Despite being foodies and happy to shell out for a Michelin-starred meal, we haven't really tried much fine cuisine since arriving here. The city-state is not covered by Michelin, true, but there are sundry sources that we could have used for guidance to make our way through the long list of choices. It has been sort of a conscious decision to sample all the local hawker foods before spending money on something we could easily get back home.
Well, my company is trimming costs and through a series of unfortunate events my desk has been relocated to the outer borough of Tampines. This is to central Singapore as Jersey City is to Manhattan. So, to mourn my departure from working life at the Central Business District (CBD) I invited my wife to lunch at a spot nearby that is dolling out fine food - Nicolas Le Restaurant. I don't remember what search (google, hungrygowhere, etc) led me to a review of Nicolas but the description (small, intimate, chef-run) and the location made it an obvious choice.
The restaurant is located at the ground floor of a Chinatown heritage shophouse building, a few blocks from Connie's office and my old office building - I've moved 3 desks already since arriving a year or so back. It's a small place with an open kitchen design. You are either sitting at the kitchen on a bar stool, or just at the foot of it in one of a few 2- and 4-person tables. You can see the chef, Nicolas, and his staff executing calmly but efficiently as you sip your drink and tuck in. The ambience is muted, but not uptight. During our lunchtime visit, there were other couples, businessmen on business lunches, and expats that seemed to have just gathered to enjoy a good meal together while catching up.
The host and waitstaff are all courteous and seem to be well-versed in the wine and food menus - not a major achievement as the food menu is not very complicated. You have the option of a changing 3-course meal or a 5-course meal. Either way, your choices per course are limited, which makes sense for the space and size of the kitchen. And as I said, the sympathetic simplicity was one of the attractions.
We had the 3-course meal with an addition of foie gras. Since it wasn't guaranteed to be on the menu I asked in advance (reservation by email, free-form) if Connie and I could have some seared for the occasion. The reservationist replied that we could and we just reminded the waiter when we made our choices: Shrimp bisque and braised veal for Connie, half-boiled egg with smoked eel and ribeye steak for me. For amuse bouches they gave us smallish portions of our starters reversed (I got a soup, Connie an egg), which was for me the one of two hiccups in the meal - it seemed contrived.
The other hiccup was the steak. Not sure what's going on, but I've never had a dry ribeye in the states, and I can't seem to get a proper juicy one here.
Otherwise, the food was fantastic. The egg on itself was simple enough, but the eel and condiment it came along with were unique and delicious and made for a perfect contrast to the egg. I could have that again. The bisque had a hearty ocean quality, and came with a batter-fried prawn. I could have used more of the prawn against the soup, but the flavors and textures worked well. The braised veal was tender and the sauce appropriately formidable and complex, layered with all sorts of goodness. The foie gras was seared nicely, lots of fat and salt bursting from each bite.
Connie didn't get dessert - a plate of three seemingly unrelated treats: creme caramel, chocolate fondant/lava cake, and a scoop of ice cream. They were all well-made, and for Connie's sake I could weave a story together about going from the hale, hot cocoa through the lighter creme to emerge on the other side with a spoonful of ethereal gelato. Either way, they went well with a nice cappuccino and the check, a pretty good value considering.
Currently, this is my favorite restaurant in Singapore, and hopefully a place to go back to soon, after the necessary comparisons to Les Amis and Iggy's, of course. The moratorium on "Western Food" has been officially lifted!
Well, my company is trimming costs and through a series of unfortunate events my desk has been relocated to the outer borough of Tampines. This is to central Singapore as Jersey City is to Manhattan. So, to mourn my departure from working life at the Central Business District (CBD) I invited my wife to lunch at a spot nearby that is dolling out fine food - Nicolas Le Restaurant. I don't remember what search (google, hungrygowhere, etc) led me to a review of Nicolas but the description (small, intimate, chef-run) and the location made it an obvious choice.
The restaurant is located at the ground floor of a Chinatown heritage shophouse building, a few blocks from Connie's office and my old office building - I've moved 3 desks already since arriving a year or so back. It's a small place with an open kitchen design. You are either sitting at the kitchen on a bar stool, or just at the foot of it in one of a few 2- and 4-person tables. You can see the chef, Nicolas, and his staff executing calmly but efficiently as you sip your drink and tuck in. The ambience is muted, but not uptight. During our lunchtime visit, there were other couples, businessmen on business lunches, and expats that seemed to have just gathered to enjoy a good meal together while catching up.
The host and waitstaff are all courteous and seem to be well-versed in the wine and food menus - not a major achievement as the food menu is not very complicated. You have the option of a changing 3-course meal or a 5-course meal. Either way, your choices per course are limited, which makes sense for the space and size of the kitchen. And as I said, the sympathetic simplicity was one of the attractions.
We had the 3-course meal with an addition of foie gras. Since it wasn't guaranteed to be on the menu I asked in advance (reservation by email, free-form) if Connie and I could have some seared for the occasion. The reservationist replied that we could and we just reminded the waiter when we made our choices: Shrimp bisque and braised veal for Connie, half-boiled egg with smoked eel and ribeye steak for me. For amuse bouches they gave us smallish portions of our starters reversed (I got a soup, Connie an egg), which was for me the one of two hiccups in the meal - it seemed contrived.
The other hiccup was the steak. Not sure what's going on, but I've never had a dry ribeye in the states, and I can't seem to get a proper juicy one here.
Otherwise, the food was fantastic. The egg on itself was simple enough, but the eel and condiment it came along with were unique and delicious and made for a perfect contrast to the egg. I could have that again. The bisque had a hearty ocean quality, and came with a batter-fried prawn. I could have used more of the prawn against the soup, but the flavors and textures worked well. The braised veal was tender and the sauce appropriately formidable and complex, layered with all sorts of goodness. The foie gras was seared nicely, lots of fat and salt bursting from each bite.
Connie didn't get dessert - a plate of three seemingly unrelated treats: creme caramel, chocolate fondant/lava cake, and a scoop of ice cream. They were all well-made, and for Connie's sake I could weave a story together about going from the hale, hot cocoa through the lighter creme to emerge on the other side with a spoonful of ethereal gelato. Either way, they went well with a nice cappuccino and the check, a pretty good value considering.
Currently, this is my favorite restaurant in Singapore, and hopefully a place to go back to soon, after the necessary comparisons to Les Amis and Iggy's, of course. The moratorium on "Western Food" has been officially lifted!
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