Review: Moules

Stepping in on the blossoming moules-frites scene, Moules combines a swanky atmosphere with fine seafood dining. With a tweak to the sauces, they may soon be able to give even the Belgians a run for their money.

As opposed to Chambar’s classic quaintness, Moules is a modern homage to Phillipe Starck. The tables are well dressed amid whitewashed walls and quirky furniture. They sit under framed mirrors on the ceiling and rows of mismatched lamps hanging from the rafters.

Environment aside, this restaurant is all about getting down to business with a steaming bowl of mussels and fries. Moules offers the almost clinically scrubbed blue variety, served a plethora of ways including with unconventional curry or pastis sauces. Keep it pure, though, and go with white wine marinère (RMB72) or creamy Provencale (RMB92).

The mussels don’t taste quite as fresh as Chambar’s do, but their fries are closer (but not close enough!) to shoestring and are great for soaking up the sauce at the end. The broths, however, are a little on the weak side and the marinère especially could do with an extra dash or two of white wine to liven it up.

The salmon gravlax (RMB68) we started with was a tad dainty but offered a fitting palette preparer for the main event. Otherwise though, the rest of the menu is perhaps best forgotten–our succulent cod fish and king prawn (RMB138), for example, was drowned in an unwelcome tangy curry sauce. There’s clearly just one thing to come here for at Moules: a steaming bowl of the restaurant’s namesake.