Love Mamak
“I ordered Pad Kee Mao, Tom Yum and Roti Canai Planta (a special kind of thin bread with curry flavored dipping sauce).”
“We had the wonton soup, nasi lemak, and mee goreng and will be coming back for more.”
“But I can say both the chicken and the beef versions of the nasi lemak are super delicious.”
Love Mamak
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I got vegetable pad thai and it was tasty! The portions were large and definitely filling. Not overly greasy like some pad thai and just enough sweetness.
Don't come here expecting phenomenal service because it's a very no frills restaurant. The server did get my order wrong and came out with the wrong dish. He was not apologetic but it didn't bother me much. As long as you go in here knowing that this place is no frills, you'll enjoy it.
I just ::sigh:: don't get the hype. The food was alright. With these reviews I wanted to love the place. The service was slow. The food was more oily than flavorful. The atmosphere was dull. I don't think I would go back.
TBH not impressed. Yes you get a free thai iced tea if you check in. The food is mediocre and they not only forgot my order but when it finally came out it was beef not chicken. The place is pretty loud. Tried the fried rice, the pad see ew, pad kee mao, some sort of dumpling appetizer in the past, all pretty average. With so many great Asian spots to frequent in East Village I'd check out some of the other spots
if there is one thing you have to try at Love Mamak, its their roti canai planta. This appetizer comes with a beautifully fluffy and lightly crisp roti dough, paired with a side of lentil dipping sauce. The texture of the roti almost reminded me of a buttery croissant and the dipping sauce is the perfect partner for it.
Its a good thing my family and I ordered a variety of dishes to sample, or else I would have been fighting to hog the roti all to myself. We shared the following:
BBQ char siu bun
Nice, tasty appetizer to share. This is an easy crowd pleaser.
Mixed seafood curry laksa.
Delicious! There was a good variety of seafood to go around and the broth was rich.
Bo luc lac flank steak
Steak was cooked just fine where the meat was slightly juicy. This was a nice contrast to the rich flavors from the other dishes. The bo luc lac was fresh and light with all the veggies it comes with.
Strings beans
This is a side that goes well with everything. I like that its not overcooked and retains a nice snap when you bite into the beans
As noted in a couple of reviews, the service here leaves much to be desired. I showed the server the free yelp check-in offer for Thai iced tea, which I never received during my time there. We also didn't get water until after our food showed up, even though we asked several times for water (and utensils). This is a popular spot so it blows my mind that they don't know how to manage it. Honestly, if it weren't for the food, this would be a three star or less type of establishment.
Great place for some great Asian food. I had the pad Thai, and others around me had noodle bowls and the pad see ew. The greatest part is how fast the food came out. We ordered and within 5 minutes we all had our appetizers and main courses.
The Thai iced tea is really good also. Come here for a quick good meal.
I got the Rendang nasi lemak which was my first Malaysian dish ever. It was very interesting and I liked it. Anise and sage was the main flavors. The beef was very tender. The jasmine rice was surprisingly flavorful too. I enjoyed my dish for sure. My friends got the vermicelli bowl and spring rolls, both looked amazing, I wanted to steal those. I also got the char siu buns which was good but I wish there was more protein in it aka more of the main meat. Most places do it this way where they put a small slice and pile it with a lot of other nonsense. But it was still delicious.
I got the free Thai tea, overly sweet for my personal taste. Servers were great. Friendly owner. I saw him taking people in even though he was closing soon. Very nice to see the owner working and not just being a tyrant. Really enjoyed it and would recommend it. Will be back some other time to try the other dishes.
So good that part of me wants to keep this place to myself, other part wants to yell on top of the mountain how delicious this place is! It's immigrant owned and operated, don't bother trying to set a reservation, the english isn't perfect, but the FOOD IS PERFECT. I took my caribbean-asian parents there and they loved it. You get a small thai iced tea when you check-in on the Yelp app. Definitely order the Roti Canai Planta appetizer – it's fluffy and flavor profile is outstanding. It's okay to google where Malaysia is on a map during your meal, education is key. Entire menu is A+++
I was looking for a place to eat and found this blazing 5 star reviewed place with over 1000 reviews! Whaattt?? I came here to figure out why this place was such a Yelp anomaly. I figured out very quickly that the omnipresent owner is very active on Yelp and encourages every diner (mostly from NYU) to write a review. Because of this, I am going to grade a little harsher.
The food: I've definitely had better. The highlight was definitely the dumplings in chili sauce but I've had better just a mile south in Chinatown. The vegetarian roti canai was ok but the flavors of the curry seemed off, like it was missing an ingredient (other than the chicken). The nasi lemak and the seafood laksa were okay. More acceptable than the roti but I've definitely experienced better in so many other places.
The service: This is where they really lost points. Three people tried to take our order for drinks. Then four people tried to take our order for food. Three dishes came to us incorrectly. One was a dish that I ordered so I began to pick at it. When we inquired about my dining companion's dish, the staff scurried into the kitchen and returned moments later. They took the dish that I picked at and brought it over to the table next to us. Apparently nasi lemak is famous here. They then scurried off and brought our dishes a few minutes later. And then, there was the double request by the owner for a five star review. Dude, did you just see what happened?
I'll be going to Elmhurst and Chinatown for my Malay and Viet fixes in the future. PS: After we left this place, we felt so robbed that we ended up making up for our meal at a yakitori place.