Cult-favourite chow spot Lemak evolves with new neon-lit Woolloongabba eatery
One of Brisbane’s cherished purveyors of Southeast Asian street food underwent a glow-up late last year. Just before Christmas, the team behind Lemak pulled back the curtain on a slick new kitchen and bar on Woolloongabba’s famed Logan Road cul-de-sac, simultaneously launching an upgraded menu packed with Malaysian, Thai and Indonesian flavours. We popped in for a peek – this is what we saw …
As is the case with most grassroots hospitality success stories, the Lemak tale started with a bit of risk. Before Lemak’s owner Thang jumped headfirst into the world of hospitality, he was a pharmacist – one with almost eight years of professional experience. While it might seem like an odd choice for some, Thang’s career pivot wasn’t enacted simply on a whim – it was a calculated manoeuvre driven by a deep passion for Malaysian cuisine.
“My wife is Malaysian and I love Malaysian food – it’s always been something that I’ve just loved ever since I met her and it just kept growing,” says Thang. “We felt like there was something missing at Garden City and there was opportunity there at 8 Street and we just decided to take it on.”
Lemak’s express-style kitchen quickly became a hit via a mix of savvy marketing and – naturally – a lot of hard work, with foodies flocking for Thang’s take on Malaysian street-food staples like deliciously crispy ayam goreng (fried chicken), buttery roti, nasi lemak and char kway teow.
“In Malaysia, a lot of the hawker-style restaurants only have one dish. We took five or six of them and just put them on our menu,” Thang tells us. “I spent a lot of time trying to find the right recipes – I fried a lot of chicken. From the food and the flavours to the style and the branding, we just tried to make it seem appealing to the general public.”
The success quickly snowballed, with Lemak opening a second location in East Brisbane in 2018, followed soon after by another at Queens Plaza. But even as Lemak continued to build its following, Thang and his team had to continually grapple with the limitations imposed by the brand’s takeaway-oriented business model. Size was a factor, not only in the kitchen, but also when it came to giving access to its burgeoning fanbase.
“One of the biggest complaints we had over in East Brisbane was there was no space,” says Thang. “You couldn’t book a table for ten.”
So, last year Thang decided that Lemak needed to evolve. A quick location scouting effort brought him to a vacant restaurant space in Woolloongabba – a spacious brick-encased tenancy that has, over the years, been home to pioneering pizzeria Sorellina and burger joint Mac From Way Back. The site ticked all the boxes and soon Thang and his team began a substantial refit of the venue ahead of its rebirth as 55-seat Lemak Kitchen and Bar. After overhauling the kitchen, Thang and his designer set to work on instilling a vibe that matched Lemak’s hawker-style inspirations. The resulting aesthetic features plenty of neon signage at the front window and suspended above the dining area, creating the illusion of a heaving night market.
“I said to my designer that I wanted customers to come in and feel like they’ve stepped away from Brisbane just for a short bit,” says Thang. “I wanted to throw a lot of neons up, make it shiny and bright and have that rustic feel. A lot of feedback has been that guests feel like they’re sitting outside when they’re in here.”
Subscribe for updates
Thang and his kitchen brigade have seized the opportunity to greatly expand Lemak’s menu, adding a suite of new dishes to its established menu of cult-favourite classics. “My mission has always been to introduce Malaysian food and Malaysian flavours to Brisbane, because I’m a big fan of it myself,” says Thang. “Now with a bigger kitchen, we can do whatever we want, so we’re branching into Southeast Asian food – Indonesian, Singaporean and Thai flavours – because it opens up the doors for us to be more creative, now and in the future.”
Lemak Kitchen and Bar’s menu includes original favourites like nasi lemak, crispy fried chicken sandwiches, fried-chicken combos and char kway teow with fishcake, prawns and Chinese sausage. When it comes to the new additions, seafood (sourced daily from Sunnybank Fish Market) is a major focus. Guests can pair their roti canai with Moreton Bay bug salad, twirl a fork through wat tan hor (flat rice noodles with egg gravy) served with jumbo prawns and enjoy nasi goreng with a helping of crab meat. Other must-try morsels include the Crying Tiger beef served with chilli jam, chicken noodle soup with rice ho fun noodles, succulent satay skewers and beef rendang curry puffs.
In a few weeks, Lemak Kitchen and Bar will score it liquor licence, after which it will unveil a brand-new beverage menu anchored by mainstream beers, fine wines and inventive signature cocktails made with artisanal local spirits. For now, guests can quench their thirsts with one of Lemak’s housemade drinks, such as teh tarik (a popular hot milk tea beverage), iced bandung (a sweet and creamy rose-flavoured rink), iced lemon Ribena and teh o’ais limau (iced black tea with a splash of lemon and lime).
Although Lemak Kitchen and Bar only opened just before Christmas, Thang tells us that the reception from long-time fans and newcomers has been overwhelming. “We’ve had people who have been following us since 2017 go out of their way to come here and say congratulations,” says Thang. “The community that we have has been just absolutely humbling.”
For Lemak Kitchen and Bar’s operating hours, contact details and menu info, head to The Directory.