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2013-04-03
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With the new escalator and train station being built, Sai Ying Pun is becoming quite the up and coming area with galleries, trendy restaurants and bars popping up around the hood. Friends in SYP had told me about this new French place along the new escalator which is the latest addition to the French Creations group who also owns Pastis, FAB and St Germaine. I never bother going to Pastis coz it is pretty much always packed with people overflowing onto the street. But this restaurant is in SYP a
With the new escalator and train station being built, Sai Ying Pun is becoming quite the up and coming area with galleries, trendy restaurants and bars popping up around the hood. Friends in SYP had told me about this new French place along the new escalator which is the latest addition to the French Creations group who also owns Pastis, FAB and St Germaine. I never bother going to Pastis coz it is pretty much always packed with people overflowing onto the street. But this restaurant is in SYP and is still rather unheard of so Lo, Fi and I thought we would go there for a casual, mellow weekday dinner.
Metropolitain was designed to look like a Parisian metro station; the bare concrete walls, the metro map, the railway station clock, the wrought iron details all plays to the theme. We were seated comfortably in a corner facing the open kitchen; service was friendly and chill (but not slow, which is great). The ambience is cozy and relaxed.The menu was simple French fare: we ordered the calamari, the Steak tartar with fries, the Braised lamb shank with olive oil mashed potato (in case you haven’t realized, I love lamb), Seabass fillet, celeriac puree & sauce vierge and the Tarte Tatin
The calamari looked rather greasy on first glance, I had one piece just so I know how it taste like. The batter wasn’t light and crispy enough and the squid, although not rubbery, was not crunchy and bouncy. We left more than half the plate untouched hoping that this is just one off dish out of the menu.
Next up was Fi’s Steak tartar, her fries looked like they were drenched in oil, not just once but multiple times till they are kinda brown and gross. Needlesss to say, none of us touched those fries. Her steak tartar was rather tasteless and chewy, she had to add a whole lot of salt & pepper to season it but pretty much gave up half way
While waiting for my main, I spotted Ag on the other end of the restaurant and went over to chat with her. I also sampled her salmon tartare, the salmon was fresh, and the refreshing acidity of the mixture cut through the richness of the salmon; making the whole dish light and appetizing =) thanks Ag for sharing!
Back to our table- my lamb shank looked a lot more promising, the meat was tender and tasty (the sauce had infused through yet was not overpowering); it was so not gamey I almost forgot I was eating lamb. The mashed potato was decent; the mash a bit uneven (i.e. not entirely fine and smooth) so there were small chunks of potato, which adds texture to it.
Lo’s sea bass fillet was surprisingly small and thin, different from the thicker or chunkier pieces we are used to. Despite the size of the sea bass, Lo really enjoyed her dish, the sea bass was flavorful and its skin crispy. Lo especially liked the celeriac puree; which is creamy yet light with subtle sweetness.
While we weren’t very inspired by the choices of dessert, we would like to stay and chat for a while more so we ordered the tarte tatin (the upside down apple pie). Let’s just say the best part of this dessert was the ice cream and Lo said it could be from Haagen Dazs, the pastry was too soggy; the caramelized apple overly sweet.Overall, I quite like metropolitain, predominately for its laid back atmosphere (laid back but not empty for sure, there was not a single empty seat even though it was a weekday and this restaurant is relatively new). It seems to be a fun place to have a few glasses of wine and simple dishes especially when you want to get away from the usual “ I need this table back by 9pm” kinda places.
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