instant noodles – Eris Goes To

Mama Mee Yah, IOI Mall Puchong

May 26, 2022Posted in FoodTagged dining, eating, Featured, food, instant noodles, Malaysia, mama noodles, Puchong, restaurant review, Thai cuisine, Thai food, tom yumLeave a comment

Mama is a household name in Thailand. In fact, the brand is so popular, the term ‘Mama’ is used as a generic term to refer to all instant noodle brands (kinda like what we do with Maggi here: Vits, Cintan, Ibumie = Maggi).

While Mama noodles aren’t hard to find in Malaysia, they are pretty rare in most supermarkets, so you’re more likely to find them in Thai grocers, specialty shops, or restaurants. One of the newer places to get a ‘fancy’ version of these noodles is Mama Mee Yah@IOI Mall Puchong. As the name suggests, the resto specializes in Mama noodles, spruced up with ingredients like seafood and chicken, but you can also order Thai rice dishes like stir-fried chicken with basil.

Nice interior, which hasn’t changed much from when this space used to be Pho Street.

The Hubs and I weren’t particularly hungry, so we decided to share one main meal and order a side dish. We were disappointed when it came to the table, because there wasn’t a lot of noodles, and just four average-sized chicken meatballs plus an egg. Not worth the price, which is close to RM20 per bowl. I could have cooked five packets of Mama mee plus my own fancy trimmings with that budget.

Okay, so portions aren’t great. What about the taste?

It didn’t do well in that regard either. The tomyum was quite bland and watery. It wasn’t bad to the point of being inedible, but I really cannot justify paying that much for average food that I could have made at home. We also regretted our order of grilled chicken skewers, as they were drier than the Sahara desert.

Unfortunately, the signatures that we ordered at Mama Mee Yah did not impress. Considering the hefty price tag, I don’t think we will be giving this place a return visit.

Now if you want cheap, authentic Thai food, I recommend this. Or if you want a fancier place with lots of variety but won’t burn a hole in your pocket and actually gives you good value for money, this.

MAMA MEE YAH (IOI MALL PUCHONG)

Lot FS-20, First Floor, Batu 9, Jalan Puchong, Bandar Puchong Jaya, 47170 Puchong, Selangor

Opening hours: 10AM -10PM (daily)

PS: Opinions here are entirely my own and are based on my personal taste. They are not to disparage businesses, but to provide an honest review of my experiences.

PS2: Please consider supporting my blog via Patreon, so I can make more. Or buy me a cup of coffee on Paypal @erisgoesto

Review: Mamee Jonker House 163 Retail Park Mont Kiara – Needs More Mamee

January 16, 2020April 3, 2022Posted in FoodTagged Asian cuisine, Asian food, dining, eats, Featured, food, food photography, food review, instant noodles, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Mamee, Mamee Jonker House, Melaka, noodles, Southeast Asia, Southeast Asian cuisine1 Comment

(Update: This outlet is permanently closed).

You might recall a recent blog post where I visited Mamee Jonker House in Melaka – a museum/resto/themed space dedicated to all things Mamee. Blog post here. I thoroughly enjoyed their creative dishes, which utilised Mamee noodles as the main carbo, spruced up with various ingredients.

The photos from the story I did for work were so good (thanks to N@Hubs!), the Editor jokingly said she wanted Mamee. There’s actually a Mamee Jonker House in KL as well, and it wasn’t too far from the office, so we set off on a little lunch adventure.

Mamee Jonker House KL is located at 163 Retail Park in Mont Kiara, and it bears the hallmarks of the original outlet – ie lots of Mamee paraphernalia, a section selling Mamee snacks and noodles, a family-friendly kitchen space where you can customise your noodle cups, as well as a chic dining area. The interiors are bright and cheerful, with tall windows that allow for plenty of natural sunlight to filter in. There is also a children’s playground area at the back of the outlet.

A fun wall of doodled Mamee cups

As Mamee hails from Melaka, visitors will find a proud display of its cultural heritage, including rattan baskets and handmade crafts from Melaka for sale

When it came to the food, however, I was a little disappointed as it was quite different from the one I enjoyed in Melaka.

Rather than Mamee dishes, the menu is more a mix of Melaka cuisine and typical cafe fare, with items such as Hainanese Chicken Rice, Nasi Goreng Kampung mixed with Western offerings like Fish & Chips, as well as light bites of sandwiches and fries. The only few dishes that actually feature Mamee is the pasta (option to switch with Mamee from regular pasta) and the Mamee Mee Goreng Mamak with Satay.

Colleague’s Bolognese Pasta (replaced with Mamee) consisted of homemade meatballs, tomato, herbs and parmesan cheese. Tastewise it was good, and the al dente, springy texture of the Mamee noodles lent it a unique twist.

Editor had the Mamee Mee Goreng Mamak, wok fried and served with a sunny side up. She said it was okay but nothing great.

Meanwhile, I had the Mee Bodoh (yes, as in ‘Stupid’ Mee). This is apparently a famous dish in Melaka, run by one Pak Hassan (will try it someday). The original requires yellow noodles, but I. Was. Going. To. Get. My. Damn. Mamee. So I requested for the chef to change it to Mamee noodles.

Also, a conversation with the waiter:

Me: Why do they call it Mee Bodoh?

Him: (I think he was nervous) Er, mee ni, dia bodoh ah… (er, thesenoodles, they’re stupid…)

Editor: chortles with laughter

Him: (backtracking) Er mee bodoh ni, dia famous dekat Melaka.. style dia panggil Bodoh. (er this mee bodoh, it’s famous in Melaka.. the style is called Bodoh).

…Long story short, he didn’t answer my question (perhaps he had no idea why it was called that) but it was funny all the same.

Again, noodles were cooked al dente which I liked. It had a sweetish taste, kinda like when you stir fry something in Maggi sauce, but there were also some other seasonings I couldn’t quite put my finger (or tongue) on. Tasty, but not WOW or anything. I still prefer the dishes I tried at the original Mamee Jonker House in Melaka. Pricing here is also on the higher side, maybe due to the setting.

Verdict: They need to incorporate more Mamee noodles in their offerings, to be honest. That’s just my humble opinion. Food is good, not great – I think this is a one-time visit for me.

MAMEE JONKER HOUSE KL (163 RETAIL PARK)

Lot 3F-01a, 163 Retail Park, Jalan Kiara, Mont Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur

Opening hours: 10AM – 10PM

Phone: 03-2022 5588

Mamee Jonker House : All Things Mamee @ Jonker Street, Melaka

December 21, 2019December 20, 2019Posted in FoodTagged Asia, Asian, cafe, Featured, food, food review, instant noodles, Malacca, Mamee, Melaka, noodles, restaurant, restaurant review, Southeast Asia, travel3 Comments

Fun fact: I’ve never been to Jonker Street in Melaka.

I can hear the incredulous gasps. That’s like saying I went to Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower. It wasn’t that I wilfully ignored the place – I simply couldn’t fit it into my itinerary the last two times I was in Melaka. Well as the saying goes, third time’s the charm – and on my most recent trip to the Historical City, I finally booked a place within the Jonker Street area itself. No excuses now!

Driving into Melaka, I saw many billboards and posters featuring the iconic blue Mamee Monster (most Malaysians who grew up eating the crunchy noodle snack will know him!). I later learned that it was because Melaka is home to Mamee, the brand that carries the Mamee Monster snack as well as MAMEE Chef instant noodles. All this advertising made me crave for Mamee and lo’ and behold – while hunting for places to eat when we arrived, we stumbled upon Mamee Jonker House – it must have been a sign! In we went.

Mamee’s first ‘concept store’, Mamee Jonker House features a nice cafe (where they serve dishes made from Mamee, of course!), a shop selling Mamee goods ,a mini museum on the upper floor as well as a kitchen where you can customise your own noodles! It was 2PM and we were starving so we made a beeline for the cafe before anything else.

Mamee-inspired wall decor

The Mamee Cafe has a good selection of creative dishes. You can have rice and burgers, but the star here is, of course, the Mamee noodles. N had a nasi-lemak inspired Mamee dish which came with all the trimmings – kerepek (crackers), fried egg, peanuts, anchovies, fried chicken drumstick and sambal.

I had the Mamee in Kuah Lodeh, which is the creamy, coconut-rich gravy that is usually served with lontong (compressed rice) – only they replaced it with noodles, of course! Portions were generous; there was plenty of shrimp and tofu to soak up the delicious broth, topped with half a boiled egg. The noodles were springy with a slight bite.

All fed and watered, we ventured upstairs to where there was a small Mamee museum of sorts and a Lil Monster Kitchen where they teach kids (with the help of their parents) how to roll the dough and shape them into noodles. You can also personalise your own Mamee instant noodle cup and customise the flavours to take home!

MAMEE JONKER HOUSE

No 46 & 48, Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonker Street), 75200 Melaka.

Phone: +606 – 2867 666

Opening hours: 10AM to 5PM (Mons – Thurs), 10AM – 7PM (Fri – Sun)

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Video:Tonkotsu (Pork Broth) Flavoured Instant Ramen From Japan!

February 3, 2018Posted in FoodTagged cooking, Featured, food, instant noodles, instant ramen, Ippudo Ramen, Japanese, ramen, tonkotsu, video blog, video diary1 Comment

Tis’ must be the season to experience Japan – two of my colleagues went for a holiday there, one after the other! One came back with a ‘souvenir’ for the office’s babi-eating folk: Tonkotsu (pork broth) flavoured instant ramen from the famous Ippudo Ramen brand.

Instructions were all in Japanese, but there are some illustrations and everything is pretty straightforward. Messed around with a new video editing software on the phone, so here it is:

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Really impressed with the end product! Did not feel like an instant ramen, not one iota. The broth was creamy, rich and full of flavour, and the ramen had a nice al dente bite to it. Too bad we can’t find this in Malaysia – unless anyone knows of a Japanese specialty store that sells them? 🙂

Malaysia’s First Indomie Cafe – Review: IndoBowl, Lakefields Sg Besi

November 14, 2017May 1, 2021Posted in FoodTagged Asian, dining, eating, Featured, food, food review, IndoMie, Indonesia, instant noodles, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, restaurant review4 Comments

Update: This outlet is permanently closed.

If you’ve somehow never tried IndoMie, all I can say is… where have you been?

Aside from having a 72% share in the Indonesian instant noodle market, it’s also one of the country’s best food exports – distributed in places like Australia, Asia, Africa, New Zealand, US, Canada, Europe and the Middle East.

IndoMie is also quite popular in Malaysia, so the hype was real when an IndoMie Cafe opened several months ago in Lakefields, Sg Besi KL. You’re probably wondering how in the world a cafe can survive on just serving instant noodles when one can easily make it at home, but the place dishes out upgraded versions that come with various toppings such as grilled lamb chop, grilled chicken chop, seafood and more.

If the interior looks familiar, that’s because it used to be a cafe called Bites. The owners must have sold the place along with the decor. A shame though coz the previous place had pretty decent food.

Boxes of IndoMie lining the walls.

The Bro had the grilled chicken chop set. The noodles came topped with a thick slab of tender, marinated boneless chicken, fried egg, cucumber slices and their signature red sambal. Please, for the love of God, if you’re unable to take spicy food, scoop the sambal away because I was crying like sht by the end of the meal. Brownie points for clearing up my sinuses though.

I had the seafood set which offered several pieces of deep fried battered prawn and shrimp. Moderate portion. I liked the fact that the noodles were evenly tossed throughout so the seasoning didn’t clump up. The fiery sambal was quenched with an ice cold Soda Gembira .

If you’re going in a group, they have a signature meal for four where you get all the different grilled goodies – satay, lamb chop, chicken chop, fried eggs. Prices for single portions are below RM15.

INDOBOWL (Malaysia’s First Indomie Cafe)

72, Jalan Tasik Utama 7, Lakesfield, Sg Besi, 57000 Kuala Lumpur

Business hours: 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 10pm, closed Wednesdays

Spice Up That Noodle

October 28, 2015October 26, 2015Posted in FoodTagged Asian, eating, food, instant noodles, ramenLeave a comment

Have you tried ‘spicing’ up your bowl of instant noodles with extras? I like mine with eggs and if I can get them, some meat. 🙂

Here in Malaysia, the most famous brand of instant noodles is Maggi, by Nestle. Although it is an Australian brand, Maggi has become somewhat of a local favourite, with flavours like curry, chicken, tom yam, and many more.

I went a little mad and added sliced cheese into it the other day, along with my usual half-boiled egg.

Cheese is probably very normal for a lot of people, but what can I say, I’m conservative with my noodles. ._.

What do you like to add to your instant noodles? 🙂