Ever since I tried Maria’s excellent Western food and cakes, I have not been able to find another restaurant that serve such high quality food at a good value they are offering. Being a family business also means that they are personally involved in choosing the best ingredients as well as the cooking.
Like for example, the Fresh Pumpkin Soup @ RM7.50. The cook at Maria’s goes to the market to pick only the freshest pumpkin to prepare this hearty soup. It is flavorful with a thick but smooth consistency, a nice alternative to the mushroom soup served almost everywhere.
The Caesar Salad @ RM12.50 has beef bacon, walnuts and crunchy croutons dressed with parmesan cheese slices and Maria’s very own secret dressing. We loved the creamy dressing and the perfectly fresh Romaine lettuce, which had a enjoyable crisp texture.
For non beef eaters, or for those looking for a more substantial topping you could choose to have smoked salmon @ RM16.50 or and chicken (deep fried or roasted) RM15.50.
Our main dish of the meal has got to be the grilled Japanese Kobe Steak, priced at an eye-popping RM175/100gm. This highly prized meat has a fantastic flavor, tenderness, contains more fat compared to the Australian Wagyu. Its well-marbled texture is one of the reasons this delicacy is so popular, it literally melts in your mouth. To describe Maria’s grilled Kobe Steak would be “so, so good it’s heavenly delicious, fit for a king”.
But of course having a more tender and fatty texture does not automatically make the Kobe ultimate favorite because it all depends on your personal preference. For steak lovers who prefer to chew on meat then the Wagyu and Black Angus would be a better choice, and at a much affordable price too.
The steaks at Maria’s are grilled with minimal seasoning (salt & pepper) as not to overpower the natural flavor of the beef. Trust me you wouldn’t want to have the steak with any sauce or gravy (even though mustard is provided, I just ignored it) because that would just distract your tastebuds from the already-wonderful-tasting-steak, really.
I like my steaks medium, not too bloody with a juicy pink inside, which is also the recommended doneness here. I feel it would be a complete waste of the steak if it was cooked any “doner” than medium, especially if they are these premium beef we are talking about. If you are going to order your steak well-done you might as well save your money and choose to have other meats instead like chicken. This is something I learnt the hard way, as I used to have my steaks well-done too.
Here’s a prime cut of raw Kobe beef, weighing typically from 160-180gm used to prepare the Kobe steaks at Maria’s.
Fresh Sashimi grade Salmon is used for the Grilled Salmon Fillet @ RM36. A few slices of sashimi at any Japanese restaurant would already cost RM20-30 so paying only a little more for an entire slab is definitely a steal.
You will appreciate the salmon’s freshness but ultimately it is the homemade tangerine sauce that really brings out the taste of it. The sweet orangy sauce is a perfect complement by imparting a zesty flavor.
Non beef and seafood eaters will definitely love the Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken @ RM18. Again, instead of choosing mushroom sauce that is served just about anywhere, I highly recommend trying the Honey Mustard sauce.
Initially I was actually worried about the mustard taste because I don’t really like how it tastes. But thankfully the mustard taste is quite mild, which goes really well with the grilled boneless chicken thigh. Until I could find a better grilled chicken, this would be my top favorite.
Maria’s actually started out as a cafe selling pies and coffee so their Chicken or Beef Pies @ RM9.50 are a must try too. Considering the huge amout of effort required to bake these pies (the chef needs to align the pasty over the pie plate manually, a time-consuming process) the price is really justified.
We had the beef pie that containing stewed chunky beef and carrots, which was moist and tender. What impressed me the most is the pie’s flaky crust that resembles that of an egg tart, simply delicious.
Anyway if you are planning to have Maria’s pies, it is recommended to reserve them in advance because they only bake a limited amount number each week. And these popular pies usually run out by the weekend.
For dessert we had a slice of their homemade Carrot Walnut cake. This classical cake is wonderfully moist texture with the nutty texture of walnuts, nicely topped with a delightful and sweet Cream Cheese (cheddar) Frosting. A great end to the evening.
To the working folks at Damansara Perdana, you just really need to drop by Maria’s Cafe & Restaurant to have a go at their Western dishes. Weekdays lunch hour would be the best timing because their set lunches are priced at only RM15 onwards with a soup and soft drink included.
C313A (Level 3), Center Wing,
Metropolitan Square,
No 2, Jalan PJU 8/1,
Bandar Damansara Perdana, PJ
GPS Coordinates: N3 09.914 E101 36.573
Tel: 03-7725 2313.
Opening hours: 12pm – 10:30pm
Set lunch starts from RM15 (main course + dessert + drink)
2nd Outlet @ 58, Jalan Maarof, Bangsar Baru,
59100 KL
Tel: 603-2282 2220
Fax: 603-2282 2224
the caesar salad looks mouth watering.. also the red meats.. bloody is good!
The grilled Japanese Kobe Steak price sure is an eye popper. Do they serve halal food or just pork free?
hi Azam, they’re Pork Free
I have not been to their first outlet in Ipoh yet and they’re in PJ already!
.-= jason´s last blog ..Shooting With Canon EOS 1000D – Eastern’s Brasserie- Ipoh =-.
RM175, hmmm..worth it?
must try this once in ur life.. it’s super damn worth it. just diff from the normal beef.. the flavor.. omg
i wonder if this is better than angus steakhouse on the top floor in pavilion, because i also heard so many good reviews on angus steakhouse. have vk tried angus steakhouse?
nice photo, the restaurant really looks very good, well-decorated and organised =] of course, the food is extremely good-looking too.. hmmm.. but the beef is abit expensive for me.. haha..
.-= wyyv´s last blog ..Pun Chun Restaurant@ Bidor- Perak =-.
tried their black angus and also the pumpkin soup late last year. no bad, although i would prefer my pumpkin soup to be a bit thicker.
and oh, that place is kinda hard to find! but i will definitely go there again!
.-= Badmonkey´s last blog ..Ramadhan Dinner =-.
The daughter is still there? Ipoh’s Maria’s Cafe is not doing that well, sadly. Though they still have lunch sets, at about the same price as the ones you wrote.
.-= J2Kfm´s last blog ..Satay Kajang Nyok Lan @ Restoran Malaysia =-.
Hiya, you know about Maria’s Ipoh too? :-) I’m a fan too!
Take note that Maria’s Ipoh is now open for dinner only. Truly miss their budget lunch sets. :(
I think they’re doing ok. Was rather busy the other night. The steaks are my favorite! :DDD
wow thank god i opened your blog
i happen to be going to KL today to pick up my Giorgio Armani suit in KLCC and drop by in Kota Damansara …
hopefully i can find this Maria Cafe really interested to try the Kobe Steak. prolly will takeaway the pies lul
.-= flizzardo´s last blog ..My Fashion Mistake =-.
LOL some interesting fact… i always open your blog during RAMADHAN lul
.-= flizzardo´s last blog ..My Fashion Mistake =-.
Wow, that’s a huge jump from RM 7.50 soup to RM 175/100gm Wagyu steak. Will surely drop by to have a try of their food.
Great post. You’ve really captured it in a very mouth watering blog! I’ve had Maria’s food for about 15 years now! We used to order pies and cakes from Maria back then in Ipoh and I’m telling you, once you’ve had one, you’ll never want anything else.
[…] Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken […]
Trust me, once u’ve had Maria’s steaks, no other steak house matter anymore !! It’s that good!
Great to know you enjoyed their steaks. May I know if you are a first time customer?
i was there a couple of months ago… i swear i will never go back! no doubt the food was above average, but it took us 45min to get our food, on a Saturday nite, only 2 tables b4 us. . When I asked the girl (one of the owner I suspect) why it’s taking so long, she just says “its coming, at least you got your sphagetti first (for my toddler son)” Then i ordered 3 items from the menu, and all of them were sold out! We could tell they were understaffed. I just didnt like the way she spoke to me. It’s like she doesnt need my business.
Dear Pingmouse,
I am incredibily sorry that you were upset and appreciated that you’ve highlighted all the problems. We will try our best to improve whatever we can. We have never meant to offend you and every customer means a lot to us.
Regards,
Mary
Manager of Maria’s
Food is ok. Oxtail soup rm18 is very expensive
Coke diluted.
Food taking more than 30mins to cook . Is taking too long . Don’t know why.
DONT EVER GO TO Maria’s cafe ipoh for food! They have the WORST Service and staff! We waited for more than half and hour and we were told that the food were not ordered! The staff were not attentive, worst still they did not apologise even we complained! We have no idea how this cafe will survive in the long run!
U can try zest cafe at bangsar south for some nice, good quality grilled chicken at a very reasonable price :)
I don’t know how I missed this review when it was posted 2 years ago. And no, its not because I’m filled with the same sense of longing “to try the best steak in town” like most of the comments here, its because I cannot believe I missed “Pingmouse’s” comments, which should have served as a BIG WARNING to all who have yet to try out this restaurant!
Needless to say, my ignorance has backfired BIGTIME!! Expecting to have a fine dining experience yesterday with a few of my buddies, we were instead greeted with exceptionally POOR SERVICE. We waited for AN HOUR & 1/2 for our food to be served!! And when it did come, it wasn’t all that spectacular. The steak cuts were not all as advertised (4 of us ordered Angus beef – 200g), and we could tell immediately by just looking at the portions that they were NOT of the same size OR weight. In other words, we were shortchanged!
Thinking it was just our luck, we asked a couple of our buddies who ordered the New Zealand Lamb, and they BOTH mentioned that it tested BLEND at best!!
So here we are, having waited for an abnormal amount of time, in a restaurant, promising the best taste and cuts in town, but served what proved to be neither!
To make things worse, the ambiance was appalling. There was a party of 20 there last night, and they were behaving like they were working overtime at the New York Stock Exchange! We couldn’t even hear ourselves speak amidst their ignorant, bullish voices!
This is BY FAR, the lousiest and most UN-customer centric restaurant I’ve been too! Needless to say, it’s the first and LAST time we’d ever dine there. I think it’s safe to say that OLD TOWN (just a few lots down the road) would have offered a WAY better dining experience! ABSOLUTELY APPALLING!!
We have to explain in regards to Disappointed Customer’s comments.
Maria’s serves freshly cooked dishes which may need a longer waiting period. However, they only waited for less than 45 minutes. We informed them that there may be a long wait due to another large table. We apologized and served them 2 of our best-seller desserts free of charge.
We are not a fine dining restaurant. We are a casual dining restaurant and we still puts priority in quality service.
They did not order Angus beef. They ordered four orders of Aus Rib Eye. We explained that the weight is approx 180-210gm.
We asked for feedback of food quality. They responded that our food is good. We are surprise by the complain on the blend NZ Lamb.
As a casual dining restaurant, we do not limit the volume of our customers. We accept and respect our customers unless exceptional cases (violent behavior, etc.)
We are sorry that you were disappointed. We admit that we are not a fine dining restaurant neither do we serve fast food. We are a family run casual dining restaurant that serves mostly freshly cooked dishes. Waiting time can be from 15minutes to an hour depending on the choice of food and number of customers.
Thanks vkeong for the post!! I went to celeb my mum’s bday te other day and ordered their wagyu steak for my mum which was heavenly!! The pasta i ordrred was also good and i particularly like the spicy mussels :)
I love their black angus steak so much. Saving up to try their Wagyu 7. Cant imagine how good their wagyu can be when the angus is already so good ! Thank you for recommending this restaurant Vkeong :D . I also like their aglio olio seafood pasta that my sister ordered. reasonably priced too !
During my trip to Malaysia, I tried all of their steaks (tenderloin, grass-fed rib eye, grain-fed rib eye Angus & Wagyu) and Maria’s deserve high commendation for serving the best steaks in the world. I can forgive the occasional misses in the meat quality as I do understand it is beyond their control, and they did explain the same. But the way the steak is cooked is perfect. I approached the owners & had great conversation with them. Really enjoyed my stay in Malaysia.
Have written a more thorough comment on your other blog post.
I just love their black angus steak so much that I am planing to visit again. Recently when I visited http://www.marble-8.com/venue/steak-house-in-kl/ I have found same kind of experience their too.