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Malaysian Favourites @ Mama San


I lived through a busy Thursday of packing-up my belongings in an office I’ve grown so attached to. I was tired and drained, all at once. But after a full day at work, going home was not an option – not when I had plans awaiting me.

I recently received an invitation to a Blogger’s Dinner at KL’s most authentic Malaysian-fusion joint, Mama San and it was an invitation I could not turn down. Despite missing a Plus 1 and getting stuck in KL’s rush hour madness, these nuances were not enough reason for me to miss out on a good night ahead.

Thankfully, I got there in time and it was comforting to know I wasn’t the last. But in no time, when the seats around a huge oblong table were filled up, the dinner began.

We were warmly welcomed with (non)alcoholic drinks which got us beaming with excitement –

1. Coconut Mojito – a simple mojito cocktail with a tropical twist; refreshing mint, tangy lime and creamy sweet coco-nutty goodness + coconut rum. The next best thing to plain coconut water, for sure.

2. Strawberry Smash Cocktail. Apparently, in the world of cocktails, the smash is historically a drink that called for mint, a lump of sugar, ice, and the spirit of your choice. This Mama San rendition came with muddled strawberries, mint leaves and a little simple syrup which tasted like a drink I'd order while I'm soaking in some Vitamin C by the beach – This was my personal favourite; cause I like my drinks sweet and fruity, always.

3. The Tiffin Lychee Punch was a real crowd-pleaser - if only you heard all the ‘Ooohs’ and ‘Aaahss’ that echoed through the restaurant when the waitress served us this particular drink. Staying true to what it was named after, it came in a tiffin carrier alright and the concoction inside was a fruity delight of flavors, with little mint leaves and plump lychee bits. I’ve never wished for someone else’s drink to be mine the way I did last night.

As if in true summer spirit, all the drinks I ordered were fruity and sweet –perfect for a hot summers’ day. The last of my favourites would have to be the Passionfruit Gin Slushie. It came in a mini copper tin can with Mama San engraved on it and topped off with mint leaves. Give it time to sit awhile before to slurp it all up. You don’t want a brain breeze when you can enjoy it with every sip

Pomelo salad with shallot coconut & roasted chilli paste.

WOW. I have never had pomelo like this, ever. I usually just pop it into my mouth after I peel it from it's outer layer or have it sprinkled in my salad. But never like this. The creamy coco-nutty sauce, with crispy shallot bits and a little spice from the roasted chili paste was a subtle way to shock my tastebuds before the main course arrived.

Crispy Sotong with Chilli jam.

Anytime I see 'sotong' on the menu, I always make it point to order it. And more often than not, it usually just comes battered with either mayonaise or tartar sauce on the side. But this time, at Mama San, it came like this. Perfectly coated sotong rings pan friend with lots of curry leaves until crispy, bunga kantang strands and dried chili. It was served with chili jam on the side for some extra kick.

You have got to dip the friend sotong in the chili jam. Otherwise, it'll just be like any ordinary fried sotong. And you wouldn't want that.

Szechuan braised eggplant with capsicum ginger & dark soy.

This was a pretty basic vegetable dish which the chefs at Mama San revamped and mastered.

Every restaurant you to visit, fusion or just plain old-school, one thing remains as their common denominator: the OG recipes - the kind of recipes that have and will live on for centuries to come. This particular dish was exactly that for me - stir-fry eggplant and capsicum slices simmered in a dollop of the infamous Chinese sauce called Szechuan. Simple.

Butter Prawns cooked with egg yolk, chilli and curry leaves.

If you ever come across/find the person who invented this dish, please thank them for me- cause this person is a genius!

Who would've thought egg yolk could be turned into crispy, fluffy floss and then generously coated over prawns to be considered a dish? Well, I definitely did not.

As googly-eyed as I was to see this right before my eyes, digging in was the next best thing. Mama San made a good choice adding this to their menu!

"Dendeng Balado" - beef with kaffir lime, chilli & lemon basil.

If you've ever tried Indonesian food, you would have come across this signature Indonesian cuisine dish at least once in your life. Dendeng refers to thinly sliced dried meat in Indonesian cuisine. It is preserved through a mixture of sugar and spices and dried via a frying process, which is similar to jerky.

I was pretty intrigued as this was a first for me. I'm not one to voluntarily order dishes/food with beef (aside from beef nachos) but giving this a try was definitely worth-while. Thick, juicy cubes of beef, marinated in their signature sauce and then doused with kaffir lime, chili, lemon basil + a whole load of crispy curry leaves.

On days when you're feeling a little adventurous, this won't disappoint!

Sweet and sour crispy whole fish with ginger flower and chili.

This dish is definitely one of the many great Chinese restaurant dishes. Known for it's dramatic presentation, and the combination of sweet-sour-hot-savory flavours that are simply unbeatable, this deserves a space in your bellies.

In some restaurants, they use small whole fishes that have been scaled and gutted. But honestly, the sky is the limit to the types of fish you can use for this dish - Pacific rockfish, black sea bass, perch, porgies, or any type of bass. At Mama San, they chose to use a Siakap. And apparently, so I've learned, it's tradition to leave the head on but you can remove it if you'd like.

Butter chicken cooked in tomato cashew nut & kasoori.

When I posed a, "What's your favourite Mama San dish?" question to the people who hosted us, their reply was the same - Butter chicken!

Finding just the right balance of thickness, creaminess and flavour can be a task only for the Food Gods but the chefs at Mama San sure did a pretty good job mastering this beautiful dish that is originated from India.

Enjoy a generous serving of this butter chicken dish with warm and toasty Naan bread slices, and I'll bet that you'd be wanting more!

Lontong

A Southeast Asian dish made of compressed rice cake (kinda like a ketupat) as the main ingredient, and commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. A whole lot of other stuff goes into this one-pot wonder such as eggplants, tofu, ginger, dried shrimp, 'fuchook', long beans, carrots, cabbage and for the soup, santan.

This was a first for me too!

Durian Crepe Cake

As beautiful as all these creamy layers look, I wish I could have enjoyed it the way only a Durian lover would.

I know I'm supposed to tell you that it's the best thing I've ever tasted and that after just one bite, my stomach made room for dessert. But hey, I'm not going to bother sugar-coating things. And if i'm being honest, I don't know if it's the best Durian Crepe Cake out there.

But one thing is for certain - every person seated at the table with me who was a Durian lover said it was one of the best they have ever tasted. And if I were you, I'd trust them.

Tiny Cekodok Pisang

And last but not least, these tiny banana balls called Cekodok. I grew up looking forward to my walks back home from school, because there would be this aunty by the roadside who would sell these huge balls of Cekodok - approximately the size of my fist - and every bite, felt like a reward to myself for getting through another long day at school. The good old days.

Having this for dessert took me way back and honestly, as good as they tasted, I was more intrigued by how tiny they were. Hah!

A strong cup of long black followed right after I popped probably the 20th tiny ball of cekodok into my mouth.

My stomach was definitely raised, 2 feet above my waist - or so my Grandma always exclaims. But a night filled with lots of laughter over good food is definitely a night worth all the calories!

Love, K xx

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For bookings and more enquiries:

MAMA SAN

Lot 46, Ground Level, Suria KLCC

Follow MAMA SAN on:

Facebook - MamaSanKL

Instagram - @mamasankl

Twitter - mamasanklcc



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