Nothing like ma’s cooking New Bannatyne eatery brings feast of Asian flavours By: Eva Wasney Posted: 4:29 PM CDT Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026

Matriarchal influences run deep at House of Ma Kitchen and Bar.

Executive chef Dom Merano took inspiration from his mom’s home cooking while developing the menu for the new Exchange District restaurant — specifically Cynthia Merano’s recipes for lumpia (Filipino spring rolls) and kare-kare (braised beef and peanut stew).

“It tastes like home,” Merano says of the dishes, adding that his mom “felt honoured to be able to share her cooking with people. She was actually here prior to opening helping me roll lumpia.”

Cynthia’s photo is hung among the “Wall of Mas” at the back of the restaurant, where the mothers and grandmothers of True Hospitality staff are given pride of place.

The Asian fusion eatery is one of two concepts opened by the Winnipeg restaurant group this summer in the main floor of a new residential tower at 127 Bannatyne Ave. True Hospitality also operates the nearby Cibo Waterfront Cafe and James Avenue Pumphouse, as well as Shark Club Sports Bar, Dave and LaVerne’s Modern Diner, Junction 59 Roadhouse and Bistro 330 in La Salle.

House of Ma is designed to feel like an upscale tropical resort, with bright white accents, natural wood features and large-format foliage-inspired wall tiles. Wicker decor and pendant lights are hung throughout the split-level dining room. Bright red sriracha bottles are displayed above the sunny bar, where a television is tuned to a digital aquarium of colourful fish.

Next door, Highwater Bar and Eatery is a near polar opposite, esthetically. Inspired by the classic Chicago restaurants, the room is long and narrow with a moody colour palette, lush floor-to-ceiling curtains and an ornate dark wood bar.

Art deco chandeliers and tabletop lamps flicker create a warm glow and the walls are decorated with vintage knick-knacks and archival photos of Winnipeg’s iconic Paddlewheel Queen riverboat.

“It has the feeling of a supper club or a speakeasy, but it’s a pretty serious restaurant with a really cool bar,” says Chris Manalastas, vice-president of True Hospitality. “The food is elevated, refined North American classics.”

Back at Ma, the menu is a mix of flavours from China, Japan, Korea and southeast Asia.

“Being Filipino, I obviously wanted to showcase Filipino food, but also all the broad cuisines throughout Asia,” says Merano, previously the executive chef at Cibo.

Once seated, diners are greeted with a welcome broth — a complimentary serving of warm chicken or vegetable broth.

The menu features specialty cocktails, shareable appetizers, mains, noodles and rice dishes. Entrées include honey walnut shrimp ($20), crispy breaded shrimp, candied walnuts and kewpie mayo; pancit noodles ($15, protein extra), glass and wheat noodles mixed with vegetables and soy-garlic sauce; and Mama’s chicken ($28), Thai-style braised chicken wrapped in a banana leaf and served with coconut rice.

For dessert? Turon pudding, a fluffy Filipino banana pudding with a crunchy fried topping.

“By the time it hits the menu, it’s been tried by a thousand bites,” Manalastas says of the restaurant group’s recipe-development process. “With all our concepts, we want to hit the mark of staying true to the culture and recipe, but also making sure it’s approachable to all.”

With House of Ma and Highwater, True Hospitality — founded by restaurateur Darin Amies — now runs four restaurants within blocks of one another in the East Exchange District. It’s a neighbourhood that’s experienced a boom of residential and commercial development over the past decade, says Manalastas.

“When we opened Cibo in 2013, this was a different area,” he says. “Developers started putting money into some of the old lofts and investing in new builds. It makes it an (easy decision) for us restaurateurs; there’s population, there’s demand.

“I think everyone, collectively, has done a nice job making the area very approachable.”

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com