Mama Love (Pork Noodles & Curry Mee) @ Cheras

I've been hearing how good the pork noodles at this place, Mama Love Restaurant @ Cheras, is.  Some would even go as far as to say it's the best pork noodles in KL.  Well, after hearing such comments, it was only a matter of time before I finally made my way here to give it a try.

The restaurant itself isn't very big but luckily there's a covered walkway beside their corner lot premises where the seating could house a lot more customers.

If you're a first-timer, it may be a bit intimidating as you don't know the system for queuing and ordering. Since most blogs didn't explain this or didn't explain it thoroughly enough, I will attempt to do so here, so that you wouldn't be as lost as I were in my maiden visit.

You must first take a number (that's impaled on a spike at the table of a lady taking orders) and wait for your number to be called.  You will then present yourself to her (when she calls your number) to make your orders.  You have to know what they sell as there will be no menu for you to refer to.  She will hand you back copies of the order chits (separate chits for noodles, drinks and tapau) and when your number is called (for the second time), you will be seated.  You return your number, pass the staff your order chit or chits and your food will arrive shortly.

While waiting for your food to arrive, you will see a staff going round the tables offering a plate of snacks made up of fried beancurd sheets or fish cake.  Take a plate of either or a combination of both @ RM5 (considered expensive for the measly portion) only if you need to keep your mouth occupied until the noodles arrive.  Otherwise, no big loss if you don't as the fried items aren't really crispy (since they have been pre-fried ahead) nor particularly tasty.

Of course we were here for what else but the pork noodles @ RM7 a bowl fully loaded with the usual porky ingredients of minced pork, lean pork slices, pork ball, liver and intestine.

Don't forget to ask for pork lards crisps if you enjoy eating them (like I do) as they're only served when you request for it at the table.  They're super fresh and super crispy! ^.^  But if you don't know it's available and don't ask...they don't give! ;P

In fact you can request for more (it's free) if you want more (and not 'shy' to ask for more).  I saw two customers helping themselves to more...by handling the refill themselves! :D  But they run out pretty fast...I was there on another Sunday and they said they were all out....and it was barely 11am! >.<

I have to say that their minced pork patties are huge...and lots of it too though they can be a bit fatty at times plus they felt like they weren't seasoned at all.

The lean pork slices were also cooked just as they were...without anything being done to it...not mixed with a cornflour slurry that would have made them just a tad more smooth and tender to the bite.

I initially thought there weren't any pork intestines until I found them 'buried' at the bottom of the bowl. Don't expect the pork liver to be barely cooked (and slightly bloody) as they were well cooked through.  I think this is because the porky ingredients were probably cooked in large batches (and not individually per bowl basis) seeing just how fast the noodles are churned out for the vast crowd.

The clear (not cloudy) pork broth was good with a savoury and slightly sweet flavour. ^.^  The clear broth was probably due to the fact that the lean pork slices were not coated in a cornflour slurry which would have made the broth cloudy.  There's also no vegetables except for some chopped spring onions.  I actually prefer this as I feel vegetables can sometimes change the taste profile of the soup.

You have the option of dry noodles (like what my family likes) if you're not into the soup version.  The sauce, with a hint of lard oil, for the dry noodles was satisfactory too (but the soup version is better). Caution!!  Big portion!  Stick to yee mee (where the size of the noodle is already predetermined), otherwise small-eaters may not even be able to finish a small bowl as the portion for small here is even bigger than big at some places.

My spouse was taken aback by the very generous amounts of minced pork in his bowl (he always ask for only minced pork as he likes it that way).  Just look at the abundant minced pork patties...I can already see more than 10 pieces floating on top of the bowl.

Both the Kopi-O-Ping & Kopi-Ping @ RM2.50 here are also of a more than adequate standard.

Curry mee is also offered here (I realised that only after I saw it on someone else's table) but I hardly saw anyone order curry mee.  I guess not many dare to order curry mee since their speciality is pork noodles.  So, I guess I'll volunteer as a guinea pig to give you guys a review (since I can't find a proper review of it online either) if the curry mee here is worth your while.

The Curry Mee @ RM7.50 was just as gigantic as the bowl of pork noodles, filled to the brim with 3 pieces of tender chicken (curry chicken style, not poached chicken), crispy fried beancurd sheets, taufu pok slices, long beans and potatoes but no cockles (I'm not sure if, by default, there aren't any or you have to make a special request for it).  There was also no separate sambal given to tweak the spiciness level.

Fans of potatoes in a curry will be happy.  I was surprised myself to find potatoes included...an ingredient not usually found in curry mee.  Those who like their food in generous portions, this bowl has it.  The way the beancurd sheets, beancurd puffs and potatoes are cut, they're meant for giants....everything comes in large size here! O_o

When the bowl of curry mee arrived, I was already sold by the first impression.  The curry broth had an admirable savoury taste with a hint of sweetness from the potatoes.  Even though the taste of santan could be a little stronger, the broth which was of medium thickness was still creamy enough as a result of the potatoes in the curry.   Who would have thought we could find a rather respectable bowl of curry mee in a shop famous for their pork noodles.

My Personal Opinion

The pork noodles here are undeniably good but even more so, it's fantastic value as the porky ingredients are really generous.  It clearly deserves a place in my top ten list of best pork noodles for the quantity of liew you get for RM7.

Maybe not among my very top favourites as I felt the bowl of noodles was not individually prepared and some of the porky ingredients could have been cooked in advance as they seemed to be well cooked through.  Then again, I shouldn't expect the noodles to be cooked bowl by bowl seeing it'd be impossible to manage with the sheer crowd that they have.  The surprise for me was that I would find a very decent bowl of curry mee at the same place.

Don't be discouraged by the crowd or long queue at peak times as the wait is totally tolerable (it won't take very long as the numbers move very fast).  I've been back for the pork noodles...and I know I'll be back for the curry mee too! ^o^

Mama Love Restaurant
No 17-1 Jalan Tun Perak 2
Taman Tun Perak
43200 Cheras
Selangor
Tel: 03-8958 7571