Aren't you hungry already just by looking at the cover photo ? It is as good as it looks. Growing up in Singapore gave me the opportunity to taste authentic Hainanese Chicken Rice all the time and I can say Mamalee is one of the most authentic Mayalsian cuisines in Vancouver.
Mamalee doesn't take reservations and for such a small space, there's always a line up. They also close really early, at 8pm on weekdays and 9pm on weekends, which makes it terribly difficult for me to eat there. In fact, I went there 3 times this month and only got to eat their food once, as take out. The first time I went, they were already closed. The second time I went, their chicken was sold out. And the third time I went, at 7:30pm, and they have stopped accepting table guests, so we ordered take out.
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| The line outside Mamalee half an hour before closing |
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| Simple interior |
I always always order Roti whenever it's available and I love Mamalee's Roti with its dipping sauce. Speaking of Roti, Kaya Malay Bistro offers very delicious Roti too. Last time when Mamalee was closed, we simply drove over to the Kaya close by to have dinner instead.
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| Yummy Roti with it's sauces |
Tada ! And here is the famous chicken. To be honest, it wasn't as good as before when they were Cafe D'lite, I have no idea why, because the owner hasn't changed. Now its chicken tastes similar to the ones from Aberdeen's Cafe D'lite Express, but because its food court location doesn't serve roti, it's still a must for me to visit the actual store front. There have been many reviewers showing their disappointment over the quality of this chicken dish after the rebranding. Yes, it's not the same as before. Nevertheless, I think it's still tasty and still better than most Hainanese chicken in Vancouver. It's juicy, tender, light, and deboned !
Tip: It's better to dip the chicken in the soy sauce provided instead of pouring soy all over the meat as the sauce is a little too salty and overwhelming for my liking.
You must order their "oil rice" to go with the chicken unless you are on a low-carb diet. I personally think that their rice is a little too hard and not juicy enough. Sigh, but it's still not something you wish to go without.
The Barley Water was a little too sweet and the Milo Dinosaur had too little undissolved Milo covering the drink. I've never had them in the store though, maybe they can be better.
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| Barley Water and Milo Dinosaur |
But we ended up buying egg tarts home for dessert that day. Yaohan has reallyyyyyyy yummy egg tarts in their bakery session, worth a try :) !
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