of mojitos and other madness: marvellous ma maison

g and i have been wanting to get a table at ma maison ever since we discovered it in a little corner on the 3rd floor of central few months back...but due to the very small outfit, dinner on a friday night meant at least a thirty minute wait. but it was all good. kinda was a blessing in disguise that we accepted the invite to sit by the counter....gave us a bird's eye view of the kitchen so i was secretly glad *grin*

we had the all the 'must trys' of the menu - escargots, seafood gratin and the hamburger steak with the signature brown sauce. the escargots were served sizzling in a metal plate, nestled on a bed of sea salt. the quick flash of flames was a really nice touch, giving the snails the nice out of the pan freshness. as for the gratin...i only have four words. melt in the mouth! g warned me that it was creamy but this sort of creamy i like! not overly rich, just the right amount of cream and cheese to give you a full flavour. the prawns and scallops were fresh too but what won me over was how the pasta was cooked till soft, adding the additional sweetness to this sinful awesome dish and making it literally melt in the mouth.

we had a first hand view of how their signature hamburger steak was prepared...with precision down to actually weighing out the meat. served with ma maison's signature brown sauce (ingredients still unknown!) the steak was a refreshing change from the usual slab of meat. guess the japanese decided to cut to the chase and focus on what is the main deal with burgers, the pattie! hence giving birth to this version of the hamburger. definitely worth a try if you haven't done already...best bit is that they serve it either in a large or small portion so you can have room for other yummy things (read the gratin!)!

a fun and refreshing perspective of the japanese influence on classic western dishes. we'll be headed to their main branch at bugis really soon!

full piccie link here