Good Eats: Ma Maison

Nothing like wining and dining on a weeknight.
---is what I will never say again nor do again. Or maybe just put my foot down at ONE bottle. I digress.

Beautifully adorned red walls

I've been to Midland Square's Cross Court too many times to have only eaten there once before. The underground has an impressive lot of restaurants to choose from: East to West. It took a friend who was here on a short trip to get me breaking out of my "cocoon" and be social, and nothing gets me more social than a bottle of red sculled between delicious tapas.

The restaurant was surprisingly packed on a weeknight but we were lucky enough to have squeezed into a corner table. Unlike most wine bars that have varying prices for bottles, they charge a flat 2,300 yen for each. Though I often drink wine, it's embarrassing what little knowledge I have over it hence I welcomed Ma Maison's offer without breaking a sweat, saving us the trouble of picking the evening's poison (the key is to NEVER pick the cheapest bottle but second to it).

We got a bottle of  "Bob" Cabernet Sauvignon plus some delicious pickings. They were trying to impress by serving a hefty basket of bread though was ignored throughout the night because WHO EATS CARBS ANYWAY? Jokes. They would've been a waste of space and calories anyway as they weren't served warm. Instead, their battered chips dipped in ketchup or chocolate sauce (yes) were very well-received. The prawns were nothing remarkable, probably even a tad overcooked. The highlight of the meal was their carbonara that was served with a generous amount of fatty bacon slices and a beautiful poached egg sitting pretty on top. But of course I didn't take a photo of it!

Ma Maison's instantly one of my favourites in Nagoya now. Food and drinks are very reasonably priced. Moreover, the interiors compliment the ambiance for casual dining. The only thing I wish were different about it would be its location. As it's in a building's underground complex, it closes at 11pm--too early for a wine bar. But it's still worth going to for noshing, I've got my eye on their charcuterie plate! So... it's that or you can always start drinking early.

P.S.
I took these with my iPhone (4, yuck) and tried to salvage these images using Afterlight.
I can't be bothered to lug around my camera these days. Sorry!

Cheers!

Ma Maison
Nagoya Cross Court Tower B1
4-4-10 Nagoya Station
Nakamura Ward, Nagoya
+81 52-581-6288