Bistro Du Vin (Zion Road)

So it was one of those days I had to work late, with 3 hours of waiting time in between to spare. So XP, FQ and I decided to check out Bistro Du Vin, which we passed by when we went for Pepperoni Pizza. A quick googling revealed that it was under the Les Amis Group, together with Pepperoni Pizza. So off we went, for that treat to ourselves for working late.

Like all proper French restaurants, we were served crusty bread with butter while we were still browsing the menu. Though it wasn't warm, the baguette was delicious, and very welcomed. Especially when I was super hungry.

Bread and butter

And what's French food without my two favourites? Escargots and foie gras. Their escargots are the cutest I have ever seen. Served without shells in individual mini ramekins. It wasn't mind blowing, but the garlic/butter/herbs combination worked together very well. And the meat weren't overcooked too. Very pleasant start to the meal. Pan-seared foie gras came next. Crisp on the outside, melt-in-the-mouth interior. I was in bliss.

Escargots

Foie gras

For mains, I opted for slow cooked lamb shank. It was served in a Le Creuset casserole. When the lid came off, I was swarmed in a delicious steam of rich broth. I wanted bread to soak up all that goodness. However, lamb shank being lamb shank, it had a lot of fatty bits. So although I started off a happy girl, I was a little sick by the middle of my meal and struggled a little to finish. It was served with crushed potatoes on the side. It was a little bland and a little neglected, not because it wasn't good, just because it had a competition. Truffle fries. I cannot not order truffle fries when I see that on any menu. And Bistro Du Vin's doesn't disappoint. The moment it was set down on our table, the whiff of truffle came to me immediately. I also liked it was thick-cut fries, which have a fluffier interior that I prefer over shoe-string fries.

Lamb shank

Truffle fries

XP had the suckling pig belly confit. Brave boy. Of course he was pretty sick by the end of it. Nothing to do with poorly prepared food. Pork belly is simply to rich for one person to finish one shot. It was delicious on the first few mouths. Very crisp, very fragrant. FQ had the Australian pork chop, also deliciously prepared, and generously topped with caramelised onions. I think among the three of us, he had the least difficulty finishing his main. But still with a little bit of struggle. We concluded their level of richness probably will require us to share 2 mains among 3 persons in future.

Suckling pig confit, choucroute & bacon (belly)

Pan-roasted Australian pork chop, caramelized shallot, garlic & mashed potato

For dessert, because we were so gelat, we wanted something to cleanse our oil-laden palate. So we chose the Colonel, which had the description "lemon sorbet with Vodka", thinking that the lemon sorbet will help us curb the oiliness. We were expecting Vodka infused lemon sorbet or something. Little did we expect what we got. Literally lemon sorbet floating in neat Vodka. It was still nice, but I didn't plan to end the meal with that much alcohol, and I find the alcohol too strong for a dessert. Shared among the three of us, it was ok. Nobody got drunk. Haha...

Colonel

Writing this, I realise the part I miss most is the truffle fries. Theirs really caught my attention. I wanna go back just for that. Bistro Du Vin is a quiet little restaurant that served up delicious French food. I think its a nice and cosy place for a dinner. Maybe I'll bring Lynn back. At least for the fries.

Bistro Du Vin

56 Zion Road

Singapore 247781

Tel: 6836 6313

Antoinette (Palais Renaissance)

It was CA's birthday. She wanted an all-day breakfast high-tea on a Sunday. After calling around several places, I finally found one that entertained reservations on a Sunday afternoon. So Antoinette it was, the Palais Renaissance branch. Even then, latest reservation was 1.30pm, then it was for dinner. So early high-tea or late lunch? Whatever you want to call it.

I arrived first with a homemade cake. When I request that they keep our cake for us, I was informed that because they are a patisserie, we are only allowed to blow candles at the restaurant, but not allowed to cut and eat the cake. I understand to a certain degree, but might as well not allow us to blow candle at all, since it was a little silly to blow and keep and then hunt for another place to eat the cake. But ah well, that's what we ended up doing but that's beside the point. It was a homemade cake. I content myself to that maybe I did such a good job that it looked store bought and they didn't want it served there. Haha!

A few of us earlier ones were famished. So we ordered teas and a mushroom soup to share before the rest arrive. Their tea sets are elegant, but very unfortunately, to no fault of theirs, the hot tea pot tends to melt the table's lacquer and my tea pot is stuck quite firmly to the table. So each time I want to pour myself more tea, I have to wrestle the tea pot off the table, pour my tea and set it back down. The cycle repeats. It was tiring for me, and the poor table have many many O-shaped scars of lacquers melted off by previous tea pots. On a repeat visit, they learnt to place a coaster under the tea pot. Save me a whole lot of arm wrestling energy, for sure.

Petit rose tea

So she wanted all-day breakfast, and all-day breakfast it was. We ordered a dish each, and a Salad Lyonnaise and a Gnocchi carbonara to share. Because we didn't like gnocchi, we swapped it for spaghetti. Note: Antoinette's servings are pretty huge. A dish each plus two to share was beyond what we can comfortably finish. Their poached eggs were beautifully done. Gorgeous soft egg whites that cut open to reveal the perfectly runny egg yolks. I never liked poached eggs before because those I ever tried were dry and tissue paper-like (really. I actually mistook one for tissue paper and nearly cleaned my finger on it). Antoinette managed to make me fall in love with poached eggs, and I've been loving poached eggs ever since this visit.

Scrambled eggs with Scottish smoked salmon

Poached eggs with Scottish smoked salmon

They also serve up a variety of savoury pancakes. My order was the Crepe Brittany. Oh my gosh. That so-called 'scallops, prawns, squids and mussels sauteed with white wine and cream' was more like a creamy seafood soup. I had imagined it to be a somewhat dry sauté. It turned out to be a rich, creamy, soupy stew, sweet from the seafood, aromatic from the spices. My crepe was the perfect vehicle to soak up all that creamy goodness. Ok, I admit, I was drinking the soup plain too. The Crepe Florentine was almost pizza-like, but softer.

Savoury Blinis with creamy mushroom, grill bacon, grilled tomato and salad

Crepe Brittany

Crepe Florentine

The carbonara wasn't overly cloying, and the sauce was perfect with thick ribbons of parmesan in it. And of course, served with their signature poached egg - which I stole, because my crepe didn't come with an egg, unlike the breakfast dishes the others had. The salad Lyonnaise was a mistake, since we didn't know every dish actually pretty much came with a side salad. So we had a bit of a greens overdose. Or rather, I did, because I can't stand food being wasted and finished almost the whole plate.

Carbonara gnocchi swapped for spaghetti

Salad Lyonnaise

Other than the weird no cake eating rule, we generally did enjoy ourselves. CA ordered a dessert in the end too, from their patisserie, but I forgot to get a picture of it. This branch isn't too crowded, something we like. However, it seems they only had two staff going around, and because of the circular layout of the restaurants, it's sometimes hard to get their attention. Other than that, this is definitely a nice place to chill out and eat and chat.

Antionette
390 Orchard Road, Palais Renaissance
B1-08/09/10C,
Singapore 238871
(65) 67356392

Birthday Triology Edition 2: Octa Hotel

After our TaiTai shopping, we decided to rest our tired feet at Octa Hotel, Octa Hotel is not a Hotel, in fact its a a small cafe nest within Parco Marina Bay. It's interior was tasteful done up, very English styled with a hint of Japanese influence. It also has a small retail corner that sells small merchandises like stationery, bags and jewellery. 

As it's near dinnertime, we decided to share a hi-tea set that consists of  2 scones, creme brulee, baguette with egg and cherry tomato, wrap. Scones were warm and fluffy, perfect pairing with the cream and jam, after taking a mouthful and washing it down with some tea.. it reallys gives u the "Aaahhh... I am Tai Tai feel"... 

I like the Creme Brulee but Gracie felt that the sugar crust is kinda thick.. We both like the custard within, its light, creamy and has a hint of tea taste, not overly sweet.. Baguette with egg and cherry tomato is just your regular baguette, egg, tomato. Wrap is cold and not fantastic, so both of us can't really remember what meat is inside. LOLZ.. 

Hi-tea set

Warm scones with cream and jam

Overall experience was good, excellent spot to spend a lazy weekend afternoon or to rest your tired feet after some hardcore shopping. Service crew were friendly and helpful, yet they give you enough privacy for chit chat and gossips. Total spending is $15.90 after tax and service charge.

Octa Hotel

9 Raffles Boulevard
Parco Marina Bay
#P1-39
(S)039596
Tel: 63364614
Website: http://octahotel.com.sg/

Poulet (Great World City)

I needed to run some errands at the bank, and since most banks open only during office hours, it meant a lunch visit. After locating a Citibank branch at Great World City, I dragged XP and J there with me for a long lunch.

After glancing through the directory, we decided on trying out Poulet. Apparently their signature dish was their roast chicken, which tempted both J and me. I settled for the regular version, while she opted for the special cranberry version. XP ordered an oxtail stew. Then it was a French onion soup, escargots and sautéed vegetables to share.

The French onion soup was pretty good. Fragrant sautéed onion in rich chicken soup. Warmed our hungry bellies very well. The escargot wasn't impressive. It did, however, have a good bite despite being baked out of the shells. Maybe the tiniest bit too chewy but still acceptable.

When my roast chicken arrived, I was quite happy. First, the gravy smelled amazing. Tasted amazing too. Creamy and rich, without being cloying. I almost wished I had some pasta to coat this sauce on. Second, I liked the leaves scattered around my plate. No idea what they are, but I liked their texture and flavor. Lastly, the chicken was done quite nicely. It was tender and came easily apart with my fork and knife. Flavor was good too. And I can't completely remember correctly, but I think it didn't have the annoying frozen chicken taste that some joints have.

Jj's was the same perfectly done roast chicken, but instead of the cream sauce I had, hers was served on a bed of cranberry sauce. I'm not a very fruity sauce person, so I didn't care for it, but she really enjoyed it.

XP's oxtail stew was aromatic and tender. Only qualm was it was quite big boned, so he struggled a fair bit with his fork and knife but he managed. The sautéed vegetables was an add on order in the midst of our mains, when I felt it was too meaty for our good. Turned out that 'sautéed' vegetables was actually boiled or steamed vegetables. I don't mind, but I think they really should name their items accurately.

French onion soup

Escargots

Roast chicken with cranberry sauce

Signature roast chicken with mushroom chardonnay sauce

Oxtail stew

Sauteed vegetables

Overall I thought it was ok, but wasn't impressive. The service was good though. We took away a sandwich for HY but I didn't get her feedback on how it was. Lynn been to another branch on a separate occasion and she raved about the fries and a dessert. Tiramisu maybe? 

Saveur (Bugis)

It was HY's hen's party (ok, post wedding but we really only managed to find time then), and XP mentioned this place before. And since I was craving foie gras, I managed to suggest this place for dinner after our art jamming fun. *evil grin* They don't do reservations, and open at 6pm. We thought we could just go and queue. When we reached they just opened, and the queue list apparently already filled up the place. Thankfully their other side (they have two side by side units) open at 6.30pm and we managed to get ourselves in that list. So it was a roughly 20 minutes wait and we were seated.

Their menu items were named the vaguest things. I will explain. Since there were 6 of us, we could order quite a variety to share. We started off with Saveur's pasta (just written PASTA on their menu), $4.90, their signature. Thin spaghettini tossed in oil and topped with a generous serving of sakura ebi (or dried shrimps to me). It was very aromatic and we all liked it. This was followed by foie gras, $9.90. A small piece of goodness shared among 6 of us. Most of them weren't keen on foie gras so I was more than happy to have a bigger share. =D

Saveur's Pasta

Foie gras with apple-infused port wine and vanilla bean

We ordered three soups to share. It really just said SOUP on the menu, S4.90. I had no idea what it was supposed to be. But as I'm looking at the online menu now, there's an item called Mushroom Cappucino. Sounds like it. Either they finally made a clearer menu, or the online one has more descriptive names than their actual. It was a little bitter, just like coffee should be, but savoury, unlike coffee. And there's hints of a mushroom flavor. It's a little weird and a little nice. I really don't know how else to describe it. But it was a nice start to the meal after the appetizers, warming our bellies before the mains.

Mushroom Cappucino

Ok, the mains are still vaguely named on the online menu. So here goes. DUCK, S10.90. Duck leg confit served over creamy mashed potatoes. We loved it! It was crispy on the surface, but fork tender inside. It was flavorful, and small. We ordered a second serving. =)

Duck leg confit

CHICKEN, $9.90. A chicken roulade served over rice. It's stuffing was supposed to be foie gras infused but I didn't taste anything remotely like foie gras. It was so so, and we actually had to push the last two slices around between one another before it was finally eaten up by XP and me.

Chicken roulade

FISH, $14.90. Pan-seared sea bass. The fish was tender, and flavorful without fishiness. I loved the sauteed potatoes served under the fish. BEEF, $14.90. Beef short ribs braised in red wine. It was very salty. And the beef loving me didn't like it. Too salty. This one was a miss.

Pan-seared sea bass

Beef short ribs

PORK, $10.90. Roasted pork belly served over lentils and soft boiled egg. This one is a super hit. The pork belly skin was roasted to crusty yumminess, but the meat (and fats) below are super tender, giving way to my fork and knife with minimum effort. The lentils were delicious too, and I love soft boil eggs. Haha... We ordered a second serving of this too. In fact, the second one was even more tender and I couldn't even dissect it into 6 portions without the whole thing falling apart.

Roasted pork belly

We felt that we were lacking some greens and ordered an additional GARDEN SALAD, $4.90. How pretty is that quail egg? Mesclun salad tossed in vinaigrette. Nice touch of greens to an otherwise meat laden meal.

Garden salad

Overall I enjoyed myself here. The food is definitely very affordable for French fare. Which is why, for the first time, I actually priced every single item in a post. We were seated right at the door and could see the continuous queue for seats. So if you're interested to try out Saveur, going early is not a bad idea.


Saveur

5 Purvis Street, Talib Court #01-04, Singapore 188584 Tel: 6333 3121

Le Bistrot Du Sommelier

This was the last, untried steak place found on Cnngo's best steak in Singapore list. Coincidentally, my boss mentioned that this is the one place in Singapore with 'real tomatoes', as opposed to the 'round red things that are called tomatoes but taste like cardboard' (quoting him). This place's star dish was supposed to be the 1kg bone-in steak. Since 1kg sounds like a lot, Lynn and me decided we need more stomachs. So recruited I and D to join us for this carnivorous dinner. Since most reviews recommended reservations in advance, I placed reservation about 2 weeks early.

Initially we were given a menu to browse. I couldn't find the 1kg steak anywhere and I started wondering whether it was supposed to be an advanced order item. Later, the server came by with a blackboard stand with the meat menu scribbled on it. Was delighted to find the Cote de Boeuf on it. =) On top of a medium rare steak, we ordered chicken liver pate (described on a blog I visited as 'divine'. We gave the foie gras here a miss because we were quite sure it wasn't pan-fried, and Lynn and me really love the ooziness of the pan-fried ones. We also ordered 2 dishes of escargots (6 escargots for 4 person is really inadeaquate), and another main dish of oven roasted chicken with 40 garlic cloves. Since the chicken comes with a herbed potato (I can't remember the name), we chose potato gratin and some kind of salad as sides for the steak. Couldn't find my boss's 'real tomatoes' anywhere on the menu.

The 'divine' chicken liver pate was served with some toasty bread, and some green plant that uneducated me don't recognize. Somehow, I couldn't taste the divine-ness of the pate when I spread it on the bread. Subsequently tried some by itself, and yeah, I think I could understand what that blogger trying to say. Weakly rich, slightly salty, with the livery taste at the back of your throat and a slight spicy kick at the end of it. The bread does cover off the livery taste, which will explain why I failed to detect the divine-ness initially.

Chicken liver pate

The escargots were a little different from the usual butter and garlic ones. Theirs were shell-less ones, completely smothered in a dishful of herby olive oil sauce, with bits of tomatoes. The texture of the snails were just right - good resistance to the teeth without being overly chewy. Nicely complemented by the herbs and tomatoes. We liked it.

Escargots

When the roasted chicken first appeared out of the kitchen, Lynn wondered aloud who in the world will order claypot rice in a French restaurant. When it was delivered to our table, we realized it was us. Haha... But when it was set down, it was sooooooo fragrant that I think all four of us literally drooled. Buttery, with the rich fragrance of garlic. The chicken was tender, and soaked up all the flavors of the butter sauce. I couldn't help thinking it would have been fantastic to go with rice. Maybe bread to soak up the gravy would have been great too. But too much may not be a good thing. Four of us sharing one pot made it memorable. Had it been a main course for one, I think I'll be sick midway through because of the richness.

Oven roasted chicken with 40 garlic cloves

The star arrived finally - our 1 kg bone-in meat. It was sliced out for us and arranged nicely in a circle on the plate. We ordered it medium rare, only to find D prefer medium well. So we started pointing out the not so bloody pieces and reserve those for her, while more bloody the meat that was near the bone were quickly reserved for Lynn. The meat was tender, and because of the bone-in during the cooking process, very well flavored. The sauteed onions piled on it were tender and sweet, and really went well with the meat. Pity is that because of the large size, and the fact that it was sliced up, by the time I got to the third piece, it was cold. It was still a very good piece of meat, a surprise considering this wasn't a steakhouse. The gratin was recommended by the server and was pretty good. I forgot about the other two so I guess were so-so.

Cote du Boeuf

Side dishes of potato gratin, salad and herbed potato

Finally it was dessert time. We ordered creme brulee and a waffle with ice cream. The creme brulee was OH-SO-NICE!! You can see the vanilla beans in them. So light and yet creamy at the same time, and the vanilla taste was subtly rich. The burnt caramel top was crispy and complemented the creaminess totally. It was soo good that we ordered one more.

Creme Brulee

Waffle

The bistrot was quite noisy on the day we went because of a very big group of caucasians a few table away. I think as the night progressed, they had more drinks, and got rowdier. And of course the price here for a 'bistrot' was quite challenging for the pocket. Not a place I will visit regularly for fear of an empty bank account. It was a very nice catch-up session with the two girls though. Next time, I think Lynn and me can do the escargots, the steak, and the creme brulee if we can't find kakis.

The Tastings Room

Finally got around to posting this entry. Despite being dated a while back, the opinions are still clearly imprinted in my mind. Here's why...

This restaurant was highlighted to us through a Groupon. Seeing the description sounded like a French fine dining restaurant, and the deal was going at $36 for a 4 course meal, we thought, why not? So we got two vouchers, and Lynn and me decided to try it out. We made reservation for the Friday before CNY, thinking it could be our own little reunion dinner. The reservation was made one week in advance, because I was worried that many who bought the Groupon might have the same idea.

Nevermind that the restaurant didn't call me to remind me. Not all restaurants do that so it didn't bother me at all. What bothered me, ALOT, was when we reached there. My name was no where on the small piece of paper carrying the names of the reservations. It didn't help that the pokerface waitress had a similar poker attitude. She went through the list several times, asking me for my name several times as well. Despite my 5th repetition of 'My name is Gracie', she kept asking me "Is it Nancy? Is it xxx? Is it yyy?" etc. It was beginning to become difficult to hold my annoyance. She finally went to a big notebook beside the phone, and finally found my name and contact number on that book. Apparently the name never got transferred to the 'reservation of the day' slip of paper. After consulting her manager, she came back, still pokerfaced, saying that the only available seats are outdoor. I got mad, and rejected the outdoor seat. We ended up at Hippopotamus for a much happier dinner instead.

However, since I've already paid for the Groupon, we have to return for our meal eventually. So a few days later, I called up, made a feeble complain (chicken-hearted me was afraid that if I kick up too big a fuss, I may end up never getting a reservation and let my voucher go wasted) and remade a reservation for a week later. Turned out Lynn had to go to Malaysia to visit her sick grandma. So I called up and postponed the reservation by another week.

On the day itself, Lynn reached 3 minutes before I did. As I was walking over, I called her and found that my name isn't on the stupid list again. I reached there in a fuming mood, and didn't hide my irritation from the waitress. But this time it's a nice lady, no longer Miss Pokerface. She was more helpful, found my name in the book again, and was able to get us an indoor seat. But it didn't quench my irritation at the management. Come on, what are the odds of losing my name TWICE!!!

The Groupon deal had 2 options per course. Since there were two of us, we told them we want one each of everthing. After flipping through the menu, we also excitedly ordered an additional House Fries, which was described as 'truffle fries served with truffle mayonnaise'.

The appetizers were Tomato Bruschetta with Mozzarella Gratin, and Pan Seared Scallop with Salmon Roe. The scallop paled in comparison to Ember's, but it was still nice. We couldn't figure out what the sauce actually is. The salmon roe was a little on the salty side. The bruschetta had slipped my memory already so I guess nothing to rave about. We did enjoy the wild rocket leaves and balsaemic dressing. The soups were Seafood Smoked Vine Tomato soup, and truffle mushroom puree soup. We preferred the mushroom soup, but I really don't remember any truffle taste or aroma in it. The tomato soup was more like a puree - I felt that it would have made a good pasta sauce. It was nonetheless better than the burnt tomato paste we had in Bedrock's (I'm sorry, I know it was a signature dish, but it really turned both of us off tomato soup for a very long time...). There was a few small pieces of prawn, squid and fish. Thankfully no crabstick that many places like to classify as 'seafood'.

Pan-seared scallop with Salmon Roe

Tomato bruschetta with mozzarella gratin

Truffle mushroom puree soup

Seafood smoked vine tomato soup

Our fries was another joke. A waiter came with a sauce, and told us it was the dip for the house fries. I looked at it, and felt that it looked like Tartar sauce. I tasted it, and told Lynn it tasted like McDonald's tartar sauce. She tried it and agreed. So we flagged down a passing waitress, and asked her if that was supposed to be the 'truffle mayonnaise', cause it really look and taste like a tartar sauce. She said she think her colleague made a mistake, apologized, and took the sauce away. The first waiter then came back with our fries. When we pointed out that our 'truffle mayonnaise' haven't been brought, he looked surprised, and asked us where was the sauce he brought us. I told him that was tartar sauce, and his colleague had brought it back to change. He subsequently returned with a dish of mayonnaise, said that what he brought me earlier was the correct dip, but since we didn't like it (I never said that I didn't like anything), he brought us regular mayonnaise instead. Lynn sarcastically told me she didn't know truffle mayonnaise comes from Mcdonald's, and I even more sarcastically added "的 filet o' fish". The fries are actually pretty decent thick cut fries. If they had called it 'US fries' or something, it will fit the description nicely. However, we could only taste faint wisp of truffle every 5 fries or something. And to have that with tartar sauce, well....... It really doesn't live up to the 'Truffle fries' name.

Truffle fries

The mains are the biggest disappointments. Pesto Cream Fettucine with 'Sous Vide' Chicken Breast, and Squid Ink Linguine with Fresh Calamari. The pesto cream was actually quite nice, and we did finish up the fettucine. I just googled and found that 'Sous Vide' is a method of cooking food sealed in a water-tight plastic bag dunked in less than usual cooking temperature (typically about 60 degrees celsius) for extended period of time. It's supposed to give more evenly cooked food with correct doneness throughout. But I thought the chicken slices tasted medium well or something. It was still a little pink. Not being comfortable with eating uncooked chicken, we left those aside. The squid ink pasta was the worst of all the dishes. I have no problem with squid ink. I grew up eating my mom's recipe of squid cooked in its own ink, and I love it. But this squid ink pasta tasted like plastic. I gave up after 1 mouth. Lynn actually managed a few more mouths before she too gave up. The calamari were quite tasteless. First time in a very long time that I returned an almost full plate of food. The waitress either didn't notice, or didn't care to ask why. That had to be the worst pasta I've ever eaten in my entire life.

Squid ink linguine with fresh calamari

Pesto cream fettucine with sous vide chicken breast

The desserts were Earl Grey Creme Brulee, and Warm Banana Cake with Ice Cream. This was the only part that made an impression. The earl grey creme brulee was very nice. Creamy creme brulee with a good, strong, but not overpowering flavor of earl grey tea. We liked it. The banana cake must have been passable because I don't have any recollection of it at all. Oh, I vaguely remember something about it being too sweet.

Earl grey creme brulee

Warm banana cake with ice cream

Given the bad service I received even before I dined there, I already knew that the food have to be super fantastic in order to convince me to return. Of course, the food failed. The only thing we found that could differentiate it from other restaurants was the earl grey creme brulee. Not likely we'll return just for desserts. Even at $36, I didn't think it was worth the money. I definitely will not pay the original $72 for that quality of food. I noticed that they have put up a Groupon again. Warning to those interested - do not take it up!