Esther Sham's charming French-themed restaurant maison es is a gem

Melissa Bui fell for maison es, a new French-themed restaurant on the slopes just off Star Street, even before she stepped through its pale green doors. "Just walking up I saw green," she says. "And then I saw the flowers and I was like, 'Oh! I'm in Paris'." The young, rising designer drags out the oh in a contented sigh and smiles as if transported back to France, where she had been just two months earlier attending Paris Fashion Week.

The restaurant is charming. The doorway, filled with pots of roses, belladonna lilies and begonias in varying shades of pink, could easily be mistaken for a Parisian florist. Inside, whimsical sketches and paintings deck the wall, and the salon-style furniture is all in owner Esther Sham's favourite pastels. Sham reportedly sourced all the furniture and crockery herself, scouring French markets for vintage finds. The spacious restaurant has its own terrace, which leads to a private kitchen where diners can sample the original menu Sham presented back in her first food venture, Ta Pantry.

As a starter, Bui opted for the seared langoustine on warm miso butter corn and mozzarella salad. The unusual combination of miso butter and corn had caught her eye, although she later confesses, "I don't eat a lot of shellfish because of my allergies."

Her penchant for unusual combinations extends to her own line of clothing. Bui's latest spring/summer collection, Opaline Blossom, is inspired by flowers, goldfish tails and stripes. "I was staring at a goldfish tank and I was just mesmerised by the goldfish and their tails especially," she says. The resulting collection is a contrasting mix of blues and oranges, and reds and pinks, a kaleidoscope of '50s-era charm, embellished details and hand-painted stripes. Today, Bui is in the Orlaya dress from her summer collection, a white dress with cut-out shoulders and flared sleeves.

A self-proclaimed dreamer, Bui looked right at home at maison es. As our first course arrives on mismatched floral plates, she declares the cottage-like restaurant her "dreamland". "I want my house to look like this. I love this rustic feel, and I do love flowers."