Old Town Kopitiam Mamak
Thursday, June 24, 2010
QV foyer, 222 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne 3000
(61) 03 96542682
The first Old Town was opened about 2 years ago in the heart of Chinatown in Melbourne, featuring Malaysian food. Initially, I thought this brand belongs the Old Town Kopitiam in Malaysia. However, though unproven, I have heard that the branches in Melbourne do not have any relationship with those in Malaysia.
Quite recently, QV (short for 'Queen Victoria', a departmental store in Melbourne) opened up an Old Town Kopitiam Mamak, on the top foyer, just beside 3 degrees (a pub) and opposite Max Brenner and Grill'd. Excellent, and impossible-to-miss location, which probably explains why the place is always pretty crowded. What is 'Mamak', you may ask? 'Mamak' is a term used to describe the Tamil Muslim community and culture (Wikipedia; Wordnik.com), and 'Mamak food' traditionally refers to the food sold in road-side food stalls that are cheap and good. However, in modern day times, mamak stalls have refurbished the look of tradtional food stalls into a cafe/restaurant-like ambience, just like the one in QV.
Interior-wise, it has a pretty modern look, with an open-style kitchen where customers can see for themselves how satays and roti pratas were being made. Marble tables in there represents a modern-day kopitiam, with a bona-fide touch of old times kopitiam. Definitely a great place to enjoy a simple meal or a cup of kopi-O.
To start off with, I chose the roti (bread) telor (egg) bawang (onions). Taste good with the curry that accompanies it, as well as the chilli, which wasn't too spicy, but has its own special flavour.
Their meal combo consist of your choice of rice and two or three other dishes. We were delighted that the cheapest option was $8.00, thinking it's going to be a big portion enough for two. However, we were disappointed that the portion was so tiny, it was actually meant more for one person.
The eggplant dish that we have chosen was good. The curry chicken was not too bad as well. Seems like the dish always comes with a big piece of cracker (there is a malay name for that which I will need to check up on).
Ice Longan.
This ice longan drink wasn't the best that I've tasted though. The sugar syrup tastes pretty diluted.
They have pretty nice settings in the restaurant that gives us a feel of reminiscence.
Overall (out of 5 stars per category):
Food: Taste: **** Fragrance: *** Appearance: ****
Pretty authentic, but I shall say need a little more effort to make it all more perfect.
Service: **1/2
Service staff were reasonably friendly, but a little more attention to customers will probably do the trick. Furthermore, stacking up tables and chairs after last orders is a big NO-NO because customers are still sitting there, eating.
Price: ****
Reasonable prices for a place in QV. However, the portion that goes with the price eats up a star.
Ambience: ****
I must say I liked the ambience.
Accessibility: *****
Very conveniently located in the foyer of QV, which is in the heart of Melbourne City. Hard to miss, especially if you have ever been to the popular Max Brenner, or if you have ever made your way up or down the building via the escalators, you will definitely see it.
(This is a post made based on a first visit. However, I will definitely go back a next time for further reviews)
