Ma Cuisine (Montpellier, France)

While the wife and daughter are having a look at Uniqlo, I happen to stroll around the place and see what’s exciting on this street. I noticed that this Uniqlo building right smack it the centre of Montpellier is quite huge occupying a whole block in an old town centre, so I went around it then saw this market just below Uniqlo, very handy.

Halles Castellane is what it is called, basically its Montpellier’s main covered market which sells a lot of local goods like fresh fruits, cheeses, vegetables, fresh meat, cold cuts, dried fruits, nuts, flowers and pasta to name some. There were also a number of small food stalls that offer from snacks, ice creams, lunch and drinks. One of those food stalls is the Ma Cuisine and I flagged it to be the place to have our lunch as I was attracted to that chicken curry on display, I then came back outside the market to wait for my lovely ladies.

Minutes later there they are, finished with their shopping. I told them we will have lunch and head to Ma Cuisine which is a couple of minutes away. As we arrived there was a family ordering the dish I wanted, its small stall so they don’t stock a lot of reserve. I was supposed to order two of that dish but all of it were gone except for one. So for the other dishes we opted for some pressed sandwiches.

There was an al Fresco dining area which is a large shared courtyard outside Halles Castellane, all tables are covered with large umbrella which is a good idea on very hot summer. Its place is not owned by the restaurant but by the place who sells drinks, you are free to use the tables as long as you buy one drink per person, so take note of that.

Brick de Filet de Poulet au Curry (€8.00) is the name of that curry dish that I mentioned above. A French style creamy chicken curry served with spiced basmati rice and three types of salad, a carrot, leafy and some cucumber. I really liked this dish, while they called it curry it’s more like a creamy chicken dish, very French tasting. Salads were great as well and matches perfectly with the chicken dish.

Then for the bread we grabbed a couple of this Casse Croute Chaud (€5.00), it’s like a panini filled with Beef and Emmental cheese. Another great dish, good serving size perhaps we should have ordered one as it is quite filling.

This is a great place to hang out during lunchtime, Ma Cuisine is quite inexpensive compared to the restaurants outside plus it was delicious and portions were generous and if that is not enough, the market is just a stone throw away, so you can enjoy other food with your order like the produce that you can get like fruits, cheese and cold cuts.

Ma Cuisine
Address: Les Halles Castellanes, Rue de la Loge, 34000 Montpellier, France