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2010-12-15
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We chose the terrace facing Mee Lun Street, but there was renovation work going on next door which ruined an otherwise tranquil and chilled out Saturday lunch with my mum and bf. But as any good city-bred person would do, we selectively blocked out the noise and pretended we were in a little town in Provence. Our neighbours on the terrace that day were a Frenchmen eating his own plate of food quietly with an iPhone in one hand and a crackberry in the other until the chef came to chat with him ov
The set menu was $98 which was excellent value considering what's on offer: duck rillette with mixed salad for appetiser, and chicken breast in onion gravy with steamed rice for mains. I would have gone for it, were it not for the fact that I had chicken breast the night before and preferred some fish instead. There were also 3 daily special mains: grilled sea bass with steamed rice, Saint Jacques ratatouille with steamed rice, and a stewed beef flank (I think it was with steamed rice again). I have to say steamed rice doesn't sound particularly provencal, but it's good to incorporate some local flavour and ingredient to suit the crowd. My mum and I both opted for the sea bass (which was later changed to a sea bream as they only had 1 sea bass left, I hope it's an indication that the ingredients were bought fresh and there's no leftover), and my bf the scallops (we only found out afterwards that coquilles Saint Jacques are scallops, you learn something new everyday). We also went for a crab meat salad with salsa which was super light and fresh, stacked neatly with mustard on the side, and a bit of mixed greens. The salad was crispy fresh and the dressing was awesome so we ordered another mixed salad to share. The crusty brown baguette was nice but cold, though it still went well with the crab meat or the pesto that came with the fish. 2 bottles of still water, no tap water, but that was acceptable at something like $44 for a large bottle. The osmanthus tea was fragrant and refreshing too.
The fish was perfection at its finest. It was a large portion for one person, served whole, with a few pieces of grilled vegetables (the same as the ratatouille on my bf's dish), and lots of homemade pesto and other goody herbs on top. If you don't mind the tedious process of separating fish bones from the flesh, then this is a great dish to fill you up for the day. The flesh was still juicy and firm, each bite oozing out freshness and that briny hint of sea catch. Afterwards the flavour of the herbs lingered in my mouth for the rest of the day until dinner (I mopped it all up with extra bread, yum!). The rice was a bit hard but the olive oil and herbs helped to soften it up a little. My bf's scallops sat on a light creamy sauce and were tasty though uninspiring, and we were disappointed at the tiny pot of ratatouille which, in my humble opinion, if it is a feature in the menu, should at least be double the portion served. Surprisingly the fish was cheaper than the other daily specials ($148 vs $158, and more for the a la carte dishes which are around the $250 range), which made them great value for money.
Dessert was 2 pieces of thin crepe with rich and smooth chocolate sauce, with the crepe crispy around the rim and still soft and moist in the centre (my favourite bit is the tip of the cone after it's folded in quarters), and my bf got a chocolate Marquis which came with a pretty hard and rustic oatmeal-tasting muffin/scone atop. At least it was prettily presented.
The waiters were generally courteous but forgetful. We had to repeat our orders for water, bread, and various other things at least 3 times before they acted on it. It's a little annoying when you have to make dramatic hand raising gestures and wave like a madwoman to flag down someone's attention. It's unnecessary and frankly embarrassing (for those who were unfortunately stuck on the same table as I). But I should learn to wind down and chill out, and imagine sitting in a small provencal town with all the time in the world.
張貼
