Tonkatsu by Ma Maison • 1 Utama — Restaurant in Petaling Jaya

Honestly, I love the food here. Pork is great, miso soup is delicious. However, ever since they moved and have gotten and overload of customers, the experience of eating there itself is kinda bad.

Firstly, they don't take reservations on weekends and public holidays, only on walk-in basis. When you get there, there is a line either in human form or on a piece of paper where you can leave your number and they'll call you when it's your turn. So you've now resevered a spot in person and forced to walk around 1u aimlessly, instead of on the phone from home and get there at the right time. My suggestion for a better experience is let people do reservations but if they're so concerned about wasting time, make a shorter hold period for the table.

Next, the shouting. Albeit we were unfortunate to sit near the front on both my visits, so maybe it would be less irritating if we had gotten seats at the back, but, the constant very loud shouting of "IRASHAIMASSE", food and dish refill orders, made for a very poor dining experience -- I could barely have a simple conversation without being shouted over literally every other minute. Keep in mind, customers are walking in every other minute. Sure we're in 1u, but your restaurant is playing instrumental piano music and have nice looking decor and priced at a more premium pricing (implying that you want to give your customers a slightly fancier feeling). But then wait staff are shouting like they're working at a mamak or kopitiam. Suggestion would be to have a better system with orders and refills, and do away with the whole wait staff shouting IRASHAIMASSE, srsly, only one person needs to welcome the customer respectfully and calmly, you're not a Uniqlo.

Finally, one of our visits we were eating dinner on the later side and were finishing up our meal about 9pm, which was about half an hour before closing time of the restaurant 9.30pm. Now I understand if the staff want to start clearing the tables that other people have left. But if I was still sat down, and still eating, I don't think it's a very nice experience when the staff try to clear my table unless it was painfully clear that I was done. Furthermore, when the staff comes and asks if you're done, and you say no, they don't even listen to your response and reach for the plate anyway unless I repeat myself 7 times that I'm not done. Just don't do this, especially if it's not closing time yet -- or at least wait for the customers response and actually listen to it.

I used to love going to ma Maison back when it was still in isetan, but now I'm very reluctant to go back. Food is still great tho, so maybe I'll just have it to go more often... Maybe that's their plan all along, to discourage...

First and foremost, I would like to thank the manager on duty for taking the time to listen to my feedback during my recent visit to the 1 Utama outlet. While I appreciate the effort, I feel compelled to express my disappointment regarding the experience I had, which was among the worst I've encountered at your establishment.

Here’s what happened:

I visited the outlet with my two daughters and had initially reserved a table for three. Although my wife joined us later after her dinner with a friend, she did not order anything, as she had already eaten. Thus, we only ordered two sets—one for each of my daughters, while I planned to share the meal with my younger daughter as she is a small eater.

As we began dining, my younger daughter finished the cabbage from her set and requested a refill. I also ate some of the cabbage from the same set. When I asked a waiter for another refill, he refused without providing any explanation. Although I later managed to get a refill from another staff member, the initial refusal left a sour impression.

I understand if your company policy is that each customer must order a meal to enjoy free refills. However, I expect such policies to be communicated clearly and politely. Simply saying "no" without an explanation is unprofessional, particularly in a restaurant that positions itself as a premium establishment. If the waiter did not know how to handle the situation, involving the manager at the outset would have been the appropriate course of action.

What added to my frustration was observing inconsistent treatment. The couple seated next to us ordered just one set between them and yet received no issues with refills—cabbage and rice alike. This inconsistency gave me the impression of preferential treatment and left me feeling unfairly judged, as though I were a cheapskate trying to exploit the refill policy.

My main concerns are as follows:

Refusal to refill cabbage without any explanation, leaving me to guess at the reason. Inconsistent application of your policy, creating the appearance of unfair treatment among customers. While I appreciate the manager’s effort to address the matter, the handling of this incident has left me deeply dissatisfied and disappointed. I chose your restaurant expecting great food and service, but this experience has unfortunately left a lasting negative impression.

I hope you will take my feedback seriously and work to ensure a more consistent and customer-focused approach...

2nd review July 2023: I’m here with my family and closed friends to celebrate my son’s birthday which he loves loves the curry rice. So no doubt we got our usually pork Katsu Curry Rice. The only comment was that the curry has becoming a bit spicier comparing the time they were in Isetan. Maybe I was wrong. But still it was delicious.

My review here was about their service and their attitude towards us. We wanting to celebrate my son’s birthday and we got a cake and sang birthday son. You know that we are going to light the candles the waiter/waitress didn’t offer lighter which we politely asked for it. Then we wanting to cut the cake. Politely asking for plates and they didn’t give fork or spoon. We politely asked again for spoons and the waitress gave us a BLACK face!!! So what’s the problem? Can’t I celebrate my son’s birthday?? It’s not like I spend a little amount of money here. The bill was over RM250. Was the deal?? It’s not like you are the only one cook the curry rice here.

I have eaten lots of Japanese Katsu Curry Rice around this area and i have eaten here once long ago and forgot to review it. So came here again and pay a visit and see how’s the quality of the food here. First impression, it’s all deep fried (Katsu) dishes. Do not expect you can have some sushi or ramen (they do have wheat noodle, that’s all). So if you coming here with a big family, maybe you can’t satisfy all.

Back to the Katsu dishes, they have all the katsu (deep fried breadcrumb) meat cuts you can asked for. They have 2 types of rice to choose from, white rice or brown rice. As for the rice, their rice is not that good coz bit wet and not aroma. Lose out to their nearest rival at the new wing side. They offer unlimited filling for rice as well as cut cabbage. The katsu meats were delicious, juicy and tender. But for the Japanese curry rice dish, their curry was yummy but portion is quite small. Please take note. Service was good. Of course it’s bit pricey.

Taste Rating: 8/10 Value Rating: 6.5/10 Ambiance Rating: 8/10 Service Rating: 8.5/10

Overall...