Ma’s Stir Fry

Good food, great value. That pretty much sums up Ma’s. For about $ 9 or so you can get a plate of Chinese stir fry, a laksa, a Hainan chicken dish or, for the less adventurous among us, an Aussie Chinese dish such as Mongolian Lamb or Honey Chicken. All the dishes i’ve tried have been very generous in terms of how much is on the plate, especially for the price.
Most of the dishes also come with a free bowl of rice and a free chicken soup, the chicken soup probably being the best i’ve had from any Chinatown food court stall, and that’s saying a lot given that i’ve eaten at a huge number of them over the years.
Ma’s is probably one of the most popular stalls in the Sussex Centre food court, and for good reason, but you never have to wait too long and the staff are always attentive, if a little pushy at times. That’s probably the only place where Ma’s loses points, the staff that keep pestering you, if you’re white, with ‘honey chicken, fried rice’ while you’re trying to make your selection. But that is a minor gripe for what is an excellent joint.

We arrived to the food court and found a seat. Before we were to decide upon which of the restaurants to retrieve food from we sat and talked a while and reminisced about days of old.
However, I couldn’t concentrate, two girls just yonder were walking to a table with a plate full of a brown noodly dish that appeared to have prawns stippled through out. What was that strange noodle infested dish that glistened under the fluorescent bulbs before me?
We took it in turns to go and scout the food hall, like hunters in prehistoric times. I got up, whilst the others watched the cave and I looked about, hoping to find a wildebeest to kill and feast upon. Only my wildebeest would be an Asian dish and when I say kill, I mean order. There really was no hunting involved, however, it didn’t feel that way.
Not wanting to bother the girls with the noodles, I decided to track the brown noodle dish down myself and, based upon the images on each restaurants walls, figure out which it was.
After a full unsuccessful loop I came across Ma’s Stir Fry and there it was, up in the top corner, how did I miss it? Stir Fried Kiew Tiew. I ordered it and most likely pronounced it in a way that was both wrong and offensive.
I could have done without the constant ‘Yes, you order here’s.’ If there’s one thing I hate about people in food courts such as this, it’s their ability to nag you about ordering from there establishment. If I want something there, I’ll get something there. Leave me alone!!!
I told her off abruptly but still maintaining a pleasant disposition, «I’m just looking!» I had half a mind to abandon my plans of the Kiew Tiew, just because of her incessant badgering, but stuck with it because after a short sharp exclamation on my behalf, she quietened down.
The noodles were good and I enjoyed it thoroughly, though the sauce was a little too rich for my blood. I couldn’t finish it all. Being such a tasty dish though it ranks highly, but they lose points for their sales technique which borders on savage harassment.