Mamasita Mexican Restaurant

Dearest daddy's 81st birthday was celebrated in a different style this year. We decided to ditch his favourite pork knuckle Chinese dishes and brought him on a Mexican route instead. This is Mamasita restaurant, located in the heart of Jonker street in my kampung Melaka.  

Occupying a few shop lots (with one opposite the road as well), Mamasita makes the best of its limited space by also placing tables and chairs outside for hungry diners. I give props to this little haven for its top-notch decor of the entire restaurant. Everything from its tiled floors, muralled walls and colorful ceiling simply spells fabuloso! Very instagrammable. 

We almost got to dine upstairs (due to our large group of 12 pax), but we were eventually seated downstairs due to lack of staff manning their upstairs section.  

upper floor

My big bro from Singapore made it back after >2 years!

The celebrated Daddy-O himself! 

Sporting one of the many sombrero hats available for the posers 

Their eye-catching menu makes me want to order everything on it!

Try this link to get a full view of it :-mamasita menu

(https://bit.ly/melakamenu)

 

Here are the biggest hits of the night :-

Who goes Mexican without nachos right? Hence, presenting Nachos De Pollo (Chicken) - RM 35. Accompanied by their special sauces, how good this pictures looks is exactly how great it tasted too! 

Their Chicken Wings are da bomb as well. Known as 'Sayap' on the menu, it comes with a choice of 5 types of sauces. We got the Honey Garlic BBQ and Mexican Buffalo ones. Loved the buffalo wings, perfectly marinated with just the right kick of spiciness. 1/2 dozen wings at RM 24 and a dozen at RM 46. 

There is a small section of International dishes on their menu, including Chicken Pizza (RM 25.50) and Seafood Pizza (RM 30.50). We ordered this for the kids. But my verdict - mediocre, best stick to ordering what they do best. 

I'm a sucker for Crispy Tacos and they do it so well with their Fish Tacos (2 piece for RM 20.50) and Lamb (2 pieces for RM 25). Of course I couldn't try all of the other meat selection they had but there is a wide choice of beef, chicken, prawn and vegetarian option. Personally i think my tacos could pocket more chopped cabbage and cheese in it. 

Somehow having your meat served in their soft flour tortillas look more filling for the tummy and at about a few RM cheaper than what you pay for their crispy taco shells.  

I can't recall what is this dish here, even worse, i can't even remember if i tasted it!

Their Chicken Quesadillas (RM 25.50)

Another worthy dish is their Fajitas which are 4 pieces of tortillas (very soft and stretchy!) with a side of sour cream, pico de gallo and guacamole. 

Choice of meat is Beef (RM 29.50). Cooked in a sizzling hot plate along with bell peppers and onions in a heavenly sauce. Now you know why 4 tortillas isn't enough to soak up all the goodness!

With a wide selection of drinks on their menu, including the cocktails and mocktails, this is their Straits of Melaka, RM 15 (consisting of coconut, pineapple and mango). I was told it was rather diluted.   

Their classic Margarita (RM 20) was underwhelming as well. And too little for me. LOL. 

This was a must-try for me - Churros (RM 18.50). It was not bad, though i wished it came in two sauces instead of only chocolate dip.

That Saturday night, they had a live band (more like duo) from 8.45pm. This female singer was surprisingly impressive with her great power and control, belting out song after song. 

Favourite song of the night had got to be the Birthday song for Dad. 

Too bad we had very few group photos of the night, as the one with everyone in it (including me!) was missing from our phones when we checked it later on. Sigh, we learn our lesson to always check back on the photos when getting help from strangers to snap for us. 

Happy Birthday dearest Daddy! 

Hope you had a swell time with all the senoritas that night!

Nom-nom place 💨Mamasita Mexican Restaurant

Waze me at 💨3 & 5, Jalan Hang Lekiu, 75200, Melaka (along a lane opposite Watson, Jonker St)

Call for reservations 💨+6017-442 4885 (highly encouraged to make advanced booking)

WATERMARK Makes Its Mark!

Going to this place, 'We Aim To Eat Ravenously Macam A Rich King'. Now that not only spells our first dining experience in Watermark but yes we were indeed chowing down on food fit for a King!

After a few failed attempts to dine here, we finally got to reserve a table for our weekday dinner.  

A cosy place with a feel of European bistro serving comfort food. 

I love how this place fully utilizes the indoor and outdoor (al fresco) area of this corner lot to maximize the seating arrangement, and apart from a small 6-seater private dining area, I personally think we've got the next best spot in the restaurant. 

A simple no fancy-schmancy-looking menu for each patron. A picture paints a thousand words (and lots of demands) when my kids are given a menu to order from. 

I started off with their Cream of Mushroom Soup (RM 12) and that little floating thing in the middle is called a 'Cheese Sushi' (coz it's shaped like a sushi perhaps?). This little bowl of foamy soup was rich yet light, pungent yet subtle. Not making sense here but hands down, one of the best mushroom soups i've had. My only wish was to be able to bite into tiny chopped-up mushrooms for flavour enhancement.  

What's soup without old-fashioned Garlic bread eh? Grilled to perfection - super crispy exterior with an omg soft buttery middle. Everyone should start grilling their garlic bread from now on, man! 

At RM 8 for just 5 pieces, it got all of us swooping down like a hawk on the last piece of bread.  

 

The chef decided not to make me my Smoked Salmon Benedict (RM 17), claiming that the eggs in their possession were not as fresh as they had intended for their eggs benedict, so we substituted that dish with their Grilled Focaccia with turkey ham, tomato and melted cheese (RM 12). I'm not a fan of turkey or ham nor both combined, but i still found this pleasantly crispy and cheesy. A nice touch of greenery (lettuce perhaps?) to this dish would have been lovelier. 😊 

Now comes the mains or 'comfort food' as listed in their menu. But frankly speaking, everything served so far has been very comforting to me. haha. 

This is Chicken Whole Leg Confit served with Potato Ratatouille and white pepper sauce (RM 18). Not sure if confit includes deep-frying but i wish they didn't cover the beautiful colors displayed on the plate by smothering more than half of this dish with the white sauce.

Another star of the night was their Salmon Fillet (RM 26), a beautifully-portioned crispy skinned salmon with moist flaky meat. YES they got the skin crisped to perfection but NOOO, why did they have to serve it skin down? I very pantang if my crispy skin is kissing something else and not facing up to the sky. Why hide the beauty of the golden skin, unless it's burnt or torn or not crisped-up properly.   

The accompanying crispy vegetable ravioli, mashed eggplant and meuniere sauce was a nice unique concoction compared to other salmon fillet's i've had. The meuniere sauce seems to be a mixture of butter, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and lemon and i love it's tanginess!

Watermark dropped the bomb again with their Cherry Tomato & Mussels Spaghetti (RM 19). I have nothing but 100% praises for this dish as bite after bite tickles all my senses. I love all the elements in it - from the bursting cherry tomatoes (i only like eating them this way!) to the fresh greens (menu says basil but i thought it tasted like baby spinach) to their tender baby mussels (deshelled, hallelujah!) to their superb garlic white wine and kombu stock reduction that made every spoonful taste like the ocean. In short, everything just shouts umami with this dish.     

So as not to take up too much stomach space, we ordered just one Pineapple Tea (RM 8). It is strong iced tea served with crushed pineapple, a refreshing and fruity punch for pineapple lovers.   

So here i thought i'd share their simple yet wholesome menu. There is definitely something for everyone. 

Here are their array of desserts that I never got to try as I'm not a cow with four stomachs. 

I can't wait to try their cakes one day, which i hope aren't too sweet, just as i find their dishes not too salty and perfect for my palate.  

Only their 'downstairs' area where we dined is air-conditioned. The ground level areas are 'opened' but definitely more happening as you can view the kitchen and behind-the-counter hustle and bustle. 

I would surely be back as there were just not enough mouths to feed the many other dishes I wanted to try. Plus I have the luxury of this joint being located less than 500m away from my residence.  😂

Hence please wait for the sequel of this posting where I hope to review their much-talked-about Lamb Shank (out of stock that day... sob)  

I would never have discovered Watermark nestled in this very quiet dead-end corner if i wasn't a Pokemon Go player wanting to bring down a gym nearby. LOL. 

If not for social media or word of mouth, one could also chance upon this restaurant while visiting the late P Ramlee's former house nearby (aka P Ramlee's Memorial House).    

'X' marks the spot

What can i say but Watermark has truly made a mark for itself. With their always-packed occupancy (especially on weekends and public holidays), advanced reservations are a MUST! Parking is not a problem. With just a little bit of walking, customers park their cars along the road of this residential area foc. 

Nom-nom place 💨 Watermark Restaurant

Waze me at        💨 No 22, Jalan Mawar, Taman P. Ramlee, 53000, Setapak

Call for reservations 💨 +6018-282 7225

Bon Appetit!

Baan PhadThai (for PhadThai lovers only)

The story goes that one day, i decided to check out the newly opened Baan Phadthai in Pavilion which is hyped to be the next new sensation in town, since its Bangkok outlet was awarded the coveted Bib Gourmand by Michelin back in 2018 (and has since received the award yearly up till 2022). ("Good to Know" : Bib Gourmands which translates to 'Gourmet Bibs' are awarded to restaurants that offer what Michelin deems to be of good quality and good value). SO let's see.... 

The interior decor is pretty simple and diners have the choice to dine inside or outside (if you do not mind passers-by stealing glances at your food) 

If you are familiar with Pavilion, this new eatery inhabits the location of the now defunct Gravy Baby and prior to that, Tom, Dick & Harry's. Yup, busy walkway right outside its entrance so I'd prefer dining indoors 😀 

Their menu is a simple straightforward two-pager which focuses on phadthai, phadthai and phadthai. Hence, the name of this restaurant. One would be in the wrong place if they are looking to enjoy a myriad of Thai cuisine consisting of tomyam, green curry chicken and Thai fried rice. 👀    

Being first-timers here, as the restaurant usher was explaining to us the recommended dishes, we were quite rudely interrupted by one of her female co-workers (probably her senior/ supervisor) who asked that she return to her role at the front of the restaurant. That was a sour start for us (even before ordering!). The lady then took over to impatiently and uninterestingly explain that they serve phadthai and that all the phadthai are the same, just the topping that makes a difference. Geeesh.. Anyway we scoured through the menu ourselves to finally make our choices.         

Quite a bummer that they were out of the Grilled Beef PhadThai and Tao Hoo Tawt (Deep fried tofu). 

One could choose to enjoy one's phadthai using their shimmery fork and spoon embellished with decorative Thai-inspired design;

...or one could prefer to eat it using a pair of plastic chopsticks inspired by one's neighbourhood char koay teow stall.  

Our drinks were served in a huge classic tin mug, Thai Tee (RM 9) was nice, strong and not overpoweringly sweet whilst my Ginger & Lemongrass Tea (RM 12) was refreshing but rather lacking in the lemongrass and the ginger department. It was a lot for me to finish by myself too.    

This is the PhadThai Kai Yang which is PhadThai with grilled chicken (RM 26), described in detail as stir-fried rice noodle with eggs, peanuts, bean sprouts & chives (raw), tofu, dried shrimp, tamarind sauce and chicken. Crushed dried chillies and peanuts are placed by the side of the dish for those who prefer more 'kick' in their noodles.

Non-spicy version (paler in color)

Spicy (original) version

This below is the PhadThai Poo which is fried with blue crab meat (RM 39). Their noodles texture is just nice and springy to taste, and when eaten together with the raw veggies, the flavours are a palatable blend and not too sweet for me. Quantity-wise, a good portion for a hungry adult. 

But can you tell there's crab meat in this dish?

For the price charged, the chef could have topped the dish with a small heap of crab meat to make the dish more appealing.  

Nice array of extra condiments (ground peanuts too!) for each table.

To replace the absence of their grilled beef, i opted for their Laab Nuea Tawt (Hot & Sour Beef Meatballs), RM 26 which turned out to be these tiny deep fried beef balls with a crunchy (almost hard) exterior and beefy, slightly sourish interior. These balls were sitting amongst a bed of cabbage slices and sticks of raw long beans and cucumber which luckily my daughter happily munched on.      

The finale was I-Tim Kati or Homemade coconut ice cream with Thai condiments (peanuts, condensed milk, sticky rice & fried dhal), RM 15. This was creamy and refreshing, rich with santan - probably my favourite overall. 

Again, this is just a personal take on my dining experience at Baan PhadThai after my curiosity was aroused upon reading the recent articles from food journals and guide on this place. 

Come here only if you are a phadthai fanatic or if you are someone who is as curious as me!  

Nom-nom place 💨Baan PhadThai

Waze me at 💨Level 3, Connection, Pavillion KL

Call for reservations 💨 010-308 0732 (it was just a walk-in for me at noon on a PH)