Madame Ooze — Restaurant in Singapore

When I find myself at Chinatown, wondering where to have my lunch, I see a eye-catching shade with the words "Madame Ooze" printed on it, I decide to take a plunge and just pop into the place to have my lunch here.

Upon entering this quaint space, which is actually reception area for Alder Hostel, I am welcomed by the sight of a cosy place decked with florid drapes, hanged drawings of lush greenery, Peranakan antique furniture, ornate lamps, stacks of books and plush comfy sofa and chairs. There are hostel guests lounging around and patrons who are there for the food and drinks. The mood here is casual, relaxed and homely, Singapore style.

And the staff at the counter immediately greeted me with zest and offers me the menu for me to slowly decide on what I want. And he suggests some awesome recommendations, such as coconut ice-cream on panna cotta, which works like wonder.

Madame Ooze provides interesting dessert options, where I can choose the type of vessel, such as croissant, cake, cone, panna cotta, to put my choice of ice-cream on. For a filling meal, there are savoury items to fulfill that, thank goodness, since I come in here for lunch instead of tea break. And my choice of Mushroom Cheese Melt Croissant is really good.

A really lovely, unique place to chill and enjoy good food while soaking in the Peranakan vibe.

Lychee Oolong is so refreshing and light, made even better with the pronounced sweet floral aroma of lychee pefectly complementing the the mild astringent flavour of oolong. Perfect for summer weather of Singapore.

Mushroom Cheese Melt tastes so good and satisfying. The earthy flavour of the mushrooms is perfect match with the creamy savoury goodness of mozzarella cheese, with the pan-fried onion adding a subtle pungent kick to the taste. The croissant is so flaky and crispy, yielding that satisfying bite.

Coconut works wonderfully with panna cotta. The milky nutty flavour of coconut layers so well with the handmade sweet creamy vanilla ice-cream. The ice-cream adds a lightness to the heavy panna cotta thus balancing the taste and texture. Surprise of the day and a must-try.

Thoughts: Awesome choice to chill and enjoy good...

Ambience: 1/10. The seating arrangement was disastrous. Instead of proper tables and chairs, this place went for a sofa/low table for a more chill vibes. Cute idea, horrible execution. We were seated near the entrance (there was a narrow pathway between us and the ordering counter) and we were constantly bombarded by customers and the server constantly telling them to wait outside in her loud voice. As we were seated on large sofas in that cramped space, large groups invaded our space and we were practically facing their butts as we eat. As we spent 50 mins there (dining limit), the server had to ask many groups if they are willing to share the table with other groups. Honestly, if you can fill up the space with smaller tables and chairs, it'd be so much better, as there'd be enough space for more customers, and the server can then probably lower down her volume. The place will be more peaceful without her constantly telling incoming customers the same thing over and over again. Again, as we were at the entrance, we witnessed first hand at how chaotic the queue management was. The server would raise her voice at confused customers who didn't know that there was another group before them. The customers would go out, unsure of what to do.

Food: 2/10. Croissant was crispy and the only good thing about the place. We had earl grey lavender, ondeh ondeh on the croissant and mint chocolate (not pictured). Ice cream was ridiculously expensive for the quality. I have never paid 20 cents for a paper cup before. Isn't it a given that your ice cream comes in a cup and you'd probably then pay to top up to a cone? What's the point of charging that cup? It's not like I can eat the ice cream with my bare hands, can I? Even Signature Koi has better ice cream. Drink is made of syrup lol.

Please IMPROVE your seating and...

My friends and I—four of us—visited the cafe to study, and before entering we were greeted with a poster as shown in the picture. (We arrived around 3.20pm.) After entering, we enquired with one of the in-charges if we could stay for a long period just to study. He was very welcoming with it and got us a 5-6 seater area. After an hour, one of us left.

Before he changed shifts and left the cafe, he reminded us that if there's a crowd later on, we might have to leave, and we were cool with it.

At around 7pm, we saw a family of 4 needing the area we were at, so the 2 of us decided to pack our things and leave while the remaining girl shifted over to a corridor seat to continue studying. While packing our stuff, a waitress wearing specs came over and asked if we were leaving. After informing her that one of us was staying to study, she told her that there was a dining limit of 40 minutes and if the cafe got crowded, she would have to leave.

The waitress conveyed her message with an unwanted attitude and bad tone, with her being passively aggressive.

My friend decided to order a drink from the counter so as to continue studying at the establishment; however, the same waitress continued giving her a bad attitude, making the experience worse.

For context, the cafe was not crowded at that point in time, with only 2 tables of customers.

I believe that we did adhere to the rules as stated in the poster, and they could have stated about the 40-minute dining time earlier before giving us such an attitude.

We feel that the cafe deserves a five-star rating for the friendly in-charge we first came into contact with and the cosy environment. However, the quality of service provided by the waitress made the experience unpleasant. Hopefully the management can look into this and make some...