Disclaimer: I am not sponsored to write this blog post in any way. It is purely written based on my VERY own opinions. You may disagree with me, but to each his own.
For a long while now, my colleague and I have been hoping to visit "The Mama Shop" located at 195 Pearl's Hill Terrace. It was near our workplace anyway, so we thought it would be a pretty nice idea to drop by the place during our lunch hour. (And we finally made it there yesterday)
Yes, if you haven't known by now, it is the cafe set up by Mediacorp's artistes, Felicia Chin and Sora Ma.
We have seen many photographs of the cafe online, and boy, did it pique my interest!
I mean, it appeared to have a concept that was so TOTALLY my style. I LOVE everything retro, and the cafe was the definition of that.
I'm a person who digs oldies, so this is surely a must-go place for me. No doubt about it.
Unfortunately, we did not have a really positive first-time experience there.
Firstly, the location was a bit off and certainly not the most convenient location one can expect. In fact, both my colleague and I spent quite some time figuring the way to get to the location (There was not even a single obvious sign near the area). If it wasn't for the publicity through media coverage, I am pretty sure nobody would be aware there IS actually a business going on there.
In order to get to the location, we had to walk up a slope (or "hill", if you prefer to call it) that appeared isolated. It was a small one-way route that I would definitely not walk alone at night.
It did not help that the sun was scorching hot during the time we went - so hot that I believe a raw egg would turn cooked under the natural heat of the sun.
When we finally reached The Mama Shop, we were surprised how small it actually is in reality.
There were only 3 tables outside the cafe, and 2 extra ones directly under the sun without any shelter. (I assume that the 2 tables were meant for customers who patronize in the evening as there was definitely NO way any sane human is able to sit there for more than 5 seconds without being set on fire from the sun. Hell no, I am NOT exaggerating!)
So we managed to choose our table and sat down, with a cheery-looking guy serving us the menus.
I would say the customer service was good.
I've read that there was no physical menu before, but they do now.
The cafe serves light food that are suitable for small eaters like me (No, there isn't any rice, noodles)
There are burgers though, and I have to say that they aren't cheap.
I ordered a cup of regular-sized Red Bean Slush ($3.90 for the regular-sized cup and $4.90 for the bigger one)
It took quite awhile to arrive, but I have to say that the drink was quite good thirst quencher. Not to mention that red bean has always been my all-time favorite!
(Do note that it is on the sweet side, so if you are one who does not fancy a sweet drink.. It may not be ideal for you)
I had to drink it fast as it was melting at a fast pace!
Here were the 2 dishes that we tried:-
(Supposedly Cheese fries?)
Their cheese isn't your typical liquid kind of cheese, but more of the dried kind. I was not sure what other ingredients were in it, but they tasted a bit weird. Not the best fries I have eaten so far, but I can't verify that much since I seldom eat fries to begin with)
On the other hand, my colleague is a fries fanatic but she did not like this one either.
Here's the second one I chose - I forgot what it is exactly called, but they were seaweed chicken wrapped in waffles and sprinkled in taco sauce (the similar sauce from taco balls)
Strong taste, I'll say. I felt like I was eating taco balls! Haha.
Okay... ...The price isn't that bad - $4.90.
I've read from another customer's experience that she felt it was a "time-travel" experience being physically there as the set-up seems to lose touch with the current world of technology.
I was expecting the ambiance to be totally retro, so it was a little bit disappointing that I saw a Macbook and english pop songs being played in the background. *shrugs*
I do, however, like the items that are sold there (of course, the prices are marked up to quite a large extent) - with many childhood stuff spotted, such as those "water console" games, snake and ladder boardgames, childhood snacks, just to name a few.
Probably it was just a wrong timing to be there during lunch time that spoiled our mood, but I guess we will not be returning there anytime soon.
I would say the cafe is overrated to a certain extent (mainly because it's opened by Mediacorp artistes and have garnered hardcore support from their fans).
