New: Balzac Brasserie

This newly opened restaurant is helmed by Chef Jean-Charles Dubois, who was previously the head chef of The French Kitchen! I knew I had to go down and try out his new restaurant because the boy and I had a v good experience at TFK during lunch last time when we first started going out haha. So to celebrate our A level results, the best friend and I went for a celebratory dinner at Balzac Brasserie! And boy was it a good choice (:

The interior of the restaurant consists of 2 parts and I personally like the side I was at more! I was seated at the tables like the one in the first pic, with white pretty chairs one would associate with the streets of Paris and a wall of greenery opp me. Felt really relaxed and happy, as if I were really in Paris!

The other part is like the 2nd pic, v pub like? There's a bar inside and high tables + high chairs and normal tables + chairs too haha. 

We went on a Friday night and the restaurant wasn't really that full but to avoid disappointment, I'd suggest calling ahead!

Complimentary bread

The 2 "sauces" given to dip are butter w herbs and the other's salmon sth hahaha but its kinda like the tuna chunks you find in cans except this is shredded more thinly! Loved the bread cos it was crusty and rather fluffy + light! Could be a little warmer though. Really love the rustic way it was presented (: The bestie and I finished the salmon one!!

Dubois' Lobster Bisque (Signature) $16

With organic sauteed mini prawns

Having tried the awesome shitzz lobster bisque at TFK, I knew I had to order Chef Dubois' Lobster Bisque here as well and it was v good I think! Not too creamy, certainly able to taste the richness of the seafood, sweeeeeet but not overly so, yum (: The prawns were uh a little too salty for us though :/ You're supposed to eat the prawns and drink the soup at the same time (prawns are really tiny so you'd be able to do that) but I felt that took away some of the flavours of the soup? 4.2/5

Beef Cheek A La Cuillere $26

48 hours of braised wagyu beef cheek, red wine sauce and mashed potato "grand merre"

The best friend ordered this and she proclaimed that it was "the best beef cheeks I ever had in my life"! She said it was so tender and I could tell because she didnt need to use any strength and the meat just came off easily! It smelt so darn goood that I was so tempted to try it!! Cant eat beef cos of my parents' religious belief, but I was really really tempted to try omg. I sat opposite her and I kept smelling the richness of the sauce and the aroma of the meat. Mouth-watering and nose-leading to say the least!! This is definitely a must-try! 5/5

Papilotte $26

Papilotte of sea bass, wild fennel and fresh herbs

At first it was wrapped in that bag and tied at the top w a rubber band, but aft serving it to me on a plate, they snipped the top off w a pair of scissors. The fish was extremely fresh and you can really taste that, the meat, so soft and done just nicely, that makes you feel so happy and light when you eat it! Fennel provides a really nice crunch to the dish, added texture which I liked! The cherry tomatoes were so juicy and popped in your mouth exploding with all the sweet yummy juice!!! This is a light dish that will delight anyone (: 5/5

Dubois' Creme Brulee (Signature) $9

classic style with tahitian vanilla

We both felt that the caramelized sugar layer on top was a tad too thick? It was quite hard to break the top layer and when eating it w the custard, it was too thick so when chewing it was q hard :/ many specs of vanilla in the custard though so they definitely did use vanilla pods (: 3/5

Tart Au Citron $9

Lemon tart with meringue snow

This was different from your usual lemon tart in 3 ways.

1) The meringue isnt like the usual one where its slightly torched and fills up the entire lemon tart. This is kinda "good" for me cos I usually scrap off the meringue anw but this presentation is kinda funny haha. And looks rather weird? Anw, the bestie tried and said this doesnt taste like normal meringue! Not sure what she meant though.

2)The lemon curd is much more tart and sour vs outside ones!! But I welcomed the tartness because it was like eating a sorbet but not as icy? And you'll get used to the sourness soon so yup!

3) The tart crust is more like a v thin layer of butter cookie that crumbles and breaks easily! So it doesnt really feel like you're eating a tart? Kinda gets lost in the lemon curd so you dont really taste it!

Overall, love the tartness of the curd as a palette cleanser and a nice ending to the meal, so for it, I give 4/5

And they present you the bill in a real book! I know some restaurant in Spore presents the bill in a box that looks like a book but this is in an actual French book!!!! Quite interesting I say (: There's no GST if you can see.

Prices are definitely value for money and can be considered cheap for the quality of food you're having, the ambience as well as the good service! The wait staff will always come by and check how things are going but in a friendly and un-intrusive manner. When I was sitting there waiting for the bestie to come back, the manager (I suppose) saw me looking bored and asked me if I was taken care of (: Although water wasnt always refilled for us, we happily refilled it ourselves because we were given a glass bottle of water at our table! 

Although I must point out that when we first walked into the restaurant and told this female waitress we wanted a table for 2 and didnt make reservations, she hesitated for quite long and gave the "uhhhh idk if I shld let you sit cos its full hse later" look and then aft awhile led us to our table. And we were a little annoyed cos the restaurant wasnt even full in the end? But this same waitress later happily helped us take pics so guess it was just at that moment only? And bread wasnt served to the table beside us when they sat down and was only given to them when their appetisers arrived so some lapses in service? But nonetheless, I was still impressed by them. Always cheerful, no long waits, extremely friendly and polite and v proud of their chef. And they very well should be! (:

Please give this restaurant a try! Quite sure you wont regret it!!! They have set lunches as well, 2 courses $22++ and 3 courses ones not sure the price though! And mains depends on the daily specials!! Their appetisers are $12-16, mains are $20-$36, desserts are $6-12!

Am definitely going back w the boy for him to try out those awesome beef cheeks!!

Balzac Brasserie

Hotel Rendevous

Lunch: 11.30am onwards think till 2+pm?

Dinner: 6.30-10.30pm

Le Bistrot - Quality French food! (2 visits)

Looking for unpretentious, quality, yummy and affordable French food with a good ambience? Le Bistrot is exactly what you're looking for! 

I'd recommend dinner because the wonderful wind at night at the Stadium Waterfront is sooo relaxing and nice! Great change from the hot weather on normal days! The restaurant itself is also really pretty as you'd see from the photos below

Follow the signs and park at Carpark E if you're driving, else drop at Stadium MRT station! Heads up: their menu's a Prix Fixe menu ie you choose from the menu they give and they charge you depending on the no. of courses you eat. This is for both lunch and dinner. Dont worry, they have a "specials" menu which changes (not sure how frequently!) so its not just from the menu!

Entree + Main $50

Main + Dessert $50

Entree, Main, Dessert $60

Ala carte: Entree $18, Main $40, Dessert $18

Visit 1: 

Poor Man's Caviar 

verrine of eggplant, garlic puree, chicken liver mousse and Pernod creme fraiche, served with chargrilled bread

Looks dubious? But this is reallyyyy the star of the show!! MUST-TRY! The creme is so yummy, slightly sour-ish, and just goes so well with the other layers! You must try this dish to know what I'm talking about. The flavours blend together so nicely and its awesome with the bread they provide!! Am craving for a jar of that now, sighz 5/5

Bread with balsamic vinegar + olive oil

Complimentary bread is crusty and warm, but doesnt go as well with the Poor Man's Caviar as the bread that they serve along w the "caviar"

Saumon a l'Unilateral et sa Soupe a l'Encre de Seiche

Pan-seared salmon fillet (served rare in the centre) with squid ink veloute and spinach fondant

LOOK AT HOW PINK RARE AND INVITING that slab of salmon looks!!! Its done wonderfully, so soft, so melt-in-your-mouth and its a REALLY HUGE SLAB! The squid ink sauce goes very well with the salmon, slightly saltish and has a depth of flavour that I cant really describe. Its not too thick so, yup. They'll pour part of the sauce (that comes in a small conical flask) onto your fish when they serve the plate and its up to you whether you want to pour the rest or not! 

I loved the sauce so much I finished every drop of it! The spinach fondant is reallyyyy creative I'd say! Never tried anything like this before! Its dense, but not in a jialat way, very fluffy and quite light actually! Spinach taste isnt vvv strong, so great way to make people eat their greens! (: 4.8/5

 Confit de Cuisses de Canard

Duck leg confit with honey-mustard vinaigrette and creamy potato puree

Since when do you get 2 pieces of duck for duck confit? No right? But at Le Bistrot, you get 2 big slabs! Totally worth your money right! The skin, as you can see, is wonderfully crispy and crackly, the meat - soft and tender. YUM in a bite! 4.8/5 

Tarte au Citron

lemon tart with raspberry coulis, pineapple tuille and vanilla bean ice cream

The tart didnt really have a strong tangy lemon taste, would prefer it to be a little more sour. Pineapple tuille was like dried pineapple in a really thinnnn form which I liked. Vanilla bean ice cream - creamy goodness with specks of vanilla! Nonetheless, not a bad rendition of the lemon tart 4/5

Nougat Glace aux Noisettes

frozen parfait of hazelnut praline and honey with a feuilles de brick pastry "cigarello" of Gianduja and candied orange peel

The pastry and Gianduja part of the description is referring to the "cigar" like thing at the top - its basically pastry with chocolate inside! Quite yummy I'd say! The boy didnt really like the frozen parfait because it got really jialat towards the end! Too big and too monotonous :/ 3/5

Creme Brulee

Choose 3 flavours: bourbon vanilla bean, amaretto-griottine, Earl Grey tea, mocha, dark chocolate, pistachio-raspberry

We chose vanilla bean, Earl Grey and pistachio-raspberry and myyyy, the first 2 are SO fragrant and soooooo delicious!! Finished every last scoop of it despite a really heavy meal prior to this! (Yes us being gluttons ordered another ala carte dessert) 

I dont like pistachio so I didnt enjoy that at all sorry! Else I'd say 4.7/5

Visit 2:

Poor Man's Caviar

Yup its so yummy, I had to have it again! 

Oignon Farci aux Noix de Saint-Jacques Grillees et son Veloute de Mais +$8

chargrilled Hokkaido scallops served in a salt-baked onion, with a corn veloute and toasted pinenuts

The brown thing you see there amidst the corn veloute is the onion! Huge one really. And in + on top of the onion is the scallops! Generous portions of scallops, wonderful sauce to go with too! 4.6/5

 Coq au Vin, Carottes Persillees, Gratin de Risotto d'Orge Perle

red wine braised chicken leg served with herbed baby carrots, and a pearl barley risotto of fennel and mushrooms, lightly gratinated with cheese

I love the risotto! Fresh change from the usual creamy ones. The chicken leg was just alright though. Mom couldnt finish it cos it was such a huge portion! 4/5

This was a spcial of the day - a pork dish!

Parents commented that the pork was really tender, flavourful and yummy! Sorry I forgot the name of the dish! 4.6/5 

Salmon with squid ink veloute!

Look at that pink-ish insides peaking out at you! Dont you just want to sink your teeth in it? 5/5

L'Imperial +$12

fruit soup of macerated wild strawberries, mango-passionfruit sorbet and pink peppercorns, topped with champagne

The sorbet was a refreshing end to the meal the champagne was good but I'd recommend finishing the champagne quickly else room temp champagne isnt very appetising haha.

Grand Chocolat Chaud du Bistrot +$8

Le Bistrot's signature Hot Chocolate: molten 72% dark chocolate couverture, steamed milk and Virgin Islands dark rum, served with a chocolate ice cream profiterole and assorted macarons

Their macarons are rather yummy! Crispy shell, not too sweet. It was really messy when we ate the profiterole cos the ice cream was melting and it was quite hard to "cut" the profiterole up! Overall - okay-ish for the profiterole only. The hot chocolate was good cos basically you mix in what you want! Loved the quality dark chocolate they used and how rich it was! Mmm~ I'd recommend sharing this though! Quite heavy for 1 person. 4/5

Creme Brulee

We chose vanilla bean, mocha and dark chocolate this time

Mocha is REALLY BITTER, so yea didnt really like it. Vanilla bean was awesome as always. Dark chocolate was okay only!

The service is really goooood, waiters are super friendly and funny as well! They frequently top up your water, are v attentive as well! The restaurant is so pretty and the walk outside the restaurant after a meal with your loved one(s) is a wonderful change to the hot balmy weather on normal days! The food is definitely above average and value for money as seen from the huge portions! Really recommend a trip down now if you havent tried it yet!

Le Bistrot

2 Stadium Walk

(same place where Mushroom Pot/Brewerkz etc are, near the Singapore Stadium!)

FFT (III)

Hi everyone!

I've eaten at FFT 3 times and I must say they have yet to disappoint me!

Visit 1:

Duo of pancakes with banana & walnuts

Read many reviews about their pancakes so I decided my first visit would be to try them and I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED! Their pancakes are a joy to eat, fluffy and not too thick (unlike Wild Honey). The fresh cream was very very fragrant and light (I'm usually not a fan of creams) and I slathered the pancakes with the cream and finished the whole serving! I didnt really like the gula melaka syrup that came along with it as well cos I felt that it was a tad too sweet 4.3/5

Passionfruit Cheesecake

The first few bites were a joy because the sourness of the passionfruit managed to balance out the creaminess of the cream cheese (as you probably can tell, there was uh quite a lot judging from how thick/tall the slice of cake it). However, after a few more bites, the creaminess overpowered the sourness and eventually became really jia lat (a bit too much) and we decided that we couldnt take it anymore and did not finish this cheesecake :/ 3/5

This was great!!! Ferrero Rocher Cake

It was like eating a giant Ferrero Rocher!!! the layer with the hazelnuts and the crunchy parts were super enjoyable, and the chocolate cake was moist. However I felt that the ganache layer on the outside could have been a little thinner? Cos it does get a bit too much after awhile. Nonetheless, great awesome cake! 4/5

Visit 2:

Earl Grey Milkshake

The taste of earl grey was really distinct, earl grey lovers, PLEASE ORDER THIS!! I loved it (: 4.3/5

Basil Almond Pesto Chicken Linguine

The boy's linguine was cooked perfectly al dente and the pesto sauce was of just the right amount! The taste of the sauce went perfectly with the soft chicken and the roasted tomatoes were a joy to eat! 4/5

Chai Spice Brulee Salmon with smoked red capsicum risotto & mango ginger chutney

I ordered this delightful dish with the salmon cooked perfectly, risotto done al dente as well and the slight smokiness that accompanied the risotto was certainly very much welcomed by my tastebuds! The mango ginger chutney didnt really have much ginger taste but who's complaining! The mangoes were sweet and yummy, went very well with the risotto IMO. 4.3/5

Rustic warm banana cake, with vanilla ice cream & drizzled with butterscotch sauce & walnuts

The boy and I couldnt resist ordering this dessert and we were certainly glad we did!! The banana cake had a definite fragrance to it and the butterscotch sauce was not overwhelmingly sweet! I would've liked the banana cake to be a little more moist though! 3.8/5

After stuffing ourselves with mains and a dessert, I couldnt help myself but order another dessert that I'd been eyeing for quite some time!

Butterscotch Apple & Mixed Berries Crumble

THIS WAS ABSOLUTE HEAVEN!!! There were thick chunks of apples in it coated lightly in cinnamon, baked till perfection and the crumble topping wasn't too much nor too little. The berries were not very sour, so overall the dish was superrrr enjoyable! Especially the huge chunks of apples! And at $10, I felt this was really worth it!! 4.5/5

Visit 3:

Chargrilled Vegetable Sandwich with Aubergine, Red Capsicum & Zucchini

With homemade pickles & choice of side salad/fries (chose salad)

I felt that the bread they gave was a tad too thick and I would have liked it crispier (perhaps I'm too spoilt by the perfectly crispy sandwich breads at Cedele?). The grilled veg was good though. Salad was just average. 3.7/5

Calamari, Prawn & Salmon Risotto

This was great!!! Again, al dente rice and lots of seafood plus a creamy stock! Heaven!!~ 4.3/5

Creme Brulee of the day - Earl Grey

The taste of earl grey was reallyyyyy distinct!! Yummy yummy!! (I love all things earl grey as you probably can tell haha) 4/5

It came with this cute mini muffin that tasted like there was bacon inside! But it was really crumbly so when we ate it, it was reallyyyyy messy with crumbs everywhere!!

FFT is definitely one of the value for money and yummy cafes around! Dont be scared off by the "long waiting time" sign that usually says you've to wait for 40mins or so for a table. Just go in and ask if there's a table available!! Usually, the wait is quite fast or sometimes you dont have to wait at all cos it happens that they have a table for 2 (which is what happened to me before)

Food For Thought

8QSam

PS. Check their fb if they're closing for the day due to private events which happens rather frequently and they only reserve 50% of their seats on weekends until 12pm so reserve early if you want!