tucked at the basement of the heeren shops, the vila’ge restaurant sits where marché used to. most people would probably not even notice the difference since the two restaurants share an identical look and concept.
the vila’ge is pronounced “vee-lah-jey”. until very recently, i had thought it was simply pronounced and spelled “the village”!
but firstly, here’s a bit of history behind these two restaurants. marché opened its first restaurant at the heeren in 1997, boasting a european village dining concept, and a second one at suntec city mall some time after.
7 years later, the vila’ge opened its first restaurant at china square with an identical concept. it became marché’s direct competitor.
in 2006, marché closed its flagship restaurant at the heeren, and the vila’ge took over the same floorspace.
so, how different from marché would the vila’ge be?
as it turns out, not too different! both restaurants employ a similar “cashless” system where every diner is given a bar coded card. when we order our food and drinks from any of the twenty-ish stations, our purchase is recorded onto the card. payment is made only upon leaving.
the similarities do not end there. i had dined at marché (the heeren branch) a number of times when it was still in business. the vila’ge sports almost the exact same layout! the drinks section is laid out in the exact same fashion, with bottles and cans sticking out of barrels. the dining area does not look any different from before. heck, even the make-your-own-pizza station is still located at the exact same spot!
so basically, everything looks the same as marché. my only clue that this place is actually a different restaurant is that it now has a new name! very different, indeed.
this is why i’m a little perturbed that photography is banned here. why do restaurants ban photography anyway? the only reason i can think of is that they do not want competitors mimicking their design, food, whatever. but hello, this isn’t even a unique concept that the vila’ge came up with on its own. even its bull (or cow) mascot is the same as marché’s! and so, “click”, “click”, “click”, my camera went.
even though the vila’ge gets zero points for creativity and originality, the food may fare better. marché, as i recall, did not have any food that was particularly memorable. i had the pizza each time i went. this time round, we went for the catch of the day, which was stingray.
Sambal Stingray with RicePrice: $6.80 + 5% GST + 1% CESS
Dish rating:
served with rice, the stingray was surprisingly good! i thought that the best sambal stingray would usually be found in hawker centres. i was wrong. the sambal chili, in particular, was awesome. it made the dish what it is. and at just $6.80, this dish was no doubt very satisfying.
Price: $4.80 + 5% GST + 1% CESS
Dish rating:
the desserts selection was scarcely limited. i had the black and white chocolate cake, which was filled with both dark and white chocolate mousse. i love mousse, and this certainly looked very pretty. but in the end it didn’t really do much for me.
for such a huge restaurant i would have liked to see more dessert choices other than just the few cakes and breads. but they do get some brownie points for having a $14 chocolate fondue set available. whether it’s any good remains to be seen.
Price: $10.20 (a pint) + 5% GST + 1% CESS
Drink rating:
free beer tomorrow? boy, wouldn’t that be sweet? the beer of choice here is the german erdinger. very smooth and rich!
at the end of the day, i did like what i had, but there could have been more choices available. i also liked the overall look and dining concept of this place, although i am well aware of the fact that marché takes most, if not all, of the credit for that.
also in this series
May 2, 2007: Marché Restaurant - Swiss Haven
February 19, 2008: Shokudo Japanese Food Bazaar - There’s Something for Everyone
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goes by the name veron (english) or wanting (chinese). a definitive leo born august 1, 1984. a solo traveler. loves cats, coffee, sensual music, yummy food and technology. when she's not at her job as an IS developer for the government, she's likely to be out dining, or visiting an interesting art gallery or event.
this place existed for almost 2 years if not wrong. out of curiosity I visited it’s far east square branch when it had just opened for business. in my mind I was subconsciously comparing it to marche and well… I wasn’t too impressed during that time. the food was tasteless, the decor was dull, the furniture was poorly arrnaged, the walkways were narrow and the service was not the best, the chefs behind the dishes were speaking in dialect, behaving unprofessionally and never even smile!
that visit just reassured me that I still love my marche and any copier was just trying their luck too far. since then i have been a supporter of marche, given its good environment, friendly staffs, good food and reasonable price.
village lost in innovative, and did not try even hard enough to replicate the same standard of food and service. View all comments by lucas
its such a strange situation for 2 rival companies to be in… i was at villa’ge a while back, and was under the impression i was at marche all along! how dense am i?? i didnt even realise, till it came up in conversation with my friend who was with me that night.
isnt crystal jade in the same kinda situation with a rival too?
i just dont get it…
why? View all comments by scatter-brained
Hey lucas,
Not all is lost. Apparently Marche is making a return, and if so it would be in VivoCity! We can all look forward to that! View all comments by Veron
Hey scatter-brained,
LOL you are scatter-brained indeed! Oops, can I say that?
About Crystal Jade, their brand name is so ingrained in people’s minds, I don’t think any other restaurant can easily “take over” its market share. There are a number of similar Chinese restaurants, such as Din Tai Fung. But at least the concept isn’t copied as blatantly as The Vila’ge is from Marche. View all comments by Veron
I smell non-originality. If The Village wants to stand out from the shadows of Marche, it should create a unique theme of their own. The ambience still looks the same! View all comments by Brennan
Right on! Everything looks the same! And yet they try to stop people from copying their copied concept by banning photography. I was quite peeved at that. View all comments by Veron
Brilliant. They change management and name that fools people into believing that a new makan place is in town but maintain the same look, feel, and style. Hahaha View all comments by mervkwok
Well, just for the record, I heard both Marche and Vila’age share the same bosses, which makes sense because otherwise, the latter would have had their pants sued off by Marche years ago when the Far East Square outlet first opened!
Still, I’ve not been to either for a while. Now that you’ve posted those pictures, perhaps it’s time I go try out the sambal stingray too! View all comments by think2ink
there is one very very big difference (at least, to me)between vilage and marche at heeren. vilage discontinued the marche hot dog stand just outside the entrance. and the hot dogs there were good~ View all comments by xxoos
Hey mervkwok,
It went too far though, to the extent that some people (like our scatter-brained friend above) thought that it’s still Marche! View all comments by Veron
Hey think2ink,
I think those are just rumors! Both bosses of Marche and Vila’ge have vehemently denied that they are connected. Background checks have also shown that these two restaurants are in fact two separate entities run by different management and bosses. View all comments by Veron
Hey xxoos,
Oh! Looks like I missed out on those hot dogs (I had never noticed their presence. Shame!). Well the good news is, Marche is opening a restaurant at VivoCity in February or March. We can all look forward to that! View all comments by Veron
I did not know Marche closed its flagship in Heeren. Thx for keeping me updated…so many miles away. View all comments by tigerfish
yep, certainly concept cannot be sued in the eyes of the law (just think of all the similar men’s & women’s lifestyle magazines out there!), unless copyrights and trademarks are infringed.
Having said that, is Marche and Vilage really under the same management, or has Vilage bought over Marche? All i know is that the marketing manager of Marche left and is now working for Vilage (spoke to her regarding putting their restaurants in my publication)..
Anyway Veron, once again your blog is a treasure-trove of information, ideas, leads and feedback - especially for the F&B establishments. Might have to credit your blog in my book once its launched, muahaha..
~saves me from having to scour through all the latest magazines and print ads to find out what’s happening in the tiny rock of Singapore. View all comments by Edmund
I don’t think The Vila’ge bought over Marche. If they did, both parties seem pretty strong about keeping it secret (for the moment).
Edmund, I’m sure foodies would find your book to be far more useful than my blog!
And, uh, “tiny rock of Singapore”? I’ve heard “tiny red dot” or “tiny island”. But “tiny rock”? That’s a first! View all comments by Veron
haha.. “tiny rock” is meant to be a play on the term used for Alcatraz Prison, also known as “The Rock”.. some people feel that Singaore is too controlled, restrictive and hence a ‘prison’… but at the same time, this ‘tiny rock’ is also considered a ‘diamond’ for its unique F&B culture.
Either way, life is what we make of it and i’m certainly enjoying life here in Sg, quite alot of interesting merchants, restaurants and things to do if one actually takes the time to explore and get away from work, office and stress..
As for your blog compared to my book.. well, your blog is interactive and has world-wide appeal and reach. My book is only applicable for those in Singapore, although they’ll find it useful with all the goodies and discounts provided by the 100+ merchants already featured inside ;) View all comments by Edmund
Hey, that rock analogy seems to fit Singapore pretty well! The prison part especially… Not so sure about the F&B culture being a “diamond” unless you’re talking about just the hawker scene. The best food in Singapore is found at hawker centres IMO. Our restaurant dining culture and standards definitely have a lot of room for improvement.
And wow, 100+ merchants in your book already! Well done! View all comments by Veron
Hey!
Just wanted to add some insight into the Marche Vs Village issue. I’m a regular at the old marche (heeren + suntec) maninly cause i like the Erdinger draft beer!! :)
Basically the marche rests were a franchise under license from Marche HQ. When the lease ran out…. the local company decided to use the concept but manage it on their own. Infact China Sq village outlet opened while the heeren marhce was still operating.
Marche HQ finally decided to move down the supply chain…..and setup their own rest to sell directly to customers.
I’ve visited the vivo city marche 2 x. I would say it’s more authentic in terms of the ingredients they use. No erdindger though…..but the Konig draft is pretty good. BTW they are all WiseBier (can’t spell)…. i.e. Wheat Beer! :)
Happy drinkin & the best is yet t be.
alwyn View all comments by Alwyn
Hi, I stumbled into yr site (of which i have visited b4 yonks ago! or u can say… in days of yore!!) while searching for vilage on the net. Thought i could share some insight into some of the questions asked here. I frequent Marche at heeren & suntec a lot due to the Erdinger draft beer served.
Basically the “old” marche was a franchise licensed to a local company. When the franchise was up, the local company decided to go out on their own, therefore u see both concepts identical. :) The china sq branch was the 1st test outlet. It has since closed. So only the heeren branch is alive today. The marche in vivo is run by Marche HQ.
alwyn View all comments by Alwyn
Hey, you’re a fellow ex-ACSian aren’t ya? I sure do remember ya!
I haven’t realised that the Marché franchisee previously is also the same company that set up The Vi’lage! That sure explains why neither company has sued the pants off the other.
The current Marché at VivoCity is a whole lot better than the old franchise and The Vi’lage. Read my review here!
Thanks for the clarification! I have been waiting for this for a long time! View all comments by Veron
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