Fancy some hot sambal belacan while shopping for a new dining table? Mum's Place offers browsing and dining in equal measure

Furniture shop? Restaurant? Furniture for sale? Cafe? These are the usual questions first timers have when they enter this place. But unmistakeably during dinner time, it is a restaurant and a busy buzzing one at that. The crowds that flock in are usually in search of good food, similar to what Mum used to make.

With a mixed fare of Malaysian, Nyonya and Portuguese dishes, the mere flicker of images in the menu can easily trigger your drool reflex. A well known favourite that everyone must have a go at is their Black Pepper Terung (Aubergines). These morsels are meticulously seared with black pepper, yet it is still very moist and succulent with every bite. The sweetness of the well cooked flesh of the terung is enhanced by the subtle deep spiciness of the grounded black pepper. Absolutely fabulous! Or it can just be the fact that aubergines are a favourite of mine. What comes next can definitely settle your sniffles in a licking. At first, the Deep Fried Cencaru (Torpedo Scad) with Chilli Padi (birds-eye chilli) Paste & Petai doesn't really look like it offers much. And here we are reminded of the phrase 'don't judge a book by it's cover' for it certainly blew our minds!

"The cencaru is perfectly fried and really crispy outside"

The cencaru is perfectly fried really crispy outside and as you peel off the skin the fragrant aroma of marinated fish catches you off guard. This matched with the chilli paste and petai, will make one think a stomachache is inevitable. But, thank god nobody ended up on the throne. The chilli padi paste was nevertheless tasty, but as it was introduced to us as just chilli paste the pang of the intense heat took us by surprise. All of the sudden, I felt as though I was in a sauna. Although the severity of heat was surprising the all rounded effect with the fish, paste and petai was incredible. The petai was a good touch to that ensemble since they used bigger sized pods. Hence the smell was less intense making diners like me (who don't often go for the stinky beans) able to dine on the pods.

When dining on such spicy fare, green veggies are a must to soak up all that tongue-heat. Order up a plate of Sayur Keledek (Sweet Potato Leaves) with Lime, Garlic and Chillies. The sweet tender leaves are stir-fried with a light lime tinge, wafting fragrances of garlic and a small touch of heat from red chillies. This unassuming dish is a wonder on a plate. This dish was actually introduced to me by my mother, who said that this was a dish locals used to eat during hard times. And since the taste is simply delicious you can still find it today. The number of places serving this have dwindled though as there are many in times of plenty will rather go for other vegetables.

We were still sucking our cheeks in from the spiciness of the dishes. Another great heat balancer is the Steamed Tauhu (Bean curd) with Minced Chicken Gravy. The tauhu wiggling in the deep caramel gravy was an answer to our burning tongues. Miraculously, the tauhu was an absolute Yang, to the Yins before it. The hot piping tauhu gave us a boost to tread on and finish our meals with relish. This little dish actually had a generous amount of minced chicken in their gravy with every ladleful of tauhu we took. The gravy was well made, thick and sumptuous.

This is a note to those who wish to have more gravy with their spread. You can always order up a serving of Kuah Assam (Assam Gravy) minus the fish. But they put in a load of lady's fingers (Okra) to compensate for this. Here I have to say though that I've had better ones.

For the grand finale they have a little dish that is special to them as it is to us. Pulut Tekan (Glutinous rice) with Warm Kaya jam. So exquisitely simple, this one is made similar to the ones usually served in Peranakan households. As the blue colour before is extracted from the Bunga Telang (Butterfly Pea Flower), this is a rare dish to find in a restaurant as making it is a hard and laborious process to form the numerous hued petals. However, since there are modern food colourings today, there has been a revival of this very satisfying kueh. The warm kaya with warm pulut is just so delicious that words can't really describe the feeling you get when you indulge in it.

This is a definite place to bring your family for a lavish feast where everyone can get their favourite pick. With a warm and cosy setting this is a good place to bring your friends, family and even clientèle. Certainly this is good food that makes you feel all snug, just like sitting in your own kitchen albeit surrounded with lots of teak furniture.


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