Cuisine: Singapore fusion
Address: 38 Prinsep St, Singapore 188665
Nearest MRT: Bencoolen (Downtown Line) / Bras Basah (Circle Line)

Mama Diam is a vintage speakeasy bar serving unique local favourites with a modern twist—guaranteed to bring you back to your childhood! Located at Prinsep Street, the new watering hole is aptly named Mama Diam (diam translates to “store” from dialect). We thought that as part of the act, the items in this shop which contains childhood memories, could be bought as a momento. Unfortunately, the items were for display only and we could pose inside the shop for a photo.

Brightly painted murals adorn the exterior of the bar. There are some tables outside, for people to drink outside. It feels like a coffee shop or a void deck gathering area with the vintage chess tables.

It was also interesting to see the orange coloured payphone which has disappeared from the local scene, after the proliferation of mobile phones. We were enticed by the wide variety of childhood snacks, from mama to muruku.

For aperitifs, I ordered the Pandan Sour ($16), which has Monkey Shoulder, pandan and citrus. The complex flavours consist of multiple layers and a tinge of coconut, but I found the drink to be average, it did not have much taste of the Monkey Shoulder as the base.

If cocktails aren’t your thing, breeze through the night with their local-inspired Shooters (S$10 per shot, S$48 for six shots) which comes in nostalgic flavours like Milo, Kaya Toast, Sourplum, and Paddle Pop.

This is one of the exclusive dishes at Mama Diam, which allows you to try different types of small bites. This is the 9 Bites of Wonder ($38) which comes with crab kueh pie tee (top most), drunken chicken roulade with marinated black fungus, oyster casino, stuffed seafood lychee, butter boxing chicken, seaweed corn ribs, chicken satay pithivier, truffle mushroom wonton in chilli oil and pork belly char siew tacos. We were impressed by the kueh pie tee, seafood lychee, butter chicken and pork belly. The other small bites tasted normal, or it felt that the taste was not up to our standard.

Our favourite plate is the Beef Striploin ($24), done medium. We were blown away by the succulent beef steak even though the plating looks quite normal. The roasted garden vegetables were coated in a layer of oil and it had crunchy texture.

The other main course that we ordered is the Duck Confit ($20). Normally I would associate this with French cuisine, but this duck leg had some herbs infused in the meat. We also liked the apple jam by the side, which provided a slight tart balance to the duck meat.

While we did not get to try many dishes as there was only the two of us, but with the 9 bites of wonder, it was like a tasting menu to try their signature dishes. If any of the small bites catches your attention, you could order more from the main menu.

The food met our expectations and we hope to be back again to try out the other dishes. As part of our childhood game, we were given a pinball machine where we had a chance to win some vouchers. After turning the knob, the ball was dispensed and we won a free dessert voucher for our subsequent visit! This novel idea of using the ball machine made the dining experience even more fun.

Opening hours: Monday to Saturday, 4pm to 10:30pm