My girlfriends and I had the chance to visit Ma Maison on a Wednesday evening. Thinking that it's a weekday evening and that we were there at 8pm, there would be less people. Boy, were we wrong... There was a queue snaking out of the restaurant. We waited for 30 minutes before we were shown a seat. Very popular place indeed. We ordered and settled to take photographs while waiting for our food. We noticed that there were a few tables with Jap patrons and that's usually a sign that there's good Jap food in existence.
My apologies for not being able to provide the actual name of the dish as I was too excited and forgot to take a photo of the menu.
The food we ordered Escargots:
This is done with garlic. It was delicious! Served up warm, it was very fragrant and they were good to provide all the right utensils for extracting the flesh.
Hamburger Steak The meat was well minced and packed in a patty. It is served with an egg and some potato, doused in brown sauce. Even the waitress said "brown sauce" So I have no idea what sauce it is actually. Even though I'm not really one for meat, I did like this one as the meat was minced and easy on the stomach.
Gratin with Prawn and Scallops I love this potato and cheese combination. There weren't many prawns and scallops though.. I think there was a grand total of two each. But this is one dish you have to share with friends. One person can't finish the whole plate.
Pork Cutlet This is served with two sauces and mineral salt. The waitress explained what we should do with the sauces but when she left, all four of us were still baffled because we couldn't understand what she said. Well in the end, we did it the Singaporean way - Rojak style. We put all the sauces into the little dish she gave us and just dipped our pork pieces into it. The cutlet was a little on the tough side, a little too difficult to chew. The meat inside didn't have any taste and the crisp outside was a little bland too. The potato it was served with was nice though.
Cuttlefish Ink Spaghetti I was a little taken aback by how black the spaghetti came. But all my companions swore by this dish so I tried it. It was yummy! Just good on its own. My only grievance is that it is a little on the dry side but I will definitely order this dish again.
Apple Pie with Ice Cream The apple filling was suitably sweet but the crust was a little too dry and had a very starchy taste to it which I couldn't bear to eat. We finished up most of the pie leaving the crust behind.
Brownie with Ice Cream We all loved the brownie. Me being a dessert lover, I'd say this is one of the better brownies I've had. It's not too dry nor moist and has just enough chocolate flavour so that one will not be sick of the taste before finishing.
Goma Ice Cream (Sesame) This is my first go at such a flavour and I'd have to say it has a special taste to it. The ice cream left a strong aftertaste in my mouth. It wasn't sweet but did have a very strong taste of sesame. Quite enjoyable I guess.
The four of us spent $87 in all which I'd say is pretty reasonable.
Momoteapots has been around for a bit and has quite a large following. I chanced upon it a couple of months ago and have been drooling over their pretty clothes.
What I like about this blogshop is how they maintain being polite. Even when they talked about fraud in their site, they didn't sound unnecessarily angry and explained their reasons for requesting for receipts from customers. They even apologised for the inconvenience caused, which is great!
The prices are very reasonable. Not only that... the photographs they take are good and they try to show the clothing in all angles which is what I love most. Somehow some other shops when trying to make the clothes look nice, they forget to show you what the back looks like. But Momoteapots always shows the best they can which I think it really commendable.
They have a wide range of clothing, needless to say I'm not a fan of ALL their clothes because they have to cater to different tastes but I do like quite a number of stuff they have. They mostly have dresses (which are easier to buy online anyway) and sometimes bags and belts.
They even maintain a facebook account to keep in touch with their customers!
My only grievance is that I wish they would update more often!!!! But then I would spend money much more often toooo haha :)
MmM I feel a little weird reading everyone else's review on Jetstar. I've taken Jetstar to Thailand, Siem Reap and Taipei.
Funnily I remember the planes I took to Thailand and Siem Reap were newer and better compared to the one I took recently to Taipei. Odd huh.
Anyways, Jetstar is comparatively cheaper. And compared to other budget carriers, it takes off from the main terminals at Changi so that makes it more convenient to get on. If you book your tickets earlier or during promotional periods you can get $38 / $69 tickets easily. A bargain if you ask me. Early booking can also save $200-$300. I guess if you're taking a short flight of 3-4 hours it's a good deal.
Since it's cheaper (provided you dun buy tickets last minute), there's no inflight entertainment and no free meals. Bottled water costs $3 for a 400ml bottle which is REALLY expensive. A sandwich costs $8 and there isn't much inside. No cool free gifts in the compartment waiting for you and no free blankets if you're cold. Seats are alright, the usual crammed economy seats but a good number may not be able to recline at all.
So I guess to really make most of your flight on Jetstar, eat just before you board, load videos into your lappie, bring newspapers/books for entertainment.
Bobo had the chance to be invited for food tasting at Village Wok. Initially this bimbo was afraid that she would have problems finding the place, with it being in CBD and all. But it was really easy to locate. It's quite near the Food Centre just slightly off the main road.
Upon entering the place, Bobo was slightly surprised. The signboard and the decor of the place itself wasn't like other Chinese restaurants. It's not like pretentiously posh but very very simple.. like a family business sorts. It was later when the lady boss (a pretty one) explained, that Bobo understood that this place is more of a B2B sort of business, selling its famous sauces to other eateries.
It was empty that day... CBD, on Sundays, is a ghost town as every one knows. So they had all the space to ourselves and the freedom to make noise. Fantastic! haha.
Popiah DIY $20 /set Completely healthy with stewed vegetables in prawn stock and condiments. Honestly Bobo thinks it is a little expensive considering it's just vegetables and stuff. BUT try preparing all these things at home then you would know what a hassle it is. It's not only good and healthy to eat, it's like an activity for family and friends to do. The good thing about DIY is that you can put whatever you want in it and leave whatever you want out. Yummy!
Chilled Crab with Special Vinegrette Sauce @ $30 /crab Bobo doesn't really like crab. Simply because it's troublesome. But the nice thing about this one was that they cut it up properly, so that it's easy to eat! They didn't need to use the hammer or weird tools to pry the meat out to eat. That aside, the flesh was sweet and fresh, tasty even without the sauce. They were told that the crabs were from Sri Lanka.
The Phoenix Soars @ $21 Yin-Yang boneless Village Wok Chicken Bobo loved this one. She liked its tasty flesh and there was plenty of breast meat for her to pick. Yummy.
Village Wok Celebration Parade @ $22 A combination of VW award dishes, VW Mustard Roast Crispy Pork and Village BBQ Pork Firstly, Bobo has to admit that she's not the sort who go for such meat. But she did try the Char Siew which was ok. The presentation of this dish is pretty special in that it looked like the chinese word "fortune". Cool eh.
Fried Brinjal with Crispy Squid in BXO Sauce @ $15 Bobo likes Brinjal! Initially she thought that this dish was carrot cake because it reminded her of the one at Taste Paradise. But it's brinjal much to her surprise. It was quite tasty but a little bit too sweet though.
Steamed Pating Fish with Preserved Vegetable @ $44 Preserved Vegetable... that's Chai Por, the thingy you have on chwee kueh? Bobo loves chai por. This particular version is not as salty as what people normally have which makes it seem healthier. But Bobo (being unhealthy) do likes salty chai por. The fish was normal she thinks.
Black Pepper Ham Leg @ $23 Voted The Travelling Gourmet’s favorite dish Bobo had a very small bit of this. As above, she's not a fan of pork so she shouldn't comment on this, having not tasted enough versions.
Smiling Fortune Noodle @ $8 Tangy noodles harmonized with delectable fresh prawn essence, topped with prawns. The serving given to them was slightly smaller that day as they already had plenty to eat. Each person had a pot to themselves. It was served nice and hot with a little tealight below. Bobo liked the soup base a lot and the noodles were served at the right time, so they weren't mushy. But she doesn't remember eating many prawns. One maybe. or was it two?
VW Desserts - Sampler size
Black Glutinous Rice with Coconut Ice-cream @ $4.80
Lemongrass ice-cream
Kaya with bread Bobo liked the Black Glutinous Rice with Coconut ice cream the best. The other ice cream had a nice tinge of lemongrass in the aftertaste. But otherwise it was normal. Bobo isn't quite a fan of Kaya but she enjoyed it all the same. It wasn't the ultra sweet sort you get from the supermarket.
The prices might seem a bit high but it IS a chinese restaurant after all and such prices are pretty common for this kind of food served there.
We had the chance to taste many of their sauces which was really nice. Bobo wanted to buy the salted fish one home but she forgot. SIGGHHH.
I literally watched this place renovate and prepare for opening. I looked forward to it as it seemed to offer more reasonable prices and was much nearer to my place than the coffeeshop.
The day it opened, I walked past pretty late and was dying to get some desserts. My sister and I stood there for a bit waiting. We didn't know if they had takeaways and wanted to ask if they had Yam Paste. They have some tubs of paste that looked like Yam paste on the counter but it wasn't available in the menu.
We waited and waited. 2 servers and 2 ladies whom we figured were the bosses looked at us in the eye but didn't say anything. They stood in front of us and instructed something to the counter people without acknowledging our presence... After a full 10 minutes of standing there, we went home without our desserts. We were really patient weren't we?
A few days after, my father suggested for us to go eat there. Thinking that they were just overly busy that first day I agreed. We were greeted as we approached the cafe and seated quickly. They gave us the menus which were strangely worn.
Food Ordered:
Chicken Rice Set B (Steamed) - $5.50 This set came with soup and a reasonable serving of vegetables. Chicken Rice happens to be "main dish" of this cafe. Most of the people I saw ordered at least a set. The meat was not too fatty and the rice was just slightly fragant and not too salty. The vegetables (thankfully) were not overcooked. I'd agree with my dad that there was slightly more rice than the usual at coffeeshops.
Thai Style Chicken Cutlet Rice - $5
I liked this one more than the chicken rice. The sauce was tangy and spicy. The Chicken Cutlet was very crisp. The rice was plain white rice but the sauce was flavourful enough for me.
Marmite Pork Ribs - $10
This one was surprisingly disappointing. The ribs were really small and there were about 5-6 pieces only. Mighty expensive if I had to say. Maybe I'm feeling a little disappointed because I just came back from Wuxi and the infamous dish there is Pork Ribs.... Tastewise it's alright with enough fatty bits. The sauce was pretty tasty but I still find it expensive. Moreover its presentation wasn't nice at all.
With no GST/service charge, the total came up to $20.50 for 3 people. Foodwise it is better than your regular coffeeshops. And in terms of pricing, it's pretty competitive in comparison to the food outlets in this area, esp the air-conditioned ones. Judging from the business it's been getting, I'd say this is here to stay... :)
vtaysaid: hahaha! oh man so cool! my guitarist owns this place! =D =D the whole band can't wait to try it out... lol! looks like you got here and wrote a review before i did! hahaha!! *hyper* 15 Jul 2008 at 7:24 pm
Bobosaid: hahha then TELL HIM I went!! haha I've been meaning to tell them I reviewed. He must be the guy at the cashier in black everyday. :P 15 Jul 2008 at 9:22 pm
vtaysaid: yeap i just told him just now at band practice (= gave him the link.. he's damn excited to read it, haha yeap thats him alrite! 16 Jul 2008 at 3:31 am
vtaysaid: add me on msn! add add! i got msg for you. hahaha. 16 Jul 2008 at 2:18 pm
My apologies for not being able to provide the actual name of the dish as I was too excited and forgot to take a photo of the menu.
The food we ordered
Escargots:
This is done with garlic. It was delicious! Served up warm, it was very fragrant and they were good to provide all the right utensils for extracting the flesh.
Hamburger Steak
The meat was well minced and packed in a patty. It is served with an egg and some potato, doused in brown sauce. Even the waitress said "brown sauce" So I have no idea what sauce it is actually. Even though I'm not really one for meat, I did like this one as the meat was minced and easy on the stomach.
Gratin with Prawn and Scallops
I love this potato and cheese combination. There weren't many prawns and scallops though.. I think there was a grand total of two each. But this is one dish you have to share with friends. One person can't finish the whole plate.
Pork Cutlet
This is served with two sauces and mineral salt. The waitress explained what we should do with the sauces but when she left, all four of us were still baffled because we couldn't understand what she said. Well in the end, we did it the Singaporean way - Rojak style. We put all the sauces into the little dish she gave us and just dipped our pork pieces into it. The cutlet was a little on the tough side, a little too difficult to chew. The meat inside didn't have any taste and the crisp outside was a little bland too. The potato it was served with was nice though.
Cuttlefish Ink Spaghetti
I was a little taken aback by how black the spaghetti came. But all my companions swore by this dish so I tried it. It was yummy! Just good on its own. My only grievance is that it is a little on the dry side but I will definitely order this dish again.
Apple Pie with Ice Cream
The apple filling was suitably sweet but the crust was a little too dry and had a very starchy taste to it which I couldn't bear to eat. We finished up most of the pie leaving the crust behind.
Brownie with Ice Cream
We all loved the brownie. Me being a dessert lover, I'd say this is one of the better brownies I've had. It's not too dry nor moist and has just enough chocolate flavour so that one will not be sick of the taste before finishing.
Goma Ice Cream (Sesame)
This is my first go at such a flavour and I'd have to say it has a special taste to it. The ice cream left a strong aftertaste in my mouth. It wasn't sweet but did have a very strong taste of sesame. Quite enjoyable I guess.
The four of us spent $87 in all which I'd say is pretty reasonable.
For more pictures, please click to go to my blog.
andyedward83 said: ladyironchef said:
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!i agree..the escargorts are the best.. :)
18 Dec 2008 at 2:17 pm
lol! too busy taking photos. haha. u so long never write review alr!
21 Dec 2008 at 11:56 pm
What I like about this blogshop is how they maintain being polite. Even when they talked about fraud in their site, they didn't sound unnecessarily angry and explained their reasons for requesting for receipts from customers. They even apologised for the inconvenience caused, which is great!
The prices are very reasonable. Not only that... the photographs they take are good and they try to show the clothing in all angles which is what I love most. Somehow some other shops when trying to make the clothes look nice, they forget to show you what the back looks like. But Momoteapots always shows the best they can which I think it really commendable.
They have a wide range of clothing, needless to say I'm not a fan of ALL their clothes because they have to cater to different tastes but I do like quite a number of stuff they have. They mostly have dresses (which are easier to buy online anyway) and sometimes bags and belts.
They even maintain a facebook account to keep in touch with their customers!
My only grievance is that I wish they would update more often!!!! But then I would spend money much more often toooo haha :)
ladyironchef said: Bobo said: ladyironchef said:
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!wow, its been a while since bobo writes review. hahah
22 Oct 2008 at 10:56 pm
haha Writing must be from passion ma. Not obligatory :P
23 Oct 2008 at 8:29 pm
write more write more!
21 Dec 2008 at 11:58 pm
Funnily I remember the planes I took to Thailand and Siem Reap were newer and better compared to the one I took recently to Taipei. Odd huh.
Anyways, Jetstar is comparatively cheaper. And compared to other budget carriers, it takes off from the main terminals at Changi so that makes it more convenient to get on. If you book your tickets earlier or during promotional periods you can get $38 / $69 tickets easily. A bargain if you ask me. Early booking can also save $200-$300. I guess if you're taking a short flight of 3-4 hours it's a good deal.
Since it's cheaper (provided you dun buy tickets last minute), there's no inflight entertainment and no free meals. Bottled water costs $3 for a 400ml bottle which is REALLY expensive. A sandwich costs $8 and there isn't much inside. No cool free gifts in the compartment waiting for you and no free blankets if you're cold. Seats are alright, the usual crammed economy seats but a good number may not be able to recline at all.
So I guess to really make most of your flight on Jetstar, eat just before you board, load videos into your lappie, bring newspapers/books for entertainment.
Hey. You pay for what you get right? :)
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!
Upon entering the place, Bobo was slightly surprised. The signboard and the decor of the place itself wasn't like other Chinese restaurants. It's not like pretentiously posh but very very simple.. like a family business sorts. It was later when the lady boss (a pretty one) explained, that Bobo understood that this place is more of a B2B sort of business, selling its famous sauces to other eateries.
It was empty that day... CBD, on Sundays, is a ghost town as every one knows. So they had all the space to ourselves and the freedom to make noise. Fantastic! haha.
Popiah DIY $20 /set
Completely healthy with stewed vegetables in prawn stock and condiments.
Honestly Bobo thinks it is a little expensive considering it's just vegetables and stuff. BUT try preparing all these things at home then you would know what a hassle it is. It's not only good and healthy to eat, it's like an activity for family and friends to do. The good thing about DIY is that you can put whatever you want in it and leave whatever you want out. Yummy!
Chilled Crab with Special Vinegrette Sauce @ $30 /crab
Bobo doesn't really like crab. Simply because it's troublesome. But the nice thing about this one was that they cut it up properly, so that it's easy to eat! They didn't need to use the hammer or weird tools to pry the meat out to eat. That aside, the flesh was sweet and fresh, tasty even without the sauce. They were told that the crabs were from Sri Lanka.
The Phoenix Soars @ $21
Yin-Yang boneless Village Wok Chicken
Bobo loved this one. She liked its tasty flesh and there was plenty of breast meat for her to pick. Yummy.
Village Wok Celebration Parade @ $22
A combination of VW award dishes, VW Mustard Roast Crispy Pork and Village BBQ Pork
Firstly, Bobo has to admit that she's not the sort who go for such meat. But she did try the Char Siew which was ok. The presentation of this dish is pretty special in that it looked like the chinese word "fortune". Cool eh.
Fried Brinjal with Crispy Squid in BXO Sauce @ $15
Bobo likes Brinjal! Initially she thought that this dish was carrot cake because it reminded her of the one at Taste Paradise. But it's brinjal much to her surprise. It was quite tasty but a little bit too sweet though.
Steamed Pating Fish with Preserved Vegetable @ $44
Preserved Vegetable... that's Chai Por, the thingy you have on chwee kueh? Bobo loves chai por. This particular version is not as salty as what people normally have which makes it seem healthier. But Bobo (being unhealthy) do likes salty chai por. The fish was normal she thinks.
Black Pepper Ham Leg @ $23
Voted The Travelling Gourmet’s favorite dish
Bobo had a very small bit of this. As above, she's not a fan of pork so she shouldn't comment on this, having not tasted enough versions.
Smiling Fortune Noodle @ $8
Tangy noodles harmonized with delectable fresh prawn essence, topped with prawns.
The serving given to them was slightly smaller that day as they already had plenty to eat. Each person had a pot to themselves. It was served nice and hot with a little tealight below. Bobo liked the soup base a lot and the noodles were served at the right time, so they weren't mushy. But she doesn't remember eating many prawns. One maybe. or was it two?
VW Desserts - Sampler size
Black Glutinous Rice with Coconut Ice-cream @ $4.80
Lemongrass ice-cream
Kaya with bread
Bobo liked the Black Glutinous Rice with Coconut ice cream the best. The other ice cream had a nice tinge of lemongrass in the aftertaste. But otherwise it was normal. Bobo isn't quite a fan of Kaya but she enjoyed it all the same. It wasn't the ultra sweet sort you get from the supermarket.
The prices might seem a bit high but it IS a chinese restaurant after all and such prices are pretty common for this kind of food served there.
We had the chance to taste many of their sauces which was really nice. Bobo wanted to buy the salted fish one home but she forgot. SIGGHHH.
For more pictures, click here
claud said: Bobo said: ladyironchef said: - 1 more comment »
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!Bobo so cute! Some in 3rd person voice some from 1st! :P
26 Aug 2008 at 2:20 pm
hahahhahaha oops.
26 Aug 2008 at 2:40 pm
yeah, "bobo liked the soup.." then "she doesn't remember..."
26 Aug 2008 at 2:50 pm
The day it opened, I walked past pretty late and was dying to get some desserts. My sister and I stood there for a bit waiting. We didn't know if they had takeaways and wanted to ask if they had Yam Paste. They have some tubs of paste that looked like Yam paste on the counter but it wasn't available in the menu.
We waited and waited. 2 servers and 2 ladies whom we figured were the bosses looked at us in the eye but didn't say anything. They stood in front of us and instructed something to the counter people without acknowledging our presence... After a full 10 minutes of standing there, we went home without our desserts. We were really patient weren't we?
A few days after, my father suggested for us to go eat there. Thinking that they were just overly busy that first day I agreed. We were greeted as we approached the cafe and seated quickly. They gave us the menus which were strangely worn.
Food Ordered:
Chicken Rice Set B (Steamed) - $5.50
This set came with soup and a reasonable serving of vegetables. Chicken Rice happens to be "main dish" of this cafe. Most of the people I saw ordered at least a set. The meat was not too fatty and the rice was just slightly fragant and not too salty. The vegetables (thankfully) were not overcooked. I'd agree with my dad that there was slightly more rice than the usual at coffeeshops.
Thai Style Chicken Cutlet Rice - $5
I liked this one more than the chicken rice. The sauce was tangy and spicy. The Chicken Cutlet was very crisp. The rice was plain white rice but the sauce was flavourful enough for me.
Marmite Pork Ribs - $10
This one was surprisingly disappointing. The ribs were really small and there were about 5-6 pieces only. Mighty expensive if I had to say. Maybe I'm feeling a little disappointed because I just came back from Wuxi and the infamous dish there is Pork Ribs.... Tastewise it's alright with enough fatty bits. The sauce was pretty tasty but I still find it expensive. Moreover its presentation wasn't nice at all.
With no GST/service charge, the total came up to $20.50 for 3 people. Foodwise it is better than your regular coffeeshops. And in terms of pricing, it's pretty competitive in comparison to the food outlets in this area, esp the air-conditioned ones. Judging from the business it's been getting, I'd say this is here to stay... :)
vtay said: Bobo said: vtay said: - 1 more comment »
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!hahaha! oh man so cool! my guitarist owns this place! =D =D the whole band can't wait to try it out... lol! looks like you got here and wrote a review before i did! hahaha!! *hyper*
15 Jul 2008 at 7:24 pm
hahha then TELL HIM I went!! haha I've been meaning to tell them I reviewed. He must be the guy at the cashier in black everyday. :P
15 Jul 2008 at 9:22 pm
yeap i just told him just now at band practice (= gave him the link.. he's damn excited to read it, haha yeap thats him alrite!
16 Jul 2008 at 3:31 am