Ma Maison Restaurant (The Central)

Went there with a friend after reading all the raving reviews about Ma Maison. And I'll definitely be coming back here again!

When my friend and I reached the place, we told the waiter that we had a reservation and we were promptly shown to our seats after he verified my name. I think it was just me, but I personally found said waiter's attitude a little condescending, never once showing a smile or displaying a warm welcome to us.

I have never been to Ma Maison before, but I have done my extensive research and many reviews have commented on its exquisite ambience and it definitely lived up to my expectations. It was as if I was transformed into another dimension and no longer in the cosmopolitan country that is Singapore. And I loved every single bit of it.

Once we were showed to our table, we noticed the HUGE SPREAD of menus / sets / promotions laid out in laminated sheets in front of us. I understand that these were to supplement the staple menu, and quite a couple of Japanese restaurants do this (e.g. Tampopo), but I personally found it confusing and off-putting. Having said that, I roughly went there with an idea in mind what to order, so that wasn't toooo much of an issue for me.

I ordered the Squid Ink Pasta (Cuttlefish Ink Spaghetti) while my friend chose the Hamburger Steak.

What pleased me tremendously was when we were choosing deserts, the waitress (who was warm, friendly and helpful, much unlike her aforementioned colleague) actually brought the day's selection of tarts on a plate and to our table, for us to choose what we wanted. I personally found that to be a good marketing technique as well, since I originally wasn't planning on ordering a tart, but upon seeing the glistening strawberries perched on top of the tantalising tart, I caved and immediately changed my mind.

The food came pretty timely--we did have to wait, but not long enough to make us wonder what happened to our orders.

My Squid Ink Pasta was what the reviews had mentioned--extremely delicious and flavourful although (upon closer inspection) it consisted of mainly noodles and hardly any mushrooms or cuttlefish. But it was definitely not plain, and before I knew it I finished all of it!

I personally did not like my friend's hamburger steak--it tasted like the kind of beef patties (minced beef with onions) that I had made during my Home Economics lessons back in secondary school. The colour wasn't extremely appetizing either, it was extremely pale for a beef patty. But since my friend didn't complain too much, maybe it was just my personal opinion.

Now, on to the desserts! My Strawberry Tart was extremely delicious and I liked it a lot! The strawberries on top were very decent; big, juicy and rather sweet, cushioned by a thin layer of rich cream and finished with with a delicious tart base. The tart base is not the conventional hard bases, but of a slightly spongier / cake-like (just slightly) texture, it was delicious all the same, if not more. My friend commented that it was a yummy tart because they didn't skimp on the ingredients (unlike that horrible Fruit Paradise, where 50% of the "tart" is made of cream), with fruits taking up majority of the tart.

My friend ordered the Custard Pudding and she was delighted to find it served in a Chinese teacup. It was exquisite but disappointingly small in my opinion. Also, I fail to see how this Chinese theme ties in with the cuisine of the restaurant (Japanese French food) or the custard pudding for that matter. Perhaps a more French-inspired bowl of some sorts will be more appropriate?

All in all, I will definitely recommend this place to my friends and maybe try the escargots next time.

Went there on a Monday night with my friend, didn't go for the Bugis branch as my friends likes Clarke Quay. Sadly on a monday night when most restaurant should have their stock replenished, 3 types of beer were out of stock and left with 2 types of tarts.

Seafood paella - Even though they finished their serving, was said that the seafood was dry and not enough butter for their rice

Omu rice - I had the vegetarian version...this time...it was a little bit too salty...

fried rice...salty...ketchup...salty...egg is kinda dry as compare to the one I had before...

 

Only thing left unchanged was the nice cozy environment with soft music =)

 

While I was at Ma Maison Bugis Junction the previous week, the Japanese manager passed me 2 coupons to use at The Central because of their branch anniversary (15% for 1st visit, 20% for 2nd visit & 25% for 3rd visit)

Was feeling frustrated at work so pulled my friend to enjoy some "comfort food". It was a last minute thing. Friend casually mentioned about the coupon ('cause I passed one to her that day) and before we knew it, we were at The Central!

We were surprised to learn that the place is really small compared to Bugis Junction. Think there are only 11-12 tables and about 5 counter seats. It was a Wednesday night but the place was full. There was no queue but we waited for another 15 minutes for other diners to leave. Guess they were severely understaffed because there were only 2 people serving.

Our orders:

1) Caesar Salad

Having missed this previously at Bugis, I was determined to order it. It tasted the same as a normal caesar salad would taste, heh.

2) Beef Stroganoff

The butter rice was fantastic! The beef was quite forgettable. Served with button mushrooms, IIRC.

3) Tonkatsu set

This was my friend's order. Did not try the tonkatsu but I was offered the miso soup. Glad to know that konjac was added in, together with radish, carrots and slices of meat (I dunno if it's pork 'cause I didn't eat it). Where in Singapore would you find konjac in miso soup... Great effort!

4) Caramel Pudding

It was OOS at Bugis so I finally had a taste of it. Super delicious! Soft and almost melt in your mouth. Yummy!

Even though there were only 2 service staff, empty plates were cleared promptly and our glasses of water were filled up quickly. Upon payment, I asked the manager if they can give me a plastic bag for my wet umbrella because it was raining from where I came from. He gladly found one for me. Thumbs up for great service.

Was there yesterday during lunch. The set lunches we ordered were pretty yummy, but I thought the selection was rather limited. Not sure if ala carte items are available during lunchtime, 'cos we didn't see any other menus. The servings may look small, but it's actually filling.

The Japanese manager was very patient though we took quite some time to decide our orders. He also took the trouble to explain what were available then, and even offered us homemade pies, which we (sadly) had to decline 'cos we already ate too much. But the pies look really good though, so if you do have a chance, do give it a try. Service-wise, can't say the same for the other manager. He was polite, definitely. Maybe we were a tad rowdy, and perhaps we were dressed a little casual. But I thought a little warmth wouldn't hurt.

I have been patronising Ma Maison for quite a long time already, be it the Central branch or the Bugis Junction one. However, I particularly like the former better, not exactly sure why. But perhaps, it's the more homely feel that the Central branch provides. Many a times, I pop by this place extremely close to their last order timing, or sometimes even just after they start to close up. But never once have I been turned away, and I greatly appreciate that.

I almost always order the same dishes to share with my partner. The Escargots, the Beef Stroganoff and the Squid Ink Pasta. I just love the herb butter that comes with the escargots, maybe even more than the escargots themselves! The Beef Stroganoff and the Squid Ink Pasta are both comfort food for me. They might not be the best, but they are consistently tasty and affordable. But be warned that the Squid Ink Pasta is a tad sweet sometimes.

Otherwise, this is a cosy Japanese-French restaurant at an affordable price!

similarly to some of the reviews here, space constraint.didnt make a booking so had to wait outside for a bit. yes, limited chairs too. glad we didnt need to wait toooo long

decor inside is warm and cosy, very english-y! nice... you wouldn't expect a place decorated like that to serve japanese food.

food itself was mmmm..

we had the escargots which was quite interesting because of the "fire". but wow the garlic and butter drizzle was just tantalizing :D i had the paella which was just as tasty! i kept putting the garlic and butter drizzle over my (variety of) shellfish; clams, mussels, scallops, prawns on top of mushroom (butter?) rice. very very verrryy yummy. it was cute they gave me this tin "to put your shells".

dessert: the caramel pudding was a funny surprise because it came in a chinese tea cup! brownie with ice cream is lovely :)

they had the japanese fruit tart but we didnt try. looks good though :D

When we reached the restaurant at 6+, we had to wait outside for 30 minutes because the restaurant was already full and we had no reservations. Nice thought to have chairs outside for people to sit, but there arent enough chairs, probably because of space constraints.

We were seated at the table after quite a while. The restaurant has this very cosy, homely ambience. It is heavily decorated in a style that is totally unlike a Japanese restaurant, more like a Western restaurant, but the attention to detail is very Japanese. The decor is rather vintage and there are plenty of Western adornments and antiques. It is nicely decked out like a cosy wooden shack somewhere in USA.

The menu is unmistakably Japanese, in the way the dishes are named and written both in English and Japanese characters as well as the design of the menu. The variety of dishes are actually rather limited, ranging from different types of meat steaks to pasta and paella. After some indecision on my part, we ordered the following: escargots, tuna salad, hamburger steak with scallop (my sister), salmon steak (my mum), extra large hamburger steak (my dad) & squid ink pasta (myself).

The tuna salad arrived first, and it was quite good drenched in savoury Japanese sauce. Then the escargots came, which I felt was so-so though it reminded me a lot of garlic bread. Then each of our dishes came. The food was generally good. The hamburger patties tasted very close to what my grandfather used to make at home, just softer. Certainly totally nothing like what you get at fast food restaurants. My mum's salmon was rather well done while my pasta, while looking hideously black, actually tasted quite good. It's a fragrance that is unidentifiable with anything I have ever eaten. The morsels of squid and vegetables were rather small and limited though.

I did not feel particularly full after the meal, but overall the meal turned out to be quite good. The place is worth visiting for the ambience and the novelty of the food, but if you're really hungry you might need to order more food. In the end our bill came to about $110 for 4 persons, which is rather decent.

This quaint, charming restaurant looks like a western countryside house on the interior is big on ambience (looks really romantic at night due to the soft light emitting from the table lamps and the view of the river), decent on food (there are hits and misses) and ok on service.  A great place to spot the Japaneses having their family outings there, couples and groups of well dressed ladies.

Hits: The smoked salmon and scallop carpaccio taste so good and are so simulating in taste, that they totally whet one's appetite.  I never come to Ma Maison without ordering either of these 2 dishes.  The dishes consisting of slabs of meat taste great also since they are well seasoned to suit the taste of most customers.

Misses:  Both the spaghetti and gratin came with thick and creamy sauce which is excatly how I like it, though the amount of seafood added was pathetically little.  Feel like I was eating carbo only and nothing else.  The paella is so dry and tasteless, not to mention that I could hardly find any seafood in there.  Makes me wonder about why people are raving about it.  Curry rice is ok, nothing memorable about it, or maybe because I'm spoiled by the flavorful goodness of North Indian curry.

Service here is very fast, it is totally possible to finish a meal just within twenty minutes!  Great for those on the move.  Though don't expect the service staff to be meticulous on small details since speed is their priority.  Not that I'm complaining, since the price tag of the food here is not high enough to warrant an excellent service.

Despite the numerous misses, sometimes I still feel compelled to dine here, especially if I am hanging around at The Central.  It must be the lure of scallop carpaccio or the ambience.....

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空閒時間難以避免的想怎麼設計自己未來的家。我希望是日式北歐風，一個大大的廚房，小小的咖啡角，不需要太大的客廳，以及一個明亮溫暖的臥室。喜歡的日本清新簡約的設計和北歐溫暖舒適的調調結合。 總之，一個不需要太大的空間，卻充滿幸福感的地方，那是我對家的定義。

有人卻希望有日本太太，法國情人來滿足自己對家的定義。日本太太賢慧極燒的一手好菜，偶爾又能感受到法國情人的浪漫以及驚喜感。

我們總是會想到中西結合，那種很有意思的組合。但若是將日式料理那種居酒屋的拘謹感換成西洋那種懶散的滋味又會是如何。

其實日式西洋食已經是第二次來，第一次嘗試了經典的招牌漢堡排，但是第二次我相約友人來一同感受那種不匆忙的飲食文化。

不能確定老闆是否真的找了個法國太太或是情人，但唯一可以肯定的是。日式西洋食想要給人一種家的感覺。法文招牌是【我的家】。 大概是希望客人能把店裡當做自己家一般隨性輕鬆。 其實我一直很排斥太大眾的東西，這家店其實在日本一代都非常有名，在東亞更是分店連連。但是它所給我帶來的驚喜卻是有的。 像小時候一樣，我現在就直接等著夜色拉黑，點起蠟燭來。

小時候媽媽做飯真的很難吃，經常做一些我直到現在也不喜歡吃的東西。所以我一般吃飯都要吃幾個鐘頭直到全都變冷了，等著老爸老媽說，“都凉了別吃了。”

可是這句話永遠也盼不回來，老媽總是沒好氣的再幫我拿去微波爐加熱。

因此米飯常常變得又幹又硬又冒濕氣。T~T

然而唯一能讓我下咽的就是蒸雞蛋，那是我唯一一個能吃完的東西。

我媽以為我喜歡吃，便整個季度整個季度的做，我便整個季度都要吃水蒸蛋。連拒絕的可能性都沒有。

但是現在，我卻十分懷念媽媽做的水蒸蛋以及難吃的飯。現在她廚藝精進，把當年口口相傳說養不活的孩子變得如此。額。健康~

好，不閒話家常，談談這次點的菜。（終於是上了，我汗。）

這個是烤海螺，菜單上的浪漫名字我不記得了。

總之不是蝸牛就對了，想起必勝客的蝸牛我還是要打寒顫。

味道還可以，稍稍有點干，不過都有入味。

這份cream mushroom soup其實我沒少喝過，但是卻十分喜歡。

各種檔次的我都有嘗過，這家算是中上，其實我覺得喝這種湯最需要的就是熱騰騰。

若是冷了，這般濃稠的湯就失去本身的香氣了。

 

A plus point instantly went to its relaxed ambience. The interior design really cozied up the restaurant, imparting comfort and a homely atmosphere. I guess it managed to live up to its name, where "Ma Maison" means "My House".

Since it was lunch time, we topped up $2+ to complete the meal with the soup of the day, a mini salad and an iced tea. The soup of the day was clam chowder - with pieces of ham in it. It was downright bland and didn't really stimulate our appetite. 

Nevertheless, their main course was ambrosially decent. I had the squid ink pasta and it was wicked! The spaghetti was al dente and the sauce was full of flavour, making me crave for more. Even my dining partner, who was initially turned off by its appearance, could not stop pilfering on my food! The only drawback was its cheeseparing ingredients - there were only 2 small pieces of squid. 

We also had one of their signature dish - the beef straganoff with omu rice. The butter rice wrapped with egg omelette was awesome and it made up for the salty beef straganoff which didn't appeal to my palate at all.