Chillipadi Mamak Kopitiam

How many Malaysian style restaurants can Flemington support? Judging by Laksa King, Chef Lagenda and newcomer on the block – Chillipadi Mamak Kopitiam – at least three seems to be a reasonable answer! Though Penny says that Chillipadi does Tamil Muslim style Malaysian food, so it is a little different from the other two restaurants at least.

Alastair and I have eaten at Chillipadi Mamak Kopitiam several times now, the first time being a couple of days after opening, when there were still some minor issues to be ironed out, and a lack of a liquor licence (which was finally granted last week).

The very first time we ate there, Alastair had the Hainanese chicken rice ($9.90). I didn’t try any, but he said it was pretty good and he ordered it again on a later visit. (I personally never order Hainanese chicken rice when we eat out, because I like the one I make the most! Humble, much? 😉 )

I first tried the mamak nasi kandar ($10.50), which is basically like a “build your own” meal – you choose your rice, then two curry sauces, then two meat curries, then one vegetable item. It’s interesting and I liked it, but I’ve since decided that it’s way too much hassle and just easier to order a single dish!

I am a BIG FAN of nasi lemak in general, and I really like the nasi lemak at Chillipadi. It’s my favourite out of Laska King (bleh), and Chef Lagenda (not bad). I really like the curry at Chillipadi – I tend to always order the beef rendang version ($10.90). The curried meat is always really tender, and scented with star anise (love!) plus a touch of spiciness. And the vegetables are pickled – double love.

I’ve also tried the char kway teow with prawns and pipis ($10.90). It was nicely smokey from the wok and not too oily, but I thought it could’ve used more chilli. Still, I’d probably order it again since it’s one of my favourite dishes and while not perfect it was okay.

The first time we ate roti there, it was pretty woeful, but it has improved greatly. I particularly love the one pictured – the roti telur with onion and curry sauce ($6.50). Inside the layers of roti are sweet bits of onion that help flavour the bread… so good.

(On roti, last weekend Alastair and I went to RotiFest at Chillipadi, where we ate 5 different types of roti. Will write it up later!)

I like Chillipadi’s interesting range of drinks – Alastair’s favourite is the Milo Dinosaur ($4) which is made from an insane amount of milo, something like six TABLESPOONS per glass. They must go through a lot of milo! The Ribena lychee ($3.50) pictured at the top of this post is also good, though I can’t recommend the pink Air Bandung that’s pictured – a milky rose syrup ice with telur katak ($3.50), That is, unless you like drinks that taste like milky Turkish Delights. Obviously I don’t… no, I don’t know why I tried it either. And I think telur katak might refer to the basil seeds that look like frog spawn? Can anyone correct me?

I like Chillipadi – it’s casual and reasonably priced. I’ve never eaten any of the mains/share type dishes, but I like the other food they do. In regards to service, I do have to admit that it’s always a bit funny – the staff are sweet but tend to be a bit confused. But they are sweetly confused, if that’s any consolation!

Oh, just one petty complaint: I find the menu really hard to read. It’s brown with beige coloured text, and something about the font makes it very hard to decipher. It’s even a bit hard on the ol’ magic eyes!

For more opinions on Chillipadi Mamak Kopitiam, check out these blogs:

  • Kimba’s Kitchen
  • Let’s get fat together
  • Addictive & Consuming
  • Each person is entitled to their opinion
  • Bravebird
  • Temasek


  • [googleMap name=”Chillipadi Mamak Kopitiam” width=”600″ height=”300″ directions_to=”false”]295 Racecourse Road, Flemington VIC Australia[/googleMap]

    Chillipadi Mamak Kopitiam
    295 Racecourse Rd
    Flemington 3031
    Phone: 03 9376 0228

    Chillipadi Mamak Kopitiam on Urbanspoon