Brasserie Gavroche, Singapore

The girls decided on Brasserie Gavroche for my birthday dinner. Y said it is a French restaurant. I worried a little because todate I have not tasted a good french restaurant. Most purport to be French but always turned out not to be authentic enough. Well guess what, this is as authentic as it can get.

It is situated in 66 Tras Street. This is a street of Singapore style shophouses. The ambience is rustic with flooring of the '60s and '70s. Decor is dark wood furniture as well as bar counter with white linen table cloths. Lighting is a muted yellow, bright enough to see each sother's faces and read the menu. Can't go wrong with this decor. It can suit a coffee bar in Chicago to somewhere in Tiong Bahru, Singapore if you want the serious no-nonsense look. Go take a look at their website. 

The waiter ( all good-looking and all seemed French) passed us a rather cumbersome looking menu. It came framed up in wood, like holding a mini picture frame. I would prefer it to be nicely printed on good parchment paper, but that's me. If you are French, you will fell very much at home. The staff speaks French, the menu is in French, thankfully with English interpretations.

We started off with the Sauteed Baby Artichokes with Mussells with touch of chilli. It is like more of a warm salad. I was impressed with the tenderness of the artichokes because half the time I eat them it is doused in too sourish vinegar and hardly chewable. This dish is quite the opposite. The chef managed to keep the artichokes tender (maybe because they are Baby artichokes?) and the mussels soft and not chewy either. Overall I would still prefer it a little less sour on the vinegar but I think this is a matter of personal preference. 

I tried the Parmentier de canard confit (Shredded Duck Confit with Crushed Potatoes  Gratinated Potatoes).Usually the confit turns out very salty and I wanted to test if this will be so. Surprisingly, the duck confit was soft and tender, not overly salty which paired so well with the gratinated potatoes. There seemed to be bits of crispy bacon cleverly mixed with the smooth texture of the potatoes. You have to eat them together scoop by scoop. It felt so home cooked and unpretentious. Although the dish it came in looked small, it packed a good filler for Asian tummies.

The other dish my friend ordered was the Potee Auvergenate, recette du grand pere Henri (Grandpa Henri's pork hotpot with cabbage and garden vegetables). For those who want a no nonsense meat hotpot soupy tummy warmer, this will be an excellent choice. If the weather in Singapore were to be 10 degrees cooler, this is the dish to eat! It is again a very simple dish with no extra vegetables to distract you. It is good old homecooked style even if there were the words "Grandpa Henri". My tastebuds were not teased nor enticed when I tasted it but that is my personal opinion.

The Tartare de boeuf Angus et frites (Hand-cut Angus beef with condiments and French Fries) was a first for me to try in my entire life. I half expected a raw egg to sit on top of the steak tartare or served ala one of Mr Bean's episodes. I found the taste too sour due to too much capers mixed in. I cannot see the egg but I guessed it was already mixed in. The capers distracted the taste of the steak so I was unable to experience the rawness of the meat sufficiently.

We were rather with all that food but I was game for desserts nevertheless. We ended up choosing Chocolate Tart with Hazelnut Praline which was heavenly too. Warning: Very chocolaty!

Overall, the pleasantness of the environment with good wine made the whole experience very pleasant. I would say this is by far the best French food I have tasted, unadulterated by fancy food science techniques.

                   

                

Fragrant Garden Restaurant

Last week I was racking my brain for somewhere "new" for my folks where carpark is easy to find. Gladly a suggestion from my husband came forth, Fragrant Garden Restaurant, situated at 756 Upper Serangoon Road, #01-15/16 Upper Serangoon Shopping Centre.

Do not expect it being located in some glamourous mall with lots of people coming and going. This mall is literally looking somewhat neglected and old, but not decrepit. Lots of old shops but by dinner time on a Sunday, all shops are closed except for the hustle and bustle of the restaurant. This means the restaurant will not be expecting any passers by from outside either.

There is a rather wide menu for a small restaurant. The unit's seating capacity spills over to the concourse and that sort of sums up its popularity. Being with a family of 8, we managed to order quite a range of dishes:

Oyster Omelette
Spinach with Two Variety Eggs
Salted Egg Yolk Crayfish
Prawn and Liver Roll
Fragrant's Special Ribs
Steamed Prawns with Garlic
Pork Jelly
Fried Shrimp Paste Chicken
Yam Paste with Pumpkin and Gingko Nuts

Oyster Omelette:
If you like your oysters plump with chilli sauce generously poured over the dish, this is something you may like. The omelette is not fried till crispy neither is it soggy.  There is no trace of cornflour mixed with the egg so you get undiluted eggs in this dish with a very generous helping of oysters that are fresh.

Spinach with Two Variety Eggs
This is so tastefully done and just right of slat level even with the salted eggs and century eggs thrown in.  The spinach is smooth and goes well with the gravy that is not too watery and eggs chopped up tiny enough for you to know its there, complementing the vegetables giving the whole dish a good balance of taste.

Salted Egg Yolk Crayfish
I wished I had more gravy: That was my conclusion. All the gravy stuck to the shells of the crayfish and I found myself licking it off the shells like a kid. The flesh is fresh and is a good change if you are sick of eating this dish usually reserved for crabs. Besides, you do not have to grapple with the legs of the crabs. Less messy experience. The taste of the salted egg yolk gravy is a match for Kimly Restaurant but of course the latter fares better in presentation.

(Sorry, only remembered to take pic after everyone has eaten. Note the roe bits covered with salted egg yolk)

Prawn and Liver Rolls
This is similar sort of rolls mentioned in previous blog named Le Chasseur - ngoh hiang. This time there is more minced prawns over minced pork in the Prawn Roll deep fried to a good tenderness and crispiness. So was the Liver Roll mixed with the minced pork but the taste of liver is cenrtainly not overpowered by liver nor its spices. I did not mention these rolls were of liver ingredients, my kids thought they were more burnt then the rest of the prawn rolls. IF they knew, they would eat with apprehension.  My father devoured them.

Fragrant's Special Ribs
Being a pork fan (he can eat pork everyday), my father said this is a winner. It came drenched in some alcohol  sitting in foil, and lit up with a flame and presented to the table.  The taste of the pork meat will perk up your appetite even more. One bite sends your tongue into a dance of sour sweetness that is hard to copy unless I know the sauces they used. Heh Heh. The pork is tender enough to bite for those wearing dentures. If still too big for smaller mouths, it will not be difficult to cut them up with your fork and spoon. You will not need to convince your kids to eat this dish.

Steamed Prawns with Garlic
This is rather ordinary but the freshness of the prawns made the difference.  Not spectacular but a good combination to the rest of the dishes if the rest are relatively rich in taste already.

Pork Jelly
Do not cringe by just the name of it. Angmohs will call this pork terrine. It is a cold dish with bits of pork chunks encased in gelatine made of its black soy sauce mix. Best eaten if you choose this as an appetiser or hors deurve. Dipping it in its special chilli sauce is a must to give this dish its maximum experience. The chili sauce is like the kind you eat with Kuay Chap (Braised Pork Innards). To the traditional diners of senior age, most will not like it. It is something they cannot accept. To the younger generation exposed to angmoh terrine, this is ok but not totally outstanding in taste. Full marks though for being adventurous of the owner to include this in the menu.

Fried Paste Shrimp Chicken
Now this is a winner with the kids of course. If you do not mind the typical shrimp paste odour, this can be rather delicious and make you want to eat a whole tub of it. The wings are crispy, no smell of ammonia like in some of those local zichar stalls (local non airconditioned outfits that cook a variety of dishes). The shrimp paste fragrance is not overpowering either and the wings are not coloured an unnatural red.

Yam Paste with Pumpkin and Gingko Nuts
The whole family is a fan of Orni (local lingo for the above) so when the dish arrived piping hot with the fried onion bits and gingko nuts peeking through, we knew this is going to be enjoyable. Fortunately the yam is blended finely and smoothly. No lumpy bits, not dry, enough oil integrated into the yam. I did not quite see or taste the mashed pumpkin though. Wished there were more of it. It is not overly sweet and this restaurant cooks it the Teochew way, not using any coconut milk I believe. If you are seriously watching your weight, do not try this. Sorry no photo because the waitress stirred the mixture as soon as it arrived and distributed into the bowls.

Would I come back to this restaurant?
When we were there on a Sunday, they were sort of short of staff. The kitchen staff seems maxed out but the food still came out beautifully. It was a long wait for us and the drinks took a very long time to arrive. The boss's wife explained if you want to eat on weekends, call and pre-order. If not, be prepared for a long wait. The boss is a nice humble guy who helps out front line too.  With drinks for 7 pax and towelettes and the food, the bill came up to around $240. That also depends on the size of the dishes too of course.

   

Le Chasseur

There are so many people writing about food and countless food blogs are floating everywhere in cyber world. I am not the best blogger about food because I do not do much research about the owners and the history of the setup. I just go there to eat and usually with good company, we embark on a food tasting experience. Most of the times, my companions do not cook but they know how to appreciate the difference between home cooked, food cooked by chefs who profess to be chefs but are not, and they can tell the diff between porridge and risotto. This way I get a more unbiased opinion as eating on my own and drawing my own conclusions would not be fair.

So thus my eating companion came up with a recommendation from a recommendation from a friend to try this Le Chassuer. She stuffed the name card to my face and said :"Let's try this, you free this Thursday?" I looked at the address and concluded it is in a shophouse type so I said okay . Memories of Sik Wai Sin came flooding back. I was hoping I would not have to perspire again while eating.  Fortunately in the evening the restaurant was not crowded. It is located opposite Central Mall and close to many backpackers hotels.

This restaurant has its own rustic feel and it has its fair share of locals and caucasian patrons too! Its walls are decorated with pictures of all their dishes for those who prefer not to peruse the menu. The pics will also indicate which ones are unavailable for the day. The only research I did was to check out its more popular dishes and the orders were: Pig Trotters in Vinegar, Coffee Pork Ribs, Stir Fried Bean Sprouts with Salted fish bits, Claypot Rice and Ngoh Hiang (Five Spiced Rolled Minced Pork in Bean Curd Skin Sheets). The other signature dish is Fried Pork Knuckle but since we ordered so many meat based dishes we just had to give it a miss- there was just the two of us you see.

The Bean sprouts came first and while it is hot, it is nice to eat.  Unfortunately the bean sprouts came with roots unplucked. If you do not care about the aesthetics, then it is alright. But to me, it looks like some unplucked hair of an armpit of a lady. Of course arguably this is not fine dining, so I shall shut up here. Bean sprouts partnered with carrot strips and mushroom slices for colour balance with a little spring onion thrown in, complete with salted fish bits on top. A bit dry overall and if not consumed within the first 10 mins with hot rice, the dish dries up and became lacklustre.

Ngoh Hiang looked like it was begging to be consumed when it arrived. It came piping hot with a small sauce dish of black sweet dipping sauce. Would have like an additional side of garlic chili sauce but they had none of that sort. Usually, I am used to ngoh hiangs being wrapped tightly with the meat and its other ingredients fully packed a la Mdm Sim's (my eating partner's mother's Ngoh Hiang, she does a mean Ngoh Hiang with oomph!). It is worth a try for the clueless but it is a dish I think can be improved.

 The Coffee Pork Ribs were large and succulent but the taste of coffee sauce was drizzled on the surface. It is not so full bodied as I expected it to be. If they marinated the ribs overnight with coffee then I would enjoy it more. But they tasted like it was boiled first then sauce was added over to call it Coffee Pork Ribs.  If you are a fan of this style, then this would be for you. If you are a fan of those ribs that need to be boiled, then grilled for that extra crispiness on the outside, then this is not going to satisfy you. Neither is this dish of the baked kind. The ribs are are sufficiently meaty for meat lovers who need to sink their teeth into ribs to call them ribs.


A waiter (of Indian origin) later arrived with my much 
awaited pet dish while nibbling through ngoh hiang and ribs.  However the good dish arrived with no aroma permeating through the air.  The ginger pieces were definitely there but not enough to soak through to give the tanginess (even I cannot do that personally). The hard boiled egg was fully soaked through but my partner finds it too hard-overboiled. The skin of the pork trotters is soft enough to roll in your mouth like jelly but some may think it can be softer still. I feel the meat itself is soaked fairly well but wished they take more effort in buying meat that will give a sweetness when chewed and a softness or tenderness that is synonymous with pork from Indonesia. Other than that, the vinegar is just nice for first time tryers and general pig trotters' eaters. But those who want the extra kick of vinegar, with the aroma permeating through your nose as you spoon it to your mouth, well this ain't it.


After ploughing through all the food, I wished I had some rice to mix the vinegar with. Just as the thought floated up to make a speech bubble, the Claypot Rice arrived!  There was no sizzle or crackling sound! When the waiter  plonked the claypot filled with rice and chicken onto the table, my disappointment lasted only three seconds. He reached out to the black sauce bottle, drizzled generously over the rice and chicken and voila, the clapot started crackling and sizzling. The aroma roused from the pot and despite being filled with all the other dishes, my tummy was shouting "Let's try the Claypot Chicken Now!"

This dish is truly yummy and really is a winner in terms of taste of home-cooked.  Chicken was not too dry and hard like the pig trotters and had the kampung chicken tenderness. Spring onions were generous and chinese sausage (lap chiong) is all over the rice too. The sesame oil was not too overpowering and I must say the chef hit the right balance on this one. Rice continued to stick to the sides of the claypot resulting in burnt bits of rice. Scrap it and eat it! It has a tasty crunch if you fill your mouth with other ingredients! My mother used to do her claypot rice this way and I used to have it with cut red chili in thick black sauce. If she ran out of fresh chili, garlic chili sauce will do. I asked the staff if they had any of those two, they pointed to a table near the cashier counter, with a look that says "it's over there, get it yourself". Right above the counter you are reminded by a sign that wrote "No service charge", among other signs..(I leave you to go find out).

Overall, this place is a gem and perfect for bringing friends and especially those who have gone overseas for so long and need to get the good old Singapore fix. It is a place for old folks who do not want any fancy fusion dishes and want to spend a modest sum for that nostalgia. Also a good place for foreigners who want to try Singapore food and do not want to perspire in an open hawker centre. Would I go back there again? Yes, to introduce my folks this time :)

Curry Times

Curry Times at Novena Square, Singapore, is an offshoot of Old Chang Kee, the establishment famous for its curry puffs, fried fish balls and fried squids on sticks among other snack foods.

My friend and I chose the Nasi Lemak set on a Monday lunch just this week and I must say it is sadly disappointing. The Nasi Lemak set came with a few fixed side dishes which were Achar ( nonya salad), fried ikan bilis with peanuts, chilli, regular fish cake and slices of cucumber. You only have to choose the options of fried curry chicken wings, mint curry chicken or salmon otah( a kind of fish meat moulded into either and long shape or circular shape, in this case) with just a wee bit of salmon meat.

I chose the otah and my friend chose the mint curry chicken. The otah was a disappointingly small circular blob which was not worth its price in taste and value. The mint curry tasted like dried mint leaves  hurriedly thrown atop the cooked chicken in its equally tasteless curry gravy.  I was not particularly thrilled with the ikan bilis because it tasted like it was factory made. The fish cake tasted regular wet market bought. The chili, well, I must say, some factory canteen or school canteen chili paste for nasi lemak does it better.  The chili paste tasted still slightly raw and I would have preferred it to be more cooked and mellowed in.  Rice was a real let down but I guess for the health conscious who cannot consume coconut milk will like it. I personally am of the view that if I choose Nasi Lemak to eat, then I must have the full monty no holds barred. Rice was hard and not moist to absorb the mint curry nor the chilli. The egg was the only saving grace. Cut into a heart shape with yolk slightly undercooked was enjoyable enough. But that was it.  The Nonya Salad, Achar, is so so too.

Conclusion: If you want a quick meal and you are not a foodie for the day, this is the place to go. If you are also not particular with aesthetics like the kind of tin plate they used in olden days to serve your rice in, then by all means try. Also if you do not mind a bit of rust to add to its "rusticness" too. Readers may differ in this aspect.

I have to try their prata but not till a long time later though. If you want to hear yourself speak with your friends, this is not the place to go. The noise level resonates when the whole place is full of people :(