Mamak.. I Like

When we say Mamak, Malaysians will generally think of Indian Muslim. But to me, my mamak experience started when i was studying in KTJ. It was one afternoon in Sri Hartamas that Praveen suggested that we go eat something at a mamak stall. I was thinking "What.. mamak? Images of a dilapidated stall with its workers wrapped in sarongs wallking around taking orders started running in my mind". But hey, u can't blame me... having lived in Sarawak for my whole life, I've only heard of a mamak stall from my cousin in Klang but have never stepped my foot into one. So it began. Praveen ordered a small dish of a 'cake' that looks like a mini doughnut called err.. vadel? or vade? I still can't pronounce it while Phillip See ordered a maggi goreng with an egg. Ohh.. so the mamak is actually a small shop, with Indians serving simple food. Now let's shift gear into a few months time into the future. Mr Jackman says "Come on gang, let's go to mamak in Nilai". It did not interest me very much, to eat at a 'small mamak' at 11pm but i thought it's the company that matters. So we arrived at the 'small mamak' in Nilai. It turned out to be a colorfully lit corner shop building with many of those small cute ceiling fans, marble tables, 2 projection TV with Astro and yeah.. lots of FOOD. I like every bit of the mamak stall; the nasi goreng ayam, ROTI BOM, maggi goreng with egg, sirap bandung, and the teh tarik. I know i'd miss it because you just can't find any mamak stall in Sarawak. I like mamak food because it's not just Indian food as you can see Malay influence in its food.

The word "mamak" generally refers to the Muslims from Tamil Nadu. They first arrived in Malaysia (or Malaya) as sepoys , the native section of the East India Company troops stationed in colonial Penang. And no, the term 'mamak' is not derogatory because it actually means uncle.
To me, the mamak means one thing-good food equals to good business. Strategically placed mamak stalls are money churner ( I know there's this one mamak stall in Seremban which can earn like Rm5000 a day!) . But in my opinion, to most of the people, mamak stalls mean a humble version of Starbucks or Coffeebean. Why pay more than Rm9 for an iced cafe latte and posh 'lepaking' at Starbucks when you can get a nice 'tariked' kopi as for just Rm1.50? Andwho needs to nibble on those calories packed cheese cakes or muffins or whatever 'fins' these expensive Starbucks outlets have to offer when you can have Roti Bom(sweet puffed up version) of roti canai , Roti Pisang, Roti John, Roti Ice-cream, Roti Anaconda, Roti Missile.... ahh all Roti also got lar! And don't forget, there are many mamak stalls that have undergone a complete major surgery on the decor to present you comfy chairs, marble tables, 42-inch TVs blaring for 24 hours and the synchronous 'Teh tarik satu!' (Perhaps they just lack of Wi-Fi that's all). Some even proudly advertise that they are ISO 9002 certified but frankly, i don't give a damn as long as i get my Roti bom and a nice sirap bandung. But what disturbed me was a quote from one of the Datuks from Malaysia regarding the usage of kas kas seeds in mamak cooking.

..they use some kind of ganja. For the Malays, kas kas (poppy seeds) are
addictive. Singapore has banned it... that's why our people are crazy about
mamak restaurants.<-----(why just the Malays? Do drugs have a selective advantage towards Malays to be addicted? ) ...they have competed against bumiputera stalls and caused them to fold up----> How bout McDonalds vs Ramlee burgers?


Now i just wonder, what would the scenario be if Starbucks was to be a local chain? Would more MPs be voicing that people are crazy over mamak because they use too high quality coffee beans that cause addiction among youngsters hanging out in Starbucks?
Here's just a photo of my experience in a really good mamak stall in Nilai (the one i mentioned above)














The upper six gang with Mr and Mrs Jackman. (Mrs. Jackman being photo-shy)
The sixth person from the left is Damien and he's a Sri Lankan. This photo was taken before the tsunami incident.