My Mum’s Place

Address 328, Joo Chiat Rd, 01-03

Opening Hours 5.30pm-10.30pm (Mon to Fri) 12.300pm-2.30pm/ 5.30pm-10.30pm (Sat and Sun)

Telephone 63443343

Here’s yet another eatery banking on the sentiments of the endearing term “Mummy” in their brand. And if you, unfortunately, have been traumatized by your mummy’s cooking all your life, then this story can be a major psychological barrier to you.

Sorry Lah!

You’re gonna read about a super cook mummy whose kids who walked away from their successful careers just to share mummy’s passion and indulge her in the kitchen, where the action is.

So here’s Sharon Lee, a Shenton Way finance industry whiz who gave it all up because “why give a dedicated 15hr day to a unappreciative boss who can decimate you anytime he feels when you can do it for your family and see instant results.” And younger brother Mosses, who used to sell Harley Davidson bikes and cooked finger food part time at a pub “just so I can potter around in a kitchen and recreate the makan I encountered in my road trips to Malaysia and Thailand,” adding ‘ I’m just a biker who loves to eat!”

“I am very fortunate to have my kids helping me out” reflects matriarch Ms Shirley Cheong, who looks younger than the 57 years of age she claim she is. This single mummy was selling advertising space with the then Times Publishing for almost two decades before she realized that age will supercede experience in tomorrow’s world. So, bravely she stepped into the frantic street cze cha (street restaurant that serves anything they like) business world at Maxwell Rd Hawker Centre in 1997 “ with no idea how these things work”.

They struggled and realised that folks head there only for the very famous stalls and the scraps for them were meager. “They all wanted cheap and good, so rice and noodle tummy filler dish was all they could afford generally”, recalled Shirley. Her signature family favourites like Prawn Paste Chicken, special fried meat balls and even her oxtail stew were given a wide berth by budget conscious customers there. With those valuable lessons, they packed and headed for Joo Chiat Rd early last year. Energised, slightly bruised, smarter but still very eager.

Joo Chiat Road? Family makan? Hello!

But they benefited from the residents campaign to clean up the sleaze associated the area. “Before, we used to get customers from everywhere else in Singapore and even China, but now that the place is seemingly cleaner, the residents are slowly re-surfacing again.”, adds Shirley, as she apologetically popped away during our interview, to serve this family four that just breezed into her no frills air-con and fan cooled 30-seater eatery.

It was obvious what they came for.

Within minutes, out of the kitchen came their signature, the Taupok Seafood Ball, a featherlight crispy taupok stuffed with prawns, mashed tofu, chopped scallions, coriander and quick fried in very high heat. It was better than what I had at Pondok Laguna in Jakarta (safe for the sambal). Gorgeous.

Next, the all too popular but done-very-well-here Sum Lo Hor Fun (three mixes rice noodle) and Prawn Paste Chicken. The noodles as always, look bland as it had white hor fun sheets, white slices of fish and squiggly white strands of towgay. But the taste was anything but. And the chicken…you just knew it was how mummy would do it, clean an lightly crispy and tasty batter with a healthy (almost excessive) dose of prawn paste in the marinate. It ranked way up there with the best I’ve had.

Then came this peasant style Cantonese dish, Steamed Chicken slices with Salted Fish. It is one of those one-perfect-dish-meals with rice most mummies would whip up at home. It was not overly salty and was soulful alone on that bed of fluffy rice. Except we had another five dishes to accompany it! Their Fried Meat Ball was juicy inside with minced meat, vegetables and chunky pieces of sweet water chestnut and how can I miss their Claypot Lor Hon Chai (vegetarian pot) that was nicely braised with nam yue (red fermented tofu). I can just have this with rice, but I won’t, as they saved the best for last..

Out came this pathetic looking plastic cup of yellow paste they claim is Durian Brulee, created by Mosses who has to “call the regulars when I get a good supply of bitter durian to whip it with”. Those are his dessert fanatics but on most days he whips it with that sweet creamy and pungent fruit with coconut milk. No hint of gula melaka to steal the fragrance away. A heaven approved sin!

A perfect but rude (smell) finale. But hey, it’s mum’s cooking, its about love, not smell!