There's Nothing Like Mum's Cooking

Not Halal lah.... sowe kawan-kawan.

Mama's Kitchen is a simple Chinese restaurant in Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) area near 18-21 and Devi's Corner - I had never noticed it before but it came recommended by a good friend of mine so I decided to try it out:
A peek into Mama's Kitchen
Ambience?
Well, it is a typical Chinese Coffeeshop/ Restaurant, with its basic finishing and garish red tablecloths but I noted that it seems pretty clean, so that's a plus to me.

The signature dish here is the claypot "low shu-ee fun" (literal translation: "rats tail noodles"):
Rat's Tails in a Claypot - Yummy!
It was surprisingly good... not FANTASTIC mind you, but definately something I wouldn't mind trying again. The noodles were "springy" and thankfully not starchy, cooked very simply with egg, minced meat and black sauce. I liked that it wasn't too salty or too oily.

We also tried a variety of other dishes: Potato Leaves In Superior Stock, Butter Fried Prawns and Kum Heong Lala....
Clockwise from top left: The Butter Fried Prawns, Kum Heong Lala and Potato Leaves In Superior Stock
The soupy vegetables, cooked with ikan bilis and century egg, was very "ching" and still a little crispy as it was only lightly cooked. The soup base was also not very salty. Overall, OK but it definately didn't impress me.
(My problem is that I always peg the quality of this dish to the one I ate at Overseas Restaurant, which is the best I've tasted so far)

The Butter Fried Prawns were ok... tasty but not quite crispy enough. The Kum Heong Lala was also not that great - fragrant but a bit too salty (.. and so little meat in the lala - it was more shell than anything else)

It doesn't stop there though! We were very greedy that night and ordered 2 types of pork, the Pork in Marmite Sauce and the Deep Fried Belly Pork with Honey Sauce:
Double the sin (left to right): The Deep Fried Belly Pork with Honey Sauce and the Pork in Marmite Sauce
I quite liked the Pork in Marmite Sauce and the Deep Fried Belly Pork with Honey Sauce (as unhealthy as I know they are). It was, arguably, a bit too salty (the Pork in Marmite Sauce)/ too sweet (the Deep Fried Belly Pork) but it tasted excellent with rice.
Texture-wise, the Pork in Marmite Sauce was not very tender... but oh man, the Belly Pork was so sinful - once you bite through the crispy light batter, you can feel the delicious juices (half melted fat!) run into your mouth in a burst of cholestor-ific flavour....
(Caution!: It's probably not a good idea to eat this too often)

They also serve the coffeeshop style big bottles of beer here.... glamourously placed in a chiller a la champange (upon request):
Carlberg in a chiller - Classy
Prices are pretty decent: dinner for the 3 of us came up to about RM80 (although I'm pretty convinced that our meal could have fed 4 people - we were so greedy that night...)

So it's: Casual, low key Chinese restaurant, decent food for decent prices but blur waiters and well, nothing else really, I wouldn't mind going back again for convenient and simple food.

Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:

Mama's Kitchen @ Taman Tun Dr Ismail, KL

Taste: 6
Ambience : 5
Service : 6
Price** : RM20/++ per person
Parking: A pain in the afternoon - Ok at night.

** Approximation - typical Chinese meal, excluding drinks
Telephone No.: 03-7729 3030
Opening Hours: 11am - late

NOT HALAL

TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, Restaurant Reviews, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, KL, TTDI, Mama Kitchen, Mama's Kitchen, Chinese, Claypot Noodles