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2008-12-27
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We decided to come here for a special lunch to round up the wonderful Christmas holiday. The place, as its name suggests, is truly "a friend's home". Why do I say so ?Firstly, the place is small. I mean there are only around 10 tables altogther and that's it. You can either choose to eat inside the main area (which is, btw, the house where the chef lives), or outside in a small wooden hut. The place has a really nice homely feel. Every bit of detail suggests so: from the nice table cloth, the ni
Firstly, the place is small. I mean there are only around 10 tables altogther and that's it. You can either choose to eat inside the main area (which is, btw, the house where the chef lives), or outside in a small wooden hut. The place has a really nice homely feel. Every bit of detail suggests so: from the nice table cloth, the nice tableware, and the tit-bits on the walls - no doubt all handpicked by the chef herself and decorated in a most stylish manner. Once you are inside, you really feel as if you were somewhere in a small town in Europe. And here you probably don't need to feel "scrutinized" or mind you manners so much as though you were in a restaurant inside a 5-star hotel. Here you can just relax, have some wine, and start chatting with you friends (or even the patrons sitting at the next table, if you are in the mood to do so). And you can probably sit here for as long as you like without feeling pressurized at all.
Secondly, the service here is warm and homely. The chef and proprietor, Bonnie, is clearly someone who has passion for food and good living. You can just ask her anything about food and wine and I am sure you will strike a common cord with her very soon. Before long, she will start to treat you as a real friend. You will also be impressed with the breath of her knowledge, which perhaps should not surprise you as she is a graduate of a famous cooking school in France.
And thirdly, they treat you well with good food and exquisite cooking. They imported a lot of fresh food items from France, with fresh seafood arriving every week on Weds night. And they also make their own Froi gras pate. For this particular meal, we tried the white pearl oyster from France, which is very good - very fresh in taste, very juicy and full of seawater flavor, and a lot better in quality that many other raw oysters that I have tried locally. For starters, we had herring salad - a simple dish, with fresh vegetables and vinegar-marinated herring, which is quite delicious. For main course, we ordered the beef cooked in red wine and the special baby turkey and ham, both of which were very good ! The beef was really tender and juicy and the broth was very rich in wine flavor, just like what we have tried at restaurants in Paris . Likewise, the baby turkey (again a special import from France) was really nice with tender meat, and I must say turkey never tasted so good before to me ! The ham was also cooked just right. You could also easily tell that the chef really cared about the quality of the meal coz even the dishes they used for the food were steaming hot - presumably to maintain the optimal temperature of the food to bring out their real flavor. The desert was a sort of home-made christmas pudding which was also fine. The coffee that came after the meal was freshly brewed and rounded up the meal nicely.
I would really urge you to try this place, at least once in a while for special occasions. I will certainly come back later for more.
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