Martabak Cafe

I really love the food here at Martabak Cafe. The durian martabak is so delicious! The chicken dishes we had were also very tender and flavoursome. We ordered an avocado juice too, that needed a little extra sugar syrup which can be taken at the front counter. I ordered the roti chanai with chicken curry and my wife ordered the rice dish with the tender chicken, fried liver, fried tofu and fried egg. I felt that she had the best value. It was quite complete. Mine only had the 2 rotis and a small bowl of delicious chicken curry. The staff were very friendly and helpful. We have been here around 5 to 10 times over 5 years and each time has been great! We will definitely keep going back!

Martabak Cafe was recommended to us by Indonesian friends. “Have you tried Martabak?” they would ask. I hadn’t even heard about this Indonesian pancake so I had to find out want the fuss was about. Served sweet or savoury, definitely try both as they are quite different. The savoury beef Martabak Telur was crispy, eggy and filling, a bit on the heavy side for my liking but great after a night out. The chocolate, peanut and cheese sweet Martabak Manis was amazing - light, fluffy and tasty. We also had the Ayam Goreng, but it pales in comparison with the Martabak which were all freshly made.

I have been buying Martabak manis (sweet Indonesian style pancake) from this place since I know about this in January this year. I used to go to Rosebery in ANZAC Pde. I think the Martabak manis from this place is lighter yet more flavour. We tried the Martabak Mesir (Savory pancake) with beef filling & tuna filling. I think the beef tasted better than the Tuna. I once tried order using Menulog app and the Martabak didn’t taste as good as if I buy them myself. Maybe because it took too long on the road. Food: good quality Indonesian street style food. Service: Took about 15-20 min until the order is ready. Ambience: None - just a normal eatery. Price: reasonable. The Martabak manis cost between $18+ - $ 22+ Overall: will come back & highly recommended for those who like Indonesian food.

With a large open window onto Harris Street and an airy tiled interior, Martabak Café seems like a good spot to escape the heat on a warm Sydney weekend. The cooling effect comes from the frosty blue and white colour scheme with a feature wall depicting wayang golek (rod puppets). It’s filled with large family groups, with well-behaved kids and mothers breast feeding – a sure sign everyone is made to feel comfortable and welcome here. There’s also good table separation, and long, ice-filled drinks. Es Cendol ($5.95) is drunk across South East Asia. It’s made with salty coconut milk and bright green pandan starch noodles, and sweetened with palm sugar syrup (gula jawa) that rests at the bottom until you stir it through. Es Teh Thailand ($5.50) or Thai iced tea, made with Ceylon tea sweetened with sugar and condensed milk, is lightly creamy and gently floral. Both drinks would be good chilli companions, though the food we eat here isn’t particularly spicy. Leaving aside the namesake martabak, available here as both savoury martabak telur and the even more popular sweet versions, martabak manis, we hit up the roti canai we can see and hear being slapped onto the grill behind a glass screen. Ordering Roti Canai dengan Telur, Bawang & Kari Ayam ($12.95) will deliver you a light, elastic roti stuffed with washed onions and a cracked egg plus a little bowl of chicken curry that’s yellow from turmeric and creamy from coconut milk. Use it as a dipping sauce for torn off bits of pliable flatbread, punctuated by hunks of deboned chicken thigh. Siomay Bandung ($11.90) gives you a mysterious looking lumpy brown plate. While it isn’t particularly eye-catching, it is tasty, especially the steamed chicken and prawn dumplings that remind me of Chinese shumai. They’re accompanied by siomay tahu (wedges of tofu stuffed with fish paste), crunchy cabbage leaves, boiled egg and waxy potato hunks under the lumpy brown peanut sauce drizzled with kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce). I found the dish a bit sweet at first but after making use of the supplied lemon and some sambal, passed separately in a little orange-topped jar, I quite liked this popular Indonesian street food. Ayam Penyet ($9.95) or Indonesian fried chicken was a lunch special. You get a well-rendered fried chicken thigh scattered with crispy crumbs against a dome of white rice, and fresh cucumber and tomato on a cabbage leaf. It’s pretty plain and dry, so eats better with lots of sambal. Martabak Cafe presents simple, gentle and likeable Indonesian food; and with our three dish lunch for two people including drinks coming in at just forty-six bucks, it's affordable as well.