Le Muria @ Upper Thomson Road (Near Nee Soon Camp)

The name of this restaurant looked deceptively French.

Coupled with a posh decor associated with fine dining, i shuddered (then) just thinking if it will take me a leg or a hand (or worse; both) to dine in this barely two months old establishment.

The above wrapped up my initial opinion of this restaurant!

In case you are wondering, my mom is a frequent patron of the 7-11 next door (for 4D betting) and i passed by this restaurant every 1-2 weeks!

Anyway, fate has its strange way of creeping into our life. The gang of four was looking in HungryGoWhere.com on places to eat and Mr Kon was attracted by the almost ridiculously high reviews (4 of them) of Le Muria.

The familiarity of this name did not sink in until i searched for the restaurant in iPhone Maps.

Truthfully I wasn't keen, judging from what i thought was a correct perception of that place. Kon, knowing me, did his magic (fantastic reviews, prices not expensive according to the reviewers etc) and i agreed (albeit reluctantly).

Stepping into an empty restaurant at the supposedly crowded dinnertime can be so nerve wrecking! The reviews real or not ah?!?!?!?!?

*update: i honestly think they are real*

Heck care lah!!!
Time should no longer be wasted!

The first thing that debunked my impression; It's not a French eatery wtf!!!

According to the first page of the pamphlet size menu, Le Muria is the name of an apparently lost continent variously located in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The food served in Le Muria infuses various tastes and blends of the land that was once Le Muria (Madagascar, India and Indonesia).

Orh.... Fusion food la...

And here comes our orders!

Soup of the Day (Corn)

The corn flavour was barely noticeable though there were whole kernels of corn.

Love the savoury (chicken i think) biscuits though!

S$2.50 per bowl (UNLIMITED SERVINGS!!)


Mixed Salad with Thousand Island Dressing

The small boy Alex decided to have something light since he was sick (damn weakling).

Though i am not a salad fan, this was really appetising for its wide variety of fresh ingredients thinly drenched with the thousand island dressing.

S$5.00 per plate, which was really a shocker since the serving size was not small!

Grilled Chicken with Black Pepper

Part of the set meal (with limited free soup and drink), the grilled chicken was normal with minimal marination.

The buttery mushroom sauce should have made an explosive difference but for reasons unknown, it did not.

Originally S$13.90 for just the dish but as a set, it was only S$9.90!

Good deal!

Fish N Chips

The recommended must-try in HungryGoWhere.com, we were surprised to find an uncommon batter that wasn't thick, wasn't oily, wasn't crispy yet tasted fabulously!

The specially mixed tartar sauce was a delight to have!
Either with the fish or fries!

Originally S$11.90 for just the dish but as a set, it was only S$9.90!

Another worth it deal!

Butter Chicken (whole chicken)

High expectation was anticipated since any food with a significant amount of butter should taste nice nice right?!?! Think butter crabs!

Bad luck...

The butter flavour was so light, it was almost non-existent. The dips (tomato-lookalike sauce with potatoes and the other one had garlics and onions i think) enhanced the flavour but their powers were just insufficient to term this a must-try.

In addition, the meat was too dry without having any deep infusion of marination that make many chicken meat tastes out of this world.

It was filling nonetheless.

At S$17.90, a sampling portion (half chicken) is also available.

Buffalo Wings

A must try!!! Unlike the buffalo wings i blogged before (HERE and THERE), the ones here in Le Muria were distinctly different in taste and smaller in size (read: drumlets, not wings).

They were so juicy with a really tantalising marination! If there's anyone who is willing to sponsor me, this is the kind of dish i would gladly participate in "who can eat the most buffalo wings in 10 minutes" contest!

Six pieces at S$6.90, fries included!

====

Like any restaurants, there are things that are good and some things, not so good. In Le Muria, the good was excellent and the not so good was normal. 

A person with basic analytical skills will know the odds of good food are quite high (judging from my post) and i will definitely be back again for other must tries, like the beef stew.

As Mr Kon commented, this is a good place to have a jug of beer and a plate (or few plates) of buffalo wings.

Location

914, Upper Thomson Road.

Quite near to Nee Soon Camp (the old BMT camp).

And it's near to the kampong (village) i used to stay!

Lost?

Call 6455-2133!

Price

We paid S$57.86 in total.

There's a 10% 5% service charge with no GST!

Additional Information

There's a complementary serving of indian spices biscuits before you start your meal. Not amazing but definitely a good service gesture for the customers.

They do serve liquor and beer (ginger beer too for 'kids' like me)!

Happy hours are also available for those 'beer bellies'!