- Zoé Lim
Wondermama, 1 Utama
After taking a tour around the world, Mama (of Wondermama) returns with a new menu inspired by all the international flavours while still retaining that familiar local taste. If you haven’t already been to Wondermama, now is a good time to go to try their new menu.
Located in the Old Wing of 1 Utama Shopping Centre, the restaurant has a cosy wooden interior with rattan furniture that will remind you of visits back to your kampung where you know some good home cooked food is waiting for you.
We were served a mix of dishes from the new menu to classic favourites from the old menu, starting with the Wonder Popchicks (RM16.90), a popcorn chicken available in four different flavours themed with a different country to each. Our favourite was the Totally Tom Yum that had a nice spicy sour kick on both the chicken and popcorn (best eaten together in one bite).
A sure highlight from the starters for us was the Hong Kong Murtabak (RM15.90), which combines the light crispy flavour of a fried hong kong chee cheong fun rice noodle, wrapped around a delicious murtabak filling. It’s served with two sambal options; an Indonesian style red sambal, and a salty yet fresh kerabu sambal. A must try!
Another new starter on the menu is Wondermama’s Soft Shell Crab Rice Paper Roll (RM21.90), inspired by Japanese flavours bundled into a familiar popiah roll. The crunchiness of the crab brings a perfect balance of sweet and saltiness to the dish.
For mains, we were treated to their Shanghai Tang Lala Soup (RM 18.90), Wonder Nasi Ayam Berempah (RM 27.90), Rockin’ Beef Pasta (RM 25.90), and Mee Siam, Me Love (RM 22.90).
The Lala soup brought us back home with its hearty old-styled Chinese flavours that leaves a tingle on your tongue for more. The portion was great for sharing as a side dish and had an abundance of fresh clams and black fungus to fill everyone’s bowl. We also liked the authentic Mee Siam with a modern twist of popcorn chicken pieces that got a stamp of approval from our Melaka born foodie. The noodles had a hint of sweetness that was well balanced out with the chicken and egg (also extra 10 points for the prawn being cooked perfectly!).
But the stars of the main course had to be the Wonder Nasi and the Rockin’ Beef Pasta.
Wonder Nasi’s portions are huge, and rightly so as its designed for those who want a little bit of all their favorite malaysian nasi dishes in one plate. We had ours with the Ayam Berempah that comes as a whole fried chicken thigh, cooked tender enough for the meat to just fall off the bone. If ayam is not for you, they also serve the Wonder Nasi with the option of Braised Beef Ribs (RM35.90) or Grilled Saba fish (RM29.90).
Each dish comes with fragrant rice, sweet Sambal Prawn, Kerabu Kacang Botol, a homemade spicy green Sambal and a deep flavoured red Sambal, Salted Egg, Laksa soup, and of course crispy Papadom. We recommend either ordering this if you haven’t eaten anything all day, or bringing a buddy to split this with.
The Rockin’ Beef Pasta was a lot in a spoonful. A good sized portion for one person, the al dente spaghetti noodles tossed with the sweet Chinese style braised beef flavours make for a perfect union of east and west. The multiple textures from the dish are pulled together by the spinach and mushrooms, giving it an all rounded taste sprinkled with the fresh crunch of bean sprouts.
Wondermama also has an array of desserts with local and fusion flavours, but we were stuffed from all the food, so we opted for a selection of drinks instead. These did not disappoint. We had three different Fruitilicious coolers; a spritzy and refreshing Lemongrass Gr-apple, a tangy Merry Berry that features cinnamon and (you guessed it) berries, and the Kiwi To My Heart which combines sour and salty in a glass of soda and mint.
From their smoothies and shakes corner, we were recommended the Mango Fiasco - a fruity lassi-like refreshing smoothie, and the Psycho Milo which can be considered a dessert in its own right, with chocolate on chocolate on chocolate - if drinking a cake were such a thing, this is probably what it would taste like.
We were also super pleased to find out that all of Wondermama’s drinks are served without plastic disposable straws! For those who prefer having a straw and are in need of one to carry with them, the restaurant sells metal straws (RM7), thick silicon boba straws (RM5), and cute striped plastic reusable straws (RM3).
The meal left us full, happy, and ready for a food-coma. We would highly recommend Wondermama’s for a casual gathering with friends and family, a perfect setting for sharing good stories and great food together!
Wondermama, 1 Utama (Pork Free)
Lot S131, Old Wing
1 Utama Shopping Centre,
Lebuh Bandar Utama,
47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Opening hours; 10am - 10pm