Mambow

Clapton’s bonneted crowd is no stranger to juicy grapes and elbow-knocking spaces, and the memefication of this area feels like a cheap shot until you’re drinking wine next to a Carhartt-fitted greyhound. But Mambow shows that there’s more to east London than a crippling watermelon vape addiction. The modern Malaysian spot is 500 square feet of high-octane restaurant, mixing delicious displays of creativity with exhilarating whacks of chilli. It acts as a welcome reminder that Hackney can still be home to ingenuity.

Once through the front door, you’ll find that Mambow is fashionably unpolished. The candles are plentiful, the space is tight, and inadvertent eavesdropping is drowned out by occasionally pumping bass. Most people here—dates, friends, friends who sometimes date—start with the crunching lor bak. It’s one of the most irresistible small plates around. While it isn’t an airy, seamless experience—some starters tend to arrive later into the meal—it is a thrilling one thanks to the kitchen.

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

Mambow’s dozen-or-so dishes are defined by head chef and owner Abby Lee’s Singaporean and Malaysian upbringing, and the menu regularly changes. This place has had many guises—from street stall to food hall concession—but now it's firmly put, it can move in other ways. One month may see the ingenious otak-otak prawn toast—a beautiful handful of betel leaf and fish cake—while another will have sticky double-roasted pork that’s fiery with delicate slices of bird’s-eye chilli. Mambow’s on-the-go approach means that this is a restaurant you’ll want to return to as the seasons change.

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Jake Missing

Everything is made for sharing, although things like plate-licking Sarawak black pepper chicken curry will be done so reluctantly. The handful of counter seats aren’t ideal for the kind of spread you should be ordering so dig your heels in and wait to book a proper table—it's worth it. With the right kind of greediness a group can easily dispatch most of the menu. Just know that anyone seeking a luxe east London experience should look elsewhere. But Hackney’s always been about more than that, and the same goes for Mambow.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

Kay Pachok

This pair of chicken skewers are a mix of thigh and heart, and come wrapped in banana leaf packages like a lovely poultry present. While they’re tender and delicately flavoured in a nutty and sweet onion marinade, the optional tamarind dipping sauce is essential. It’s clear and crisp, with punches of vinegar and bits of raw onion and pepper floating about, and it lifts the skewers to extra heights.

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

Lor Bak

Given the close quarters nature of this restaurant, you’ll more than likely see what 95% of the room has ordered. This will be on the majority of tables, for good reason. A juicy mixture of pork and prawn encased in crunchy deep-fried bean curd rolls, this a delicious, jean-wiper of a starter.

photo credit: Jake Missing

Otak-Otak Prawn Toast

Mambow’s take on prawn toast is a beautiful handful. Greens, reds, and fried browns are all present and it tastes even better than it looks. The otak-otak is a prawn, makrut lime leaf, and red curry paste that’s formed into a cake before being fried in slices. Wrap said slice in a betel leaf and take a bite: leaf, toast, coconut cream, chilli, and all.

photo credit: Jake Missing

Double-Roasted Pork

This pork appears in the bigger plates section of the menu, but it’s actually a wonderful and feisty small plate to pick on with your first (or second) drink. The pork is prepared the day before, roasted again and chopped into little chunks, then wok-fried in a salty oil slick sauce, before being garnished with slices of bird's-eye chilli. It’s hot, it’s addictive, and the crunch scraps at the bottom of the plate are the gold you should sift for.

photo credit: Jake Missing

Perut Ikan

Deep-fried stone bass steak in curry sauce is a lovely mellow dish. The tomato-based sauce is fragrant and loaded with lemongrass and ginger, while the stone bass is as flaky as you’d like. In an ideal world, the deep-fried shell of the stone bass would still be crunchy to allow for a little contrast in texture, but this is still a lovely curry to eat.

photo credit: Jake Missing

Sarawak Black Pepper Chicken Curry

The fizz and citrus notes of Sarawak pepper are very different from a chilli heat, and this curry has it in abundance. Piled with whisper-thin slices of red onion on top, this curry is something most people will have no problem polishing off themselves. The chicken thigh is on the bone and, as a result, is wonderfully tender. The skin is a little charred and the brown gravy perfectly balanced.