Mama Yu

I have been trying to find an Indonesian restaurant in Houston for years, and tried Mama Yu’s for the first time today. The food was amazing, cooked by Mama Yu herself, and the staff, Papa Yu and Son Yu, were very friendly and helpful. We had the chicken and lamb sate, a noodle dish, and a fried rice dish. The sate was tender and flavorful. The chicken came with a wonderful peanut sauce that was just a touch sweet. The lamb had a very pleasant spice. We ordered the noodles spicy, which brought a good amount of heat, but still enjoyable. The only disappointment was the corn fritter, which was a bit too greasy. We will definitely be returning.

I really enjoyed the food here. We only ordered two things — the lamb fried rice and the beef rendang. The beef rendang’s flavor was on point and gave you that silent burn. Honestly I can’t tell if it was the rendang or the fried rice that gave the spice but it felt like I was doing yoga and I was almost at the point of breaking a sweat. Felt like nirvana as I mixed the rendang, and the fried rice and the sweet jalapeño sauce they provided together into a bite. Anyways I would definitely come back and try the other food. I got my eye on the oxtail soup and the fried chicken

This place has surprisingly good food both in the Indonesian category and the Chinese. The only bad part is they do not serve shrimp anymore! I know right??? That’s crazy. I miss the rice it was great with shrimp. The owner is extremely friendly but still had difficulty communicating, especially on the phone. It’s fast and reasonable, if they started serving shrimps again I would go back.

If you are craving for some Indonesian/​Malaysian authentic food, look no further. I love this restaurant and come here every week! Nasi goreng teri is a must try and combine it with the Ayam Goreng Half order

There are not many options for authentic Indonesian food in town and I’m glad to have found this place. Friendly owners and I wanted to try everything on the menu. Definitely worth the drive. The nasi goreng, Mie goreng and stuffed Tahu was delicious.

Excellent. The food tasted authentic and was absolutely delicious. I will be back again. Everyone was very friendly and the atmosphere was very welcoming. The owner made you feel like you were at home and that your business was very important to him. Overall, I was very impressed!

A very warm mom and pop place. Mama Yu s soto ayam is a very hearty brothy soup perfect for when its cold or one is under weather.
Mie Goreng Java has the perfect umami flavors. We also got the satay lamb which was juicy and tender. They say they can make the fried rice and noodles vegetarian too.
It’s a cash only place so make sure you carry cash on you. The prices are extremely reasonable and the portion sizes decent for sharing between two people.

Love this place! Definitely come to support a local small business, but come prepared with cash. If you’ve never had Indonesian food before, you are in for a real treat. Mama Yu is one of only two Indonesian restaurants in Houston, and is owned by a husband and wife who are super friendly, and happy to explain the menu if you’re new to Indonesian food. They have a good variety of food on their menu, covering the regional fare of both Sumatra and Java islands. My favorite is the beef rendang, a flavorful spiced beef stew cooked in coconut milk, served with rice and a side of curried vegetables (jackfruit, cabbage, and green beans), alongside a fried, hardboiled egg covered in spicy sambal. If I weren’t in the mood for beef, I’d definitely recommend either their mi goreng (Indonesian fried noodles), or their gado-​gado (Indonesian salad). Gado-​gado is typically an assortment of veggies, some of which are cooked, served with a spicy and savory peanut dressing.
The restaurant is very casual, and they offer dine-​in or take away options. Feel free to eat like the Indonesians do, with your hand! My family loves Mama Yu, and we will definitely be back.

The food was awesome! Had an authentic and unique taste to it, that differed from other asian tastes! The owner was nice and recognized that I was a first timer there. I had 2 different noodle dishes, a rice dish, and a chicken dish. I loved the food. The food is actually spicy when you ask for spicy! The only downside I had here, was that it’s CASH ONLY. They do not accept credit cards.

Great place to get your Indonesian on! Not to mention it was in my hometown part of Houston, in Alief!!! The guy there was very respectful and explained to my buddy and I what we were ordering. Let’s just I was most pleased and will be back

If you have never had Indonesia food before, try this place. Literally everything was wonderful, service very fast and kind.

I typically order take-​out but I’ve ate here once before. The area is kind of ghetto (sort of a hole-​in-​the-​wall kind of place), but that’s where all the good food are typically.
The owner is really nice and it does get quite busy here at times. You should probably come here for the food and not for the atmosphere/​location/​whatever.
If you’re craving Indonesian food, this will definitely satisfy your cravings. I absolutely adore their nasi goreng ayam (chicken fried rice) — I come back here every time for it and I haven’t found a better nasi goreng than anywhere else (even in Indonesia). Their sate padang (a type of dish involving meat skewers with spicy gelatinous sauce and lontong) is also yummy.
There are very few places in Houston that serve Indonesian food (I think there are only 3?) so I highly recommend this place for it’s quality taste. Definitely will always come back whenever I miss a taste of home!

This is an Indonesian restaurant if you don’t know. Not to be confused with Malaysian or Thai food. Some similarities in flavors but still unique. Asians don’t think you are going to get chinese cuisine here, but more similar in flavors to the southeast Asia countries.
Ate with friends and shared food. Good for family style and eating groups. Get to try many flavors. Table space space was little small. Would have been nice if tables was a circle with a lazy Susan. Very good hospitality. Register/​waiter/​cook was very nice and talked with us. Overall with the décor and spacing and service 3 out of a 5.
Food flavors were different. Instead of the red chili as I am accustomed as a chinese, the spice is replaced with the thai chili. I believe to be stronger and lasting on the lips. Lets start with food dishes.
1) fried chicken (half). Very crispy. Interesting seasoning. But the sauce that goes with is amazing. I could spoon it in my mouth with rice if need be. Sweet, spicy, and savory. Reminds me of the fermented seafood pastes of the southeast counties if Asia. Must get
2) noodles. It is an egg noodle. But has different flavors. The mie aceh had somewhat like chinese bbq flavor to it. Not quite as strong. Also had a fried onion flavor with it. Another noodle dish was very much the fried shallot flavor you get from chinese ramen packs. Unique and tasty
3) skewer meat. Had the lamb and chicken. Lamb had a teriyaki sauce with it, and chicken had traditional peanut sauce. Cooked well. Flavored well. Wish they had more lamb and chicken flavors.
4) fried tofu stuffed with vegetables. Tasty and good texture. They had a red chili sauce like chinese the chinese sambal sauce to go with. Good combo flavor.
5) friends had the combo platters. Had beef rendeng on it and another curry dish. They loved the rendeng but the curry left them wanting water.
Overall food was tasty and unique to chinese cuisine that I like. 4.5 out of 5
Pricing and portioning. These were not the usual family style plates that you can share with friends. More individual size plates to medium plates. So not a lot of food. But Sharing always helps. Price was okay for what it was. Be ready to spend 8 – 9 dollars a plate, except for appetizers which are 5 – 6 dollars. Give it a 3.5 out of 5.
Whole experience I would go back with friends. Do I crave it, no. But it is a good change up of the ordinary or routine restaurants you eat. Will go back but not frequent.

Delicious Chinese-​Indonesian fusion food! We grabbed take-​out there, and the mie goreng jawa (a noodle dish) and beef ribs (I forgot the name) were both delicious – the flavor and spice were wonderful.
The reason it doesn’t get 5 stars is that they messed up our order – they left out one other dish we ordered and put the wrong meat on the mie goreng jawa – it was a fairly long drive for us, and it was annoying find out not all of our food was there when we arrived home (especially considering that the beef ribs aren’t that big). Just make sure to check your order!

This place is one of those authentic hole in the wall restaurants. Haven’t seen many places that serve Indonesian food so that makes this place a little more special. However, I feel the food was overpriced, it was still yummy. However, this place didn’t seem like it got that much traffic. I’m not sure if I’d visit the place again.
I recommend trying the skewers, they were all good. My favorite was the Sate Padang. We also tried the Mi Goreng Jawa and Beef Rendang.

Great mom and pop hole in the wall. I was introduced to this place by my best friend who was born and raised in Indonesia. If she tells me there’s a decent Indonesian place, I’m going to take her word on it.
I let her do all the ordering so I can’t really list everything I had. However, I do know there was oxtail soup — which was yummy! There was also some sort of fried tofu. No complaints over all, only had to add salt to the curry noodles. Then it was perfect.

it was good– service was good– just don’t know if I am a fan of this style of food so it was– ok. Was able to get descriptions and suggestions. The gentleman there was helpful with all the customers who came in. Saw it when I drove by and just gave it a shot. Actually gonna up it to 4 stars — my dining partners dish was good too. Don’t know if I will be back in. But give it a shot.

I know its the same chef, the mom or female so its not a different cook.
Beef satay-​4/​5 for taste. ⁵⁄₅ for portion. Extremely tender n flavorful. Where it faltered was the sauce. Id enjoyed it better if it wasbt already slopped n smothered in it. The beef was outstanding without it.
Mi goreng jawa noodles-​3/​5 for taste. ²⁄₅ for portion. Not spicy. Mild even. Dined in this time and my god the portion was 75% of takeout order. The plate itself is a medium n it didnt even take up the whole plate.
Nasi padang ayam-​4/​5 for taste. ¹⁄₅ for portion. This dish, to me, seems like something u eat at home and not at a restaurant. Like tht kho with the Vietnamese. Unsatisfactory portion, beyond satisfactory in taste. 1 skinny drumstick and 1 chopped chunk of chicken thigh marinated in a thin n sparse curry sauce.
Chinese menu beef with garlic sauce n vegetables-​2/​5 for taste. ⁰⁄₅ for portion. While the quality of beef was good n the meat being tender but not chewy… this dish was sweet n not salty as i expected. The portion was ridiculous n unacceptable. U can fit the whole thing in a chen (hand held rice bowl). Smaller than a lunch size! If this happens again, im sending it back n boycotting them.
Overall, im displeased this time around. We were the only patrons the entire time. Im going in to a mom n pop shop over a chain restaurant, ordering 4 dishes for 2 people, dont cheap out n jip me. At about $ 8 per dish, id gladly shell out another $ 4 bucks if i could get a grown persons food serving.
Im hesitant to return n dine in.
Looking through the pics on Unilocal,ppl are also posting food size comparisons.

This place looks like a regular shopping strip Chinese restaurant but oh man is it a hole in the wall. They have both a Chinese menu and a Malaysian menu. I’d never tried Malaysian food so I opted to order that. The menu names were confusing but the menu behind the counter had pictures of everything with the names listed. I was so excited that it was also zabiha/​Halal that I wanted to order everything but settled for the Combination (shrimp, chicken, beef) Mie Goreng Jawa. It came out piping hot and man oh man was is delicious! The portion was enough and maybe enough to share if I wasn’t so hungry (and excited).
The taste was a combination of Chinese, Thai, and even a little Indian. It perfectly tied together the flavors of that region.
Great food and I will definitely be back and bring people with me!

I was excited to hear that there was another Indonesian restaurant in town. After all, Rice Bowl II was the only game in town when it came to Indonesian food, and it was kind of pricey. And far. So, I had high expectations about this place.
The restaurant is a bit small. A lot smaller compared to RBII. The food prices are pretty comparable to rice bowl. One thing that annoys me at RIce Bowl, also annoys me here. The dishes do NOT come with rice. You want rice? You have to pay $ 5 for a medium sized bowl of rice. And no, it does not come with free refill. You want more rice? You have to pay more. Seriously, WTF is up with Indonesian restaurants not giving away free rice? I know the price of rice has gone up, but $ 5 for a medium bowl of rice? Come on!!!
Anyway, I came with my sisters and we ordered the same kinds of food that we’d always order at RBII: Beef Rendang, Beef empal, gado-​gado, chicken satay, pempek Palembang, and some fried tofu and tempeh. And instead of paying $ 5 for rice, we opted to pay $ 7 for some chicken fried rice. But be warned, the portions here are true Indonesian portion (transalation: small.)
When the beef rendang came, I was a little bit disappointed. They looked like they were more «Padang» style beef rendang instead of just regular beef rendang that’s smothered with rendang sauce. The beef rendang at Mama Yu is the dry kind. It was not bad, but it wasn’t great either. Just average, in my opinion. I personally prefer RBII for the beef rendang.
The beef empal was bigger in size but was lacking in flavor. Again, not bad; but not great. The Gado-​gado wasn’t bad at all. I loved the peanut sauce dressing. However, I think that it would have been better if they had used kerupuk udang (fried shrimp crackers) instead of using emping (a type of Indonesia cracker) as topping. Oh well, I’ll deal. The chicken satay comes in a portion of only four skewers. Boo! The good thing is it came with some lontong (rice cake) but I’d rather have more satay vs. lontong.
Last but not least we have the pempek palembang and the fried tofu/​tempeh. The pempek is a little bit chewy. The vinegar sauce was pretty tasty. As for the fried tofu, it was pretty good. You dip that to some sweet soy sauce and you’re good to go. The tempeh, I thought was cut a little too thick. I like my tempeh thinly sliced and fried to a crisp vs. how they cut it.
All in all, this place will satisfy you if you have some Indonesian food craving. However, I personally prefer Rice Bowl II to Mama Yu. But again, I’m glad that Mama Yu is around for options.
And oh, yeah they have Chinese food if that’s what you want. No, I’ll never order Chinese food here so I won’t have anything to say about their Chinese dish. EVER.