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:
[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
Lisa
March 27, 2011 @ 2:09 am
I had a Milo Dinosaur in Singapore when we were staying with Chad. Loved it.
Agnes
March 27, 2011 @ 12:00 pm
Milo dinosaurs are fantastic, aren’t they? I wish I didn’t know exactly how much milo goes into it though… it’s pretty insane.
Kath (My Funny Little Life)
March 27, 2011 @ 5:04 am
Hi! I’ve just come across your blog! 😀 I love you have a spork on your photo, they’re so funny! In Germany, they’re called Göffel which is a hybrid word from Gabel (fork) and Löffel (spoon), like int English.
I haven’t been to a Malaysian restaurant ever! The food looks very good, though, especially the stir fry dish with prawns. I love Asian cuisine, especially Japanese, but also Chinese. Thai and Vietnamese I’ve tried a few times and really liked them, and I want to eat more of foods of that style!
Agnes
March 27, 2011 @ 12:02 pm
Hi Kath – thanks for the visit and the comment! 🙂 Love the German word for spork – sporks rock in any language!
Hope you get to try Malaysian food one day… it’s definitely one of my favourite cuisines. 😀
Hannah
March 27, 2011 @ 3:19 pm
I want al your pickles. All of them. In fact, I think I just want a plate of pickles and peanuts accompanied by the milo drink, because it reminds me of my childhood. You see, during high school I used to come home, get out my special opaque plastic glass, fill it with straight milo, and then put a centimetre of milk on top. The milk was in case mum walked past, so she’d think that’s all I was having.
Then I’d eat straight milo for the next ten minutes.
Agnes
March 27, 2011 @ 8:12 pm
How the hell are you not as big as a house??! And you can’t have my pickles, they are MINE!
Hannah
March 27, 2011 @ 9:58 pm
It’s all an optical illusion. I’m actually as wide as Parliament House.
Conor @ Hold the Beef
March 27, 2011 @ 8:05 pm
Hehe, I’m like Pad Thai how you’re like with Hainanese chicken.. no point ordering it out if it’s never as good as your own 😉
Damn, total Milo craving and no massive tin of it in the house. Not even a weenie tin.
Agnes
March 27, 2011 @ 8:13 pm
No Milo in the house? What kind of Ozzie are you, Conor? 😉
msihua
March 27, 2011 @ 9:50 pm
Oh Wow.. when I first saw this, for a moment I thought you were amazing in putting up the Rotifest post already! But… wow.. you’ve eaten heaps of stuff there! Well done!!!
Agnes
April 4, 2011 @ 8:24 pm
Ahem. Rotifest… it’s on my list!
Susan
March 29, 2011 @ 12:18 pm
Isn’t that the standard amount of milo you are meant to put in your glass?? When I was little I used to fill half a glass with milo and put a dash of milk in. That food looks amazing by the way. So cheap too!
Agnes
April 4, 2011 @ 8:25 pm
Haha, oh dear – another Milo eater! You must’ve gone through a lot of Milo! 🙂
Celeste @ Berrytravels
March 29, 2011 @ 8:16 pm
Their breakfast menu had me impressed. But the dinner stuff, not yet! I’m still going back to try more dishes tho.
Agnes
April 4, 2011 @ 8:26 pm
Oh I haven’t eaten breakfast there yet! Will have to give it a shot 🙂
Annette
March 30, 2011 @ 8:05 pm
Mmmm. I like the look of this food –notch this one up when we are next in Melbourne…
Agnes
April 4, 2011 @ 8:27 pm
Okay – done!
mademoiselle délicieuse
March 30, 2011 @ 11:14 pm
The milo dinosaur sounds like my kinda drink! I was always berated for adding too much as a kid but then it was to drown out the actual taste of milk =p
And yes, I’m one of those people who avoid basil seeds because they look like underdeveloped tadpoles – eek!
Agnes
April 4, 2011 @ 8:31 pm
Have you heard of the Milo Godzilla? It’s like the dinosaur but with a scoop of ice cream!
And how icky do basil seeds look?!!
penny aka jeroxie
March 31, 2011 @ 3:17 pm
Not tried the nasi lemak before… I guess i need to make a return trip.
Agnes
April 4, 2011 @ 8:32 pm
Yes you do! Lucky you live close! 🙂
ines
April 6, 2011 @ 7:38 pm
hi, just a visitor of this blog and i share your love for malaysian food! i had the best at Malaymas in fitzroy… wonder if this is just as good.