Princess and I went for some shopping at Takashimaya, went to Ma Maison, a tried-and-tested yoshoku restaurant that we have too gone back to for a long time.
Ma Maison, meaning “my home” in French, is a yōshokuya (洋食屋). The founder Akinori Terazawa was so inspired by a pleasant experience and hospitality he got from a bed and breakfast in England that he decided to open a yoshokuya in Nagoya to offer the same hospitality and English-inspired food.
Yoshoku (洋食), meaning western food, is the name given to the Japanese take on western cuisine. Though not what people usually refer to as Japanese food, yoshoku is as much a staple of Japanese dining as ramen. Its derivatives, like curry, croquettes and katsu (breaded and deep fried) can also be found on menus of sushi spots and izakayas.
The decor took inspiration from the cottage house in English but distinctly “Japanese” in its layout. The Japanese has a very interesting fetish of Western culture that started during the Meiji Restoration, and they had adopted many Western habits and furniture to their culture with variations.
And like all Japanese family restaurant, they have a plastic sample called shokuhin sampuru (食品サンプル) in the glass showcase outside the restaurant. It is always amazing to see how close they matched each other in presentation and look.
We ordered a soup and an appetiser to share. Baked Escargots with Garlic Butter was quite proper but a bit underwhelming in the herbs department. However I wished they would include some bread to dip into the melted garlic butter – they are charged separately.
The portion of Onion Gratin Soup came in a teacup. The caramelised onion was really sweet, and the consommé however was quite watery. The melted cheese on the top was quite weak, as with most Japanese cheeses. The main fault is that there’s no croutons or toasted bread to go with the soup.
The Beef Stroganoff Butter Rice featured their signature brown sauce instead of the usual white sauce based beef stroganoff, and came with Omurice (butter rice wrapped in omelette). I couldn’t finish the butter rice as it was too rice to go with their heavy brown sauce.
The founder himself said that he opened the restaurant because he wanted to share with the world his special brown sauce. So what’s so special about their brown sauce? Firstly, it’s a demi-glace sauce made from veal bones and red wine reduction. But they have added special Japanese touch to the sauce, which I suspected it to be miso, as it was common in Nagoya to add miso to their Western seasoning.
Princess picked the Scotch Eggs with Homemade Brown Sauce, something she came to like after her trip to England. Again, there’s plenty of brown sauce to go with the boiled eggs wrapped in a later of minced beef. If you do not appreciate that brown sauce, which was slightly bitter that day, the whole dining experience would be subpar.
It wasn’t what we expected as the standard has dropped. We were quite disappointed by this meal and should not be returning anytime soon.
Ma Maison Takashimaya S.C. 高島屋店
391 Orchard Road #04-27 Takashimaya S.C. Ngee Ann City Singapore 238872
Tel : +65 6734 4425
Visited Nov 2025
0 comments on “Ma Maison @ Orchard (2025)”