I used AI to read Google reviews of Klang Valley mamaks, to see what earns the stars and what loses them. My own project. The dataset includes mamaks and nasi kandar shops.

What I found:

• Happy reviews are about the food. 75% of five-star reviews praise it. 10% praise fast service.
• In one and two-star reviews, service is the main gripe 45% of the time, and the food 23%.
• Mee goreng is the most recommended dish, at 289 of 2,331 mamaks. Each count is mamaks, not reviews or people.
• In 99 angry reviews about waiting or wrong orders that say where the time went, 87 lost it between steps: nobody took the order, it got lost, or it was ready and never brought. The cooking was the problem in 10.
• 12% of reviews with a wait of up to 10 min are one or two stars. With 10 to 30 min, 41%. After 10 minutes, I’d check my order went through.

How I did it: Code counted 843,441 Google reviews of 2,331 mamaks and nasi kandar shops around the Klang Valley (October 2026). AI read 700 random five-star reviews and 400 random one and two-star reviews for their themes. A second AI check agreed on 18 of 20 angry-review reads and 14 of 16 delay-stage reads. The wait chart uses everyone who answered Google’s wait question (28,367 reviews). Those are separate from the AI samples. These patterns go with the stars; they don’t prove what caused them.

What’s the longest you’ve waited at a mamak?

Regret pouring some of curry on the rice

Just cooked whatever was in the fridge today 😂

Tried 3 shiopans today from kenny hills rm6.35, sol levante rm3.80 and ferment rm9.
Todays experience reinforced my belief of expensive does not guarantee taste to our liking.

Verdict: kenny hills > sol levante > ferment(seriously the worst ive had so far)

Ive always wanted to try shiobee but their location is not convenient for me. When i decided to go, they closed for renovation or something. Now i herd they set up a booth at lot10 but after circling that area 5+ rounds i still cant find them. Its like im fated to not be able to have their buns.

Location: Anis Putri 2, Penchala KL

this place sells good sibu sarawak dishes, but the attitude of the boss really cannot, initially we tried to order sarawak laksa and red wine chicken noodle, boss say both sold out, then tried to order other noodles, then he said this dish need wait super long cause currently kitchen has more than 10 plates to be cooked, of course I ask how long, he said you count yourself lor, one plate avg 5 minutes. so we were quite surprise how he talk to us like that, so we end up ordering the most basic sibu kampua, also took him 45 minutes to served us… we even heard he argue with other customer due to long waiting

I think that’s the only shop in Kepong sells this, just google, also found out the owner will argue with his review on Google 👀

mi kicap with wanton and slice grill bell pepper. there's some extra sauce in the bowl. should've fry more wanton

my humble attempt to cook as a broke uni student that barely knows how to cook

At a warung behid my office along Jalan Mesui. Pretty generous with the veggies. Wok hei but a tad bit salty. RM 10.50

A spread of deep-fried fish with sauce, tom yum soup, stir-fried vegetables, noodles and rice, plus some refreshing watermelon on the side. Finished off with the legendary mango sticky rice! 🤤🥭

Due to an error in measurements, I think it became toppings with a pizza.

Hii looking for strong matcha powder recommendations!!

I’ve been using ajisai 2.0 for a while and I acc think it’s not a strong powder and I find myself using like 4-5g with 120ml of milk but the matcha flavour is still not strong enough to my liking

I don’t mind any notes or bitterness from matcha I just want a good strong matcha powder that goes well with full cream milk! Oh and I don’t like my matcha sweet though.

For reference I do enjoy matcha from chagee and zus(sometimes)

Teochew porridge w Golden Pomfret & Creamy & Sweet Chai Poh Omelette (omelette with pickled radish). My perfect meal! Teochew porridge is basically rice cooked in alot of water but unlike Cantonese congee, the grains remains unbroken. I very much prefer it 🤗

1. Sister Yao’s Char Koay

2. Penang Famous Samosa (so good)

3. Moh Teng Pheow Nyonya Koay

4. Warung Koppi 70’s Penang (kedah food!)

5. Chulia Street Hawker Food

6. Chulia Street Hawker Food

7. Crepe Cottage

8. Tiger Char Koay Teow

9. Hot Bowl White Curry Mee

10. Kimberley Street Food Night Market

11. Lorong Selamat Char Kuey Teow (their ice kacang hehe)

12. Pitt Street Koay Teow Soup

13. Lorong Selamat Char Kuey Teow