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Friday 13 March 2015

Wondermama X @ Avenue K

Wondermama X @ Avenue K, which has been opened for less than a year, is a smaller branch of the one they have in Bangsar (their flagship outlet).  Enroute to our seats, I did notice a stretch of 'old school' stained window shutters that encased the kitchen...that I thought was pretty neat.
 
We were ushered to our seats which happened to be the last seat (towards the bar).  It was part sofa and part chair and the cushions smelled like they were overdue for laundry service.  It was also rather warm since it was situated just next to the entrance of the mall (near the entrance to The Library Coffee Bar).  I did make a comment (of hoping for some other type of seats) to the lady serving us but she didn't heed my request (or pretended not to hear)...ah well, not off to a great start, is it?
 
My order was the Nasi Lemak S @ RM22.90 with deep fried salmon cubes served with a prawn and "petai" (stink beans) sambal plus condiments of a hard-boiled egg, "ikan bilis" (fried anchovies), "kacang" (nuts), fried papadum and fried "kangkung" (water convolvulus or water spinach).  [#Note: The menu revealed quite a few different nasi lemak on offer such as Nasi Lemak 2.0 (with Japanese style fried chicken), Nasi Lemak 2.0 S (with deep fried soft shell crab), Nasi Lemak 3.0 (with deep fried mackerel fish) and Nasi Lemak 4.0 (with chicken rendang.)]
 
The rice was fragrant with a good dose of "santan" (coconut milk) aroma and taste.  The condiments of a hard-boiled egg, crispy papadums, ikan bilis and kacang and stir fried kangkung were as it should be and necessary for a 'complete' plate of nasi lemak.
 
The prawn and petai sambal was a bit of a letdown though as the prawns were really teensy-weensy (the kind I usually see used in hawker stall fried rice).  I would have preferred if they had used better-sized prawns and gave us just 3 or 4 of it, I'd be happy.  The sambal was alright (not among the best I've eaten).  I left the petai alone coz I don't eat petai....they're called stinky beans for a reason, you know :(

The 'hero' of the dish was definitely the fried salmon cubes which came freshly fried.  I was expecting the salmon to be dry but (to my astonishment) it was incredibly soft with a crisp on the outside.  This is not some poor quality salmon and it came lightly tossed in some tangy sauce which added a zing and heightened my enjoyment of it.  It was my favourite part of the whole dish!
 
Next, we had the Mama Kampong Style Fried Rice @ RM15.90 fried with chicken, ikan bilis, long beans, egg and served with beef bacon, shredded lettuce and cucumber.  The rice had a bit of "wok hei" (breath of the wok) and was rather flavourful.  [#Note: They also have a variety of other fried rice on their menu like Garlic Fried Rice, Salted Egg Fried Rice, Seafood Tomyam Fried Rice (with prawns, squid and scallop) and Black Spider Fried Rice (with soft shell crab, black ebiko and black pepper).]
 
We topped it up with an additional Soft Shell Crab @ RM12.  The soft shell crab was quite a huge pc, fresh and crispy as it should be, also lightly dressed in a tangy sauce.
 
I had initially wanted to order some fried squid (as a snack) for sharing and was glad I didn't coz the portions of those 2 rice dishes were quite substantial.  [#Tip: If you're a small eater, that one rice dish is sufficient for 2 people, I reckon.  I had a bit of trouble finishing it partly because of my drink too.]
 
You see, I had the Special Cham with Kopi Jelly @ RM8.50 which came in this 'big ass' metal mug (I love these 'olden day' mugs by the way) which I think 2 people can easily share as I couldn't finish it on my own.  "Cham" is a mixture of coffee and tea which we locals like to drink...and this drink was not sweet at all, in fact, it was very "kao" (thick)!
 
It came with cubes of "kopi" (coffee) jelly in it.  I ordered it coz I was intrigued by the combination and wondered what the jelly would taste like in the coffee.  I wished I hadn't....the combo tasted weird (to me) coz we're so used to jelly tasting sweet.  But this coffee jelly was bitter...as it should be coz it's made from black coffee (after all).  I think it would have benefitted from a little sugar in the jelly to sweeten it, although it wouldn't have made a difference as the combo of coffee and jelly is not the desired combo for me :'(
 
My Personal Opinion
 
If you're into simple comfort food with sizeable portions, this place serves crowd-pleasing carbs at wallet-pleasing prices (but not quite kopitiam or mamak-friendly prices, of course).

For me, the food was satisfactory yet simple street-styled food made more "atas" (high class) by ingredients like salmon and soft shell crab.....but I wasn't loving the ambience (as much) though!
 
Wondermama X
G-8C Ground Floor Avenue K
156 Jalan Ampang
50450 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2161 2589
 

14 comments:

  1. The nasi lemak sure looks good. Expensive but worth it - so many things in that platter. The prawn and petai sambal...I think mine looked a lot nicer, maybe tasted nicer too. Fried rice looks great too - dunno the taste...but with the soft shell crab, should be o.k.

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    1. Yeah, I think your sambal petai would probably taste much better with bigger-sized prawns....hee...hee!

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  2. Very fancy nasi lemak and fried rice. I think I will like this.

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    1. I think even you would be pleased with the portion size of that nasi lemak ;)

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  3. LOL! 2.0, 2.0 S... selling iPhones, why don't they? XD

    I'm intrigued that they use kopi jelly, never seen it before, but I agree with your observation that it's probably not such a genius idea. I thought people add kopi ice cubes nowadays to maintain the flavor when the ice cubes melt.

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    1. It's just another ingenious way of serving coffee, I guess...like coffee cubes, coffee pills! Just that this combo wasn't as successful. I think they got the idea for the names from the movie, Nasi Lemak 2.0....LOL! ;D

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  4. I think I have seen Wondermama in publika and citta mall before though I am not so sure now and am too lazy to google for more info. I thought they serve cafe type of food, not expecting expensive nasi lemak in their menu.

    You must have a sharp nose. So not pleasant when the cushions smelled like they were overdue for laundry service.

    So sayang no one in your group eats petai. I love to eat them so you can give them to me next time, ok?

    Since you are not used to eating bitter jelly then I think you do not eat those kuai lin kou (black turtle jelly) which is bitter or else you pour honey all over the kuai lin kou to eat to make it sweet.

    My spouse likes to drink kau kau kau cham and so I am now very interested to introduce this cham ping with kopi jelly to him. Maybe we will go there one day to try this salmon nasi lemak as I like to eat salmon and we can share one nasi lemak and one cham ping kopi jelly. I hope the Wondermama X staff won't kick us out for taking up 2 seats but eating one set of meal only, hehehe.

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    1. You can have all the petai, my dear. And you're right....I don't eat kuai lin kou at all!

      If your spouse likes really "kao" coffee, he'll probably like this. It was so "kao" to the point of really bitter, especially with the bitter coffee jelly. Since you're such a small eater, one nasi lemak and a drink is more than sufficient for the two of you...and there's no reason (for any restaurant) to kick someone out...even if they order just one drink (as long as you did order something).

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  5. yay for succulent salmon! i always do a mini-celebration in my mind too when i slice into a piece of salmon and find it beautifully prepared :D

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    1. This wasn't a case of slicing into a pc of salmon fillet...it was already cubed and fried, so I was doubly surprised that it remained tender and moist :)

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  6. now craving for nasi lemak pulak me. Saw this in Bangsar village but that time we didnt drop by

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    1. Not to worry, you can get your craving anywhere.

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  7. I've never been inside but have always wondered what the food is like. Thanks for the look in.

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    1. If you like simple comfort food, especially rice, this place has lots of it ;-)

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