Ma Maison is a Yoshoku place which serves Japanese-influenced Western dishes. This branch of Ma Maison however specialises in tonkatsu only so I'm pretty sure you can expect the best. After all, it's located within Mandarin Gallery which seemed to me like a Singapore Starhill.
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| Piggy chef |
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| Unique open air dining |
It is not a very large shop and with its immense popularity among the locals, it's best to come during non-peak hours (however, don't go at 3pm like us as the shop is closed in the afternoon) as they do not accept reservations.
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| Piggy decor |
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| Part of the menu |
Apart from the common pig, they also serve kurobuta aka black pig bred in Kagoshima. Expensive yo!
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| Range of sauces |
At Ma Maison, there are many sauces to choose from. The tall bottles with the red cap and white cap are soy sauce and sesame dressing respectively. In the cute and fat little teapots are tonkatsu sauce, the variation clearly written on the sides of the pot and the lid. The blue pot consists of sweet tonkatsu sauce, similar to what is provided in Tonkatsu by Wa Kitchen in KL whereas the red pot consists of spicy tonkatsu sauce. There is also a sesame seed dispenser.
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| Sesame seeds |
As only a sesame seed dispenser is provided, the sesame seeds were not as fragrant as those in Tonkatsu by Wa Kitchen which were grinded to release its flavour.
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| Sesame seeds + Sweet tonkatsu sauce |
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| Mameton Set (SGD 25.80) |
The full works of the Mameton Set - the assorted katsu and shredded cabbage in the middle and (clockwise from top left) tonjiru aka pork miso soup, somen in dashi broth, oroshi aka grated radish, tartare sauce, rice and pickled cabbage. The rice and shredded cabbage are both refillable.
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| Ebi Furai, Rosu Katsu, Hire Katsu |
See the golden panko coating? There is even a dollop of Thousand Island sauce on the side and a wedge of lemon.
Both the hire katsu (pork fillet cutlet) and the rosu katsu (pork loin cutlet) were juicy and the deep-fried panko coating extremely crispy. You can even see each tiny piece of golden breadcrumb clearly. It's like in shows where you take a bite and it goes CRACKLE! The ebi furai was also very fresh, crispy coating and bouncy meat. They were so good they can be eaten on their own without any sauce. It certainly beats Tonkatsu by Wa Kitchen's tonkatsu anytime with its much juicier meat and much crispier skin =D But don't fret, Tonkatsu by Wa Kitchen is not too far behind and is certainly at this point in time, the best tonkatsu outlet in Malaysia =)
The spicy tonkatsu sauce was a surprise winner with a pleasant kick. The flavours were also more dimensional compared to the sweet tonkatsu sauce, and unlike any other sauce found in KL. JS was super addicted to the tonkatsu sauce =P However he did note that Tonkatsu by Wa Kitchen's tonkatsu sauce and sesame seed dip was much more fragrant due to the grinded sesame seeds. I, on the other hand, favoured the tartare sauce over the tonkatsu sauce. Somehow deep-fried stuff goes well with tartare sauce =P
The sesame dressing was good against the mound of otherwise bland, raw cabbage strips.
The oroshi (grated radish) provided some cooling relief against the heatiness of the katsu. Too bad it was not refillable =( The pickled cabbage was average.
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| Somen in Dashi |
This was a nice surprise in the bento set =) Fine somen noodles in a warm dashi broth sprinkled with finely sliced leeks. Somehow Japanese leeks don't taste the same as Chinese leeks so that's good for me =P The light, slurp-inducing somen noodles were a nice refreshing change from the usual ramen, udon and soba and the broth was very warm and comforting.
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| Tonjiru |
As usual, the tonjiru was laden with many ingredients such as lots of daikon pieces, pork and spring onions. It was good but similar to the raves I wrote for Tonkatsu by Wa Kitchen (hehe sorry I'm lazy ^_^).
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| Dessert |
Another surprise for us! They also served a complimentary dessert in the form of a lightly scented konnyaku jelly. I can't quite place the scent but it was very pleasant.
Do make a trip to Tonkatsu by Ma Maison if you're in Singapore. It does not disappoint! =)
PawPoints: 5 Paws
Tonkatsu by Ma Maison
Somerset MRT
#02-35/36, Mandarin Gallery
333 Orchard Road
Singapore
Tel: +65 6733 4541
Daily: 11am - 3pm, 5pm - 10pm
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