Phuket Town Mookata: “Jeh O Chula style” tom yum Mama noodles with customisable broth

I was scrolling social media, as one tends to do in the late hours of the night. One post caught my attention – it was showcasing a huge pot of tom yum Mama noodles in a creamy, fiery-looking broth, piled with a variety of ingredients and topped with raw egg. 

The caption described it as “better than Jeh O Chula?”, the famous Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant in Bangkok. Interest piqued, I Googled the location: Phuket Town Mookata, located in a quaint Ang Mo Kio neighbourhood.

On arrival at the stall, it appears that Phuket Town Mookata is a combination of two different brands: Patong Thai Kitchen, and Chula Yen Ta Fo. When I approached the counter to order the food, I was informed that I had to pay at separate counters – the tom yum noodles had to be ordered and paid for at the counter belonging to Chula Yen Ta Fo, and the side dish was at the counter under Patong Thai Kitchen. 

Somewhat confusing, but not a big deal.

What I tried at Phuket Town Mookata

My main purpose for coming was the Tomyam Mama Noodle (S$7.90 for 1 pax, S$14.90 for 2 pax). You can choose the serving size, and add on various ingredients as well. Since there were 2 of us, we got the 2 pax portion.

You’re also allowed to choose the spiciness level (ranging from less spicy to more spicy), and whether you want your soup more sweet or not. We went with the most “standard” option with default spiciness and a “sour/spicy” flavour profile.

For our side dish, we chose the Pandan Chicken (S$8 for 4 pieces) – we wanted to try the grilled squid, but were told it was no longer being offered. Sad faces all around.

Another quirk of the stalls – the Pandan Chicken would be served to us, but the Tomyam Mama Noodle had to be self-collected.

The Tomyam Mama Noodle was ready first, and it really looked and smelled great. The ingredients included cheese tofu, prawns, crabsticks, meatballs, sliced pork and pieces of squid. The staff instructed us to make sure we thoroughly stirred the egg yolks in as well, and that was exactly what we did.

Stirring the yolks through the broth, we noted that it was on the thicker side, and the fragrance of it made my mouth water. Pulling the noodles out of the pot revealed pieces of the aromatics and chilli speckling the strands, and the broth clung alluringly to it. 

We dug around to check out the ingredients inside the pot. There were at least 4 large prawns, which was quite generous. Unfortunately, I recognised them as being frozen prawns, and not fresh ones, which would have elevated the entire dish. Similarly, the squid slices were also frozen, and not fresh.

There were also meatballs, and they looked like the variety that had mushrooms studded inside. Pretty standard stuff. Same with the cheese tofu and crabsticks – while tasty, they were fairly normal ingredients that one could pick up at most supermarkets.

The pot also had a fairly generous amount of thinly-sliced pork. While not melt-in-your-mouth levels of tender, they weren’t tough or rubbery. Their meatiness also helped to round out a dish full of seafood items.

Serving myself a small portion, I noted that the egg yolks had imparted additional richness to the broth. It had that characteristic sour profile with a good kick of spiciness that was not overpowering, but enough to make me sweat a little. It was flavourful and very creamy, richer than what I was initially expecting.

The noodles also retained some bite despite soaking in the pot during my extended photography session, and were delicious to slurp down. 

Both my dining companion and I picked up a sweet note in the broth that came at the end of the sour and spicy combination. It confused my tastebuds slightly, and while not enough to put me off, did made me think about how much sweeter the “sweet” version of the Tomyam Mama Noodle would be.

The staff, who had by this point somehow recognised us, came over to ask for feedback. She also mentioned to us that since their tom yum broth is made on the spot when you order, you can request for some adjustments. For example, if you wanted the broth to be more sour and less sweet, you could ask for it and the staff will do their best to accommodate. 

We had gotten about halfway through the pot of Tomyam Mama Noodle before the Pandan Chicken was ready. Each of these wrapped parcels was shiny and glossy, and looked incredibly promising. 

The pandan leaves crunched satisfyingly as we tried to peel them off the chicken, with splinters flying all over the table. (Oops.) We were rewarded with a chunk of tender, well-seasoned chicken that pulled apart readily under our chopsticks. Unlike the Tomyam Mama Noodle, the Pandan Chicken isn’t made in-house and comes from a supplier, but it’s not bad at all.

Final thoughts

So, is the Tomyam Mama anything like the one from Jeh O Chula? Having never tried the rendition from Jeh O Chula, I’m not qualified to comment on that. But I did enjoy Phuket Town Mookata’s rendition of the dish – it’s a competent and satisfying take with a good number of ingredients and a tasty, creamy broth. I can just imagine how much more satisfying it would be as an accompaniment to a mookata platter.

Expected damage: S$7.90 – S$15 per pax

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