Stars
Price Our starters: £5.50-£7.9; our main course - £8.20-£8.50 (at time of writing)
☏ · 020 7482 3990
Chilli Oat Flakes Prawns at Mamak Don, Camden, London
Mamak Don is self-styled as offering “Southeast Asian street food” and means “unpretentious roadside stall” often found in Malaysia. It has certainly tried to emulate the look in its décor.
You can witness their significant endeavours in creating a rustic backdrop with some walls clad in wood, while others are bare with exposed bricks. Some partition walls are constructed with corrugated iron panels, a look that wouldn’t go amiss from an episode of Grand Designs. As if to wake you up from a deep slumber, “Mamak Don” is depicted in huge letters on some walls with brightly coloured cartoon characters. Wooden tables and wood-framed bamboo backed chairs and white tiled floor complete the look of a chilled eatery.
The menu comprised of mostly familiar Malaysian dishes (and a few samplings of Chinese cuisine). I always end up ordering their Chilli Oat Flakes Prawns every time I come. You can taste the sweetness of the prawns which are cloaked in a crunchy coating of nutty oats with a hint of heat. They come deep fried but are presented somewhat ironically in a Chinese steaming basket.
Their Kangkung Belacan was superb. I loved that the stems of the water spinach still had some crunch while laced with intense flavours from their shrimp paste. The level of heat was perfect for European palate. The Mango kerabu salad (comprising blades of mango, spring onions, red onions, carrots, beansprouts and bits of prawns) was super fresh and zingy from its lime dressing. The crushed peanuts added pleasurable texture. The roti canai (flatbread) was flaky and fluffy and perfect to dunk into the creamy curry sauce. The tender pieces of chicken were well marinated and provided extra substance to the dish.
Chicken Sambal was full of flavour and came in a rich sauce which had sweet, sour and spicy notes. For me, it was hands down their best dish that I have had here. This contrasted with Mee Goreng which unfortunately was desperately bland. Though we opted for seafood (out of a choice of chicken, vegetables or seafood), we couldn’t see much of it in evidence. Perhaps the seafood got away. The noodles didn’t taste of much and could have done with a lot more seasoning or at least more sauce. We asked for more sauce for the noodles but the waiter somehow decided to palm us off with some soya sauce and sweet chilli sauce. Thank goodness he wasn’t the chef.
Mamak Don describes its food as “authentic as it gets”. For the most part, I tend to agree. Tasty food, relaxed atmosphere and at great value, it was no surprise that it was buzzing with customers last time we were here even during a weekday lunchtime. Just don’t order the Mee Goreng.
February 2020
© 2020 Yippie All rights reserved