Photos of great taste

I may not be able to cook as well as the rat but I certainly know how to eat like one. heehee...

Today's dinner was at Ma Maison over at Bugis Junction. This is a restaurant that serves western cuisine but it's been prepared japanese style.

Dinner consisting of Clam chowder soup, cold Japanese soba salad and Pasta Carbonara (ala Ma Maison style).

The Clam Chowder was quite ok according to my friend. I didn't try it because I don't really like clam chowder. But it seemed rather nice... visually at least. The portion was rather generous and it was served in a very 'atas' looking soup bowl with a sprinkling of basil leaves.

Next came the cold Japanese soba salad. This was actually very nicely done. You could taste the freshness of the noodles, and when it was mixed with the mayonnaise on the side, it was simply wonderfully tasty. The crisp salty seaweed flakes set off really well with the fresh cabbage and tomatoes. The ham strips were not just fat but nicely lean.

There was a little bit of a disappointment when halfway through eating, we found a piece of what seemed like a small chip of porcelain in the salad. We called the waiter over and they quickly apologized and replaced the salad. So I guess no harm done. Kudos to the restaurant.

Now we come to the main course - the Pasta Carbonara ala Ma Maison style. I was kinda expecting my carbonara to be stewing in a rich creamy-eggy sauce. But this particular pasta was not done that way. It was a dry sort of carbonara. It turned out to be quite tasty although it didn't really look or taste much like a conventional carbonara. The table had a pepper grinder which had the most aromatic and finely grounded black pepper I've had so far. And this went very well with the pasta.

All in all, a very satisfying meal in a nice cosy environment. I think I'll be going back there again for dinner soon. The bill was quite reasonable too. Next time, I think I'll try the hamburger steak. If the window display is anything to go by, it should be just as good. hmmmm..

4 out of 5 Chomps.