Food Review: Godmama at Funan | Al Fresco Modern Peranakan Restaurant at City Hall

Posted on August 7, 2019 by theRantingPanda in Food

The Place Located at the revamped Funan mall near City Hall MRT, Godmama is a new casual Peranakan dining concept. The restaurant takes up a corner space on level 4 of the mall, with both indoor and al fresco dining seats. The name of the restaurant is inspired by the use of recipes from founder Christina Keilthy mother and godmother, which are heirloom recipes. In terms of setting, the restaurant is quite casual, and Peranakan food is vastly different from the other food options in Funan.

The Food I started with the All Star Egg Skin Popiah (S$6.50), created by Christina’s godmama’s traditional family recipe. The housemade egg skin here wraps other ingredients like crispy garlic bits, tiger prawns and stewed jicama. Overall, the flavour is relatively light for me and I recommend going along with some chilli.

Ngoh Hiang (S$11.90) is a dish found in almost every Peranakan restaurant. This version from Godmama is quite competent, as the flavours of the minced meat and prawns are robust here. Go along with the homemade sweet sauce and chili cuka.

This is one of the signatures of Head Chef Fredric Goh, the Babi Assam (S$18.90) which is pork belly basically simmered in tamarind stew. Expect nothing less of tender pork belly with a rich flavour, which goes well with rice.

One of my favourite Peranakan dishes is Ayam Buah Keluak (S$19.90), a dish which grew on me over the years as the taste is an acquired one. The chicken and stew are the highlights here for me instead of the black nut. The chicken meat is good and tender, with two generous portions of chicken thigh meat. Unfortunately, the Buah Keluak does not resonate with me, as I find that the black essence lacks a distinct flavour.

Other dishes which can’t go very wrong are the Sambal Udang (S$23.90), where you get fresh tiger prawns tossed in sambal sauce; as well as the Nyonya Chap Chye (S$13.90), where the mixed vegetable here is braised in prawn bisque. Ideally, it would have been better if the richness of the prawn bisque is stepped up further.

Desserts are surprisingly good at Godmama. I like the Ginger Flower and Lychee Sorbet (S$10.90), which is somewhat refreshing and acts like a palate cleanser after all the rich flavours of the savoury dishes. The sorbet here is also served with a bed of peanut crumble.

The Sticky Red Date Pudding (S$9.90) is chef’s take on traditional longan red date drink, quite interesting. The Rantee rated this amongst his favourite dessert this year.

I usually stay away from Pulut Hitam as I find it too heavy after a meal, but this Pulut Hitam Panna Cotta (S$8.90) has a relatively light taste, all thanks to the fresh coconut element and the silky and soft texture of the Panna Cotta.

Rants Al fresco dining in a mall? We still very much prefer if the whole restaurant is fully air-conditioned. Note that the indoor seating capacity is not that huge.

Will I Return Again? For Peranakan food, the prices at Godmama are relatively accessible. This is an option to consider if you are in Funan, and are looking for a restaurant other than the usual Chinese restaurants. Some hits and misses here, and hopefully tweaks can be made to the dishes to make them better.

This was an invited tasting, though all opinions expressed are our own.

Make your reservations instantly at Godmama here. Discount dining vouchers available here.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 3/5
Hole in the pocket: 3.5/5
Ambience: 3/5
Overall Experience: 3/5