Gu Ma Jia Food Pot Food Review

Today’s post is about a restaurant – Gu Ma Jia Food Pot, a Chinese restaurant that i recently got acquainted with and am going to share with all of you on all the food that i tried while i was there.

Gu Ma Jia Food Pot
45, Tai Thong Crescent,
Senett Estate, (S) 347866
Tel: 6285 2023
Opening hours: 11am – 10pm daily
(Closed for break from 3.30 – 5.30pm on Mon-Fri)

I was first invited for a media food review some months back, and subsequently went back as a full paying customer and both times, i enjoyed the food. The main draw of the restaurant is that it is mostly a humble, cosy, no-frills, restaurant that serves typical Chinese dishes home-cooked style, some of which does have a special recipe to them that makes the dishes totally interesting. I would recommend this as a place to dine with your family and friends. Depending on what you order, the pricing is mostly reasonable and affordable.

The name Gu Ma Jia (姑妈家) is originated from the owner, who is affectionally known as 姑妈 (‘Gu Ma’ – aunt in Chinese) by her large family of 6 siblings with numerous nephews and nieces. She is known to be a great cook and she started the restaurant with a vision to share delicious home-cooked food with her customers, and have them share joy and bond over the meal. 姑妈 also believes in serving the best ingredients selected daily from the wet market.

I am just going to share the list of the type of food that i had over both occasions, and you can decide what you really want to try should you visit one day.

If you like assam fish head curry, i recommend that you try this out. This is a hot favourite and must-try. The fish is picked freshly from the market daily and i find the fish succulent and juicy. The spicy and sour assam gravy is very yummy and one of the best that i have tried. This speaks a lot since i’m a die-hard ocean curry fish head fan. my mum totally agrees with me on this when we went back the 2nd round for this.

I am not a white pepper crab person and this will not something i would order if i were to dine myself. I had the chance to try this during the food review and am pleased to report that i didnt mind it a bit. The Sri Lanka crab flesh was fresh, sweet and succulent, and peels off from the shell easily in big chunks. The special bit about this dish is that it is made from a special Sarawak white pepper that 姑妈 brings in herself. Definitely worth the stomach space for pepper crab lovers.

My favourite type of crabs would be the buttered salted egg yolk crab. Anything with butter or salted egg is love! This is definitely not the healthiest of dish to choose but if you don’t mind indulging, this is finger-licking good. The saltiness of the butter and salted egg didn’t overwhelm the natural sweet taste and freshness of the crab and this is what i really like about it.

I’m a super veggie lover, the kind that can never swallow a meal without any vegetables in sight. I have eaten all sorts and types of vegetables and this totally threw me off my senses. This dish features the kai lan vegetables cooked in 2 styles – the stems are blanched and the leaves are deep fried crispy. Isnt that interesting? it’s delicious nonetheless. The crispy leaves does taste a little like seaweed and i think it’ll be popular with kids but it is a little too salty for my liking if i were to pop them into my kid’s mouth.

This dish reminds me a little of the confinement food that i eat but its nothing like it. The sesame oil is really fragrant, with the tender chicken kinda swimming in it. It feels totally like comfort food to me and i love this even though im not particularly fond of ginger. Great to have this on a cold day.

This “yao zam” (deep fried, served with soy sauce) soon hock is pretty much a winner. I know, deep fried fresh fish is totally not doing the fresh fish any justice, but believe me.. this is totally good and yummy. I had this with my family and they cleaned up the plate and not a single bone in sight thereafter. The fish is really fresh and good. The family love yao zam soon hock a lot and this is probably the umpteen time that we had it and this gets the thumbs up from everyone so if you like yao zam styled fish, get this! Warning, it’s not cheap though. Soon hock are expensive fishes.

This reminds me a little of the seafood that i usually eat alongside with stingray and cockles, you know, sambal sotong? This however, is a little sweet and sour in flavour, the sauce giving it a refreshing taste, especially with the lime that is served along with it. The squids are fresh and chewy, a sign that its not overly cooked (something that a lot of restaurants dont do well with squid dishes). i like it but i think i will try the sambal sotong that’s on the menu the next time. Somehow, the pairing of sambal and squid is kinda stuck with me. I love the spiciness that comes along with sambal sotong but if you aren’t a spicy lover, this dish is for you.

Non  brinjal lovers – this dish will throw you off and make you rethink about brinjals because it totally doesnt taste anything like it! Nothing of the soft, slimy, gooey texture that brinjal usually comes in. This is crisp and crunchy, tossed in marmite sauce and stirred fried with french beans and chilli. It’s a tad spicy, but a wonderful combination nonetheless. I had this twice and still loving it.

When this dish is served, my eyes had a real feast first. The entire aluminum foil is on fire! Evidence below! The pork ribs that are drenched in a sweet and tangy sauce are tender, juicy and delicious. I always had the impression that pork ribs are a little hard and difficult to chew but this is nothing like it. According to Gu Ma, aluminum foil helps to retain the juiciness and the natural flavors of the ribs and this is apparently, a hot favourite amongst Gu Ma Jia’s regulars.

The name says it all. Fresh scallops in XO sauce. The pump, fat scallops are big and fresh and the husband enjoyed this dish thoroughly. He’s a big fan of scallops. I find it interesting that the lotus provide an additional crunch to the dish and would gladly order this to enjoy with the husband the next time we dine there.

Eh. I love the assam sauce. Period. This is a good alternative to order if you love assam but not a big fan of fish head or don’t quite know how to eat fish head. I love the vegetables drenched in the assam sauce – mouthwatering and darn, i’m so craving for some right now and can feel my mouth salivating at the thought of it.

The oyster omelette is a pretty straightforward dish. How different can egg omelette get? This taste pretty much like the usual fuyong egg omelette, but topped with oysters. I ordered it simply because i love oysters and i find it ok. Nothing wow about it and i’ll probably give this a miss the next time round.

And, that’s pretty much all of what i ate! If you are still with me at this point, i still have interesting things to share!

If you are big on healthy stuff, the restaurant serves the BHP roasted buckwheat green tea that is supposedly very healthy. The husband loves this tea (he thinks it taste pretty special) so if you love buckwheat, do try this out! Gu Ma swears by the good properties of this drink and that it is very good for health! She even tried stopping me from ordering my favourite chinese tea!

Here’s a picture of Gu Ma & me! She can often be seen serving the tables in the restaurant and recommending the freshest foods for the day.

I also thought the lovely fruit platter on the menu is very interesting and can double up as a birthday cake or sort if you are holding some family birthday celebration there. Isn’t it cute? Reservation in advance is required though.

The better news yet? Gu Ma Jia has NO GST & NO SERVICE CHARGE! No wonder the restaurant is always packed during meal times. I totally recommend you guys making a reservation before popping by to ensure that there is a seat. The restaurant is actually 2 levels and can hold 55 pax on the first level and 70 pax on the second. The 2nd floor is only accessible by stairs, so if you have someone who has difficulty scaling those stairs, do remember to ask for first level seats.

And ermm, if you want to save data off your mobile plan, there is also FREE wifi in the restaurant. This didnt make any difference to me but i know of people who would appreciate free wifi! If you drive, the parking is going to be quite challenging should you reach after 7pm, and the lots along the road is mostly parallel lots (actually, i think all of them are!) so if you aren’t too familiar, go with someone who can park.

I also have some $10 dining vouchers (with min. $70 spending) that i can give away, so if you are keen, drop me a note or email me at cherieladie[@]msn[.]com (ignore the brackets) with your mailing address and i’ll mail one voucher over. No expiry date on them and while stocks last.

Ending this post with a couple selfie with der taken right after the food review session some months back. Simply because we hardly have the chance to take selfies, so let me flash it here!

Do let me know if this review is helpful and what you would like to know in future food reviews and i’ll try to incorporate them. Or, if you have any questions, i can try and answer or find out more. Alternatively, you can check out Gu Ma Jia Facebook.