Brunch at Godmama Funan - Modern Peranakan Restaurant

Godmama Funan Peranakan Restaurant was one of the restaurants that looked interesting to us when the new Funan Mall opened earlier this month. According to the website, the owner started the restaurant to celebrate and to preserve the legacy and recipes of her Godma and Mother. The name of the restaurant was inspired by their names – “Godma” and “Mama”. We had brunch at Godmama Funan recently.

Godmama Funan Peranakan Restaurant Entrance

Brunch at Godmama Funan Peranakan Restaurant

Godmama describes themselves as a “modern Peranakan restaurant”. This is consistent with the contemporary decor of the new restaurant at the Funan Mall. The dining area is split between an air-conditioned area and an outdoor area. The indoor area is obviously the more popular area in tropical Singapore. We were offered a table in the outdoor zone which did not seem so bad at first as it was partly shaded and there were fans. After a while, it became apparent that it was not the heat that really bothered us but the piercing glare of the bright sky. We would avoid the outdoor area on future visits except in the evenings when it could be quite nice.

The Godmama Funan Menu

Here are pictures of the brunch and lunch menu at Godmama Funan Mall. The choices are quite limited. We were handed a weekend menu when we were seated. It contains some main dishes and snacks like chicken wings and ngoh hiang. We noticed that many of the main courses seem like fusion dishes eg Buah Keluak Bolognese Pasta and Banana Pengat Buttermilk Pancakes. We decided on the Babi Assam Baked Eggs ($17.90) and Ayam Buah Keluak Ricebowl ($16.90).

The Food

The Ayam Buah Keluak Ricebowl (picture above) looked like the typical grain bowl that is popular these days. Ayam buah keluak is a traditional Peranakan dish that we usually like to order at Nyonya restaurants. At Godmama we were curious to see the modern interpretation of this dish. We were somewhat disappointed as the buah keluak flavour was hardly perceptible. It was quite an average bowl of braised chicken served on rice with a soft egg.

The Babi Assam Baked Eggs looked like a typical baked eggs or shushuka dish that is served for brunch at regular cafes. Indeed we thought that this dish was not much different. Like the buah keluak ricebowl, there was nothing wrong with the dish, just that the “Peranakan-ness” seemed missing to us. Perhaps our tastebuds were not sensitive enough.