I’m a big fan of murtabak (The Malaysian version anyway I found it too greasy in Indonesia). I was happy to see it available at the relatively new food court Market Hall on Victoria Street right next to Victoria Station. There are a number of stalls/bars over two floors and Gopals Corner is on the first floor. This is a second opening for the highly rated Roti King.
I had attempted to go for breakfast a few weeks ago and though the food court is open for breakfast Gopals Corner is not.
The murtabak here was pretty good. The outside could have been crisper and it wasn’t as flaky as I expected. The minced lamb filling wasn’t dry but a little bland and underseasoned. Rather than coming with a spicy lamb gravy it came with a daal. This was quite rich but too salt. Once you dipped in the underseasonrd murtabak in it all worked well together. Not sure if that was deliberate or a happy accident. I had teh tarik to drink which was pretty good. Will probably go back ( though not fond of the space) mainly due to lack of murtabak elsewhere in London.
I worked right next to the Victoria Station more than a decade ago. I still remember good casual lunch choices were sparse at the time, and Asian meant fake Asian joints. Loads of prepacked sandwiches and fast food. How times have changed. Don’t quite recognize the area outside the station now.
Come back to Penang one day soon, Chris. I’ll bring you to this spot - Excellent Cafe in Ayer Itam. Murtabak done exactly the way you’d expect, with perfect textures and flavours.
Hopefully late this year or maybe 2020. I need to get to my favourite pan mee stall in KL before they ban street stalls. I assume that’s still going ahead?
I’m not sure at all - that pronouncement was by the previous Barisan Nasional govt. that lost the last general elections to the current Pakatan Harapan administration. So, there has been change of mayors and many of the previous govt.'s projects & plans have been overturned since.
Back to Gopals Corner, very recently. I found myself in the area at lunch time and was hankering after some Malaysian food. The area around Victoria Station is not great for good, quick food. I decided to give them another go.
I find it very hard to turn down murtabak when I see it. This time I went for chicken rather than beef and an iced Milo. This was far better than the last time. Moister , better tasting filling, crisper outside on the murtabak. The daal was much better as well. Earthier and far less salty.
New chef? A long gap between murtabaks clouding my judgment? Or me mellowing with getting older? ( The last one is the least likely.)Still no pickled onions though
