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.
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.
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.
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