of mojitos and other madness: sister shops

with it being the holiday season and all, this girl can't find a better excuse not to indulge in a few good meals...hence explaining the plethora of posts that i'm putting up! *grin* it was really by coincidence that in the span of two days, g and i headed to two familiar outlets, located at different places from the ones we had our first visits to.

first up was lunch at ma maison. this time we headed to what i would think would be the main branch here in singapore, located at a little corner of the food extension side of bugis junction. the menu was a little bigger than the one at the central, with more variety in their hamburger steaks, gratin and appetizer lists.

remembering how yummy the gratin was the last time, g decided to have the classic ma maison gratin. think seashell pasta smothered in a tuna and corn cream mix and baked to slightly crisp. one taste of the gratin instantly brought back childhood memories of gratin meals at a little japanese outfit called petit monde in isetan parkway eons ago! the japanese definitely has got this classic french style dish down pat with a nice asian touch to it. the gratin was not too big a portion, allowing one to really enjoy the entire creamy dish without feeling overly stuffed. i had the classic japanese chasoba salad..which hit a spot with the mix of japanese mayo and sesame dressing. it was a nice refreshing starter cum main which was complemented by the cream of corn soup that g and i shared. now...this is yet another thing that i think the japanese make very well. like the gratin, the soup had just the right amount of cream and a lot of little bits of corn making the soup really sweet and yummy to drink. i don't usually have corn soup but after being introduced to the one at mos burger and now this one at ma maison, it will be corn soup for me only at japanese joints!

ma maison
200 victoria street
#02-51 parco bugis junction
(65) 6338 4819

partly driven by a slight craving for black pork and partly to get away from the madness of the crowd on christmas day in town, g and i headed to liang court to give tampopo, sister to tom ton, a try. the place was a buzz even at about 8 that evening, almost full with families of japanese expatriates. we were a little disappointed after going through the menu as we were subconsciously hoping for a larger black pork dish list...but it turned out all good, with me having the house specialty shabu shabu black pork ramen and g having the katsu curry. the ramen was very well done...cooked al dente in rich creamy pork bone broth (cooked over 2 days no less!) with slivers of black pork, tampopo will be one place this girl will head to again for authentic japanese ramen.

the katsu curry must be the other specialty of tampopo as many diners were tucking into the dish, giving the restaurant a hint of curry fragrance throughout. the pork cutlet was breaded and fried just right, keeping the meat moist on the inside. the curry had a little more asian curry flavour than i think most other japanese curry have, giving the dish a nice spicy and aromatic bite to the dish. it was a good dinner...nice and somewhat quietly busy...and i think we will be back soon for more value for money japanese specialties.

tampopo