My office neighbor is leaving for greener pastures and his farewell lunch took us Le Papillion, a smallish French restaurant located at the Red Dot Traffic Building. Technically speaking, it's a bit of a bluff to call it 'farewell lunch' since his new office is on the other side of the road. Also, this is Singapore we are talking about aka RED DOT on the Atlas, so it wasn't exactly "au revoir, mon ami". But but but when a friend invites me for a "nice lunch", I'm not about to reason against extravagance.
On the breadbasket visit, I received a sickly looking roll that broke away to reveal a soft fluffy inside. Never judge a bread by its cover, they say. Who's "they"? erm, them! (points to crowd whose faces have been digitally pixilated)
For starters, we had the soft shell crab salad with mango salad and tomato chilli dressing, and yellowfin tuna tataki with dill oil and rocket salad.
Last time I checked, soft shell crab and mango salad were clearly "Asians" so unless they pulled a 'Ziyi Zhang,' chances are the menu isn't authentically European. Having said that, I'm someone who finds it difficult to fault anything "battered and deep-fried" so though it scores zero points for creativity, the crisp heavily-battered soft shell crab and its Thai escort were a crowd-pleaser. Shaded by the rocket salad, the tiny mould of minced tuna brimmed with freshness and subtle dill fragrance.
I usually spend much less time deciding on the main courses as the thought process is always the same. I never order chicken. Or pasta, for that matter. If I want chicken or pasta, I would eat at home. Though I feel very strongly for lamb options, someone at the table (usually mum) would order it so I can choose something else. Fish is tricky, though I love fish, I always feel that they aren't given due respect by western cuisines and most times, the word "dory" just kills my interest. So by default, I would choose beef especially if the description spots words like "veal" or "cheek".
At Le Papillion, 3 out of the 4 main courses actually sounded good. The lamb, two T-Bone lamb cuts with roasted sweet potato, wilted greens and parmesan foam wasn't wow-looking but I had a squish-squash good time with its tenderness.
For a change, I opted for the fish over the beef and didn't regret my decision. The Pan Fried Golden Pomfret was on par with the lamb. The firm flesh and the crusty peppered skin signaled of good things to come. Good thing the spice-fennel sauce was dripped on the side, otherwise it would have interfered with the crispness. Points also given to the delicious roasted potatoes nuggets, which pinched and crinkled at the right edges.
Though the mains were commendable, this was one of the rare occasions where I was sorely let down by the dessert- Poached Pear with Yoghurt Sherbet and Rose Water Meringue. Pleasurably tangy, I lapped up the yogurt sherbet with embarrassing haste and popped in the fair meringues, gently pressing them into oblivion with my tongue. But the poached pears were a chilling experience- they spotted an unnatural texture, and if blindfolded, I would have mistaken it for sweetened pickles.
As the restaurant name ("the butterfly" in French) suggests, what we had today was light, wispy and for a fleeting moment, memorable. The restaurant enjoys an appreciative crowd during lunch, no doubt thanks to fuss-free modern cuisine and polite unintrusive service. Apparently the lunch menu (available on their website) changes weekly, so it's a good idea to check out their menu before visiting.
* Fast forward to a week later
This week's menu actually looks like my kinda thing... This is what I would have had I visited The Butterfly this week.
Starters
Gratin of Onion Confit with Grilled Beef, Mesclun Salad and Cherry Tomatoes
Balsamic Dressing: If it weren't for the beef cheek (squeal!) at Main Course, I would have ordered this. So instead, I choose Gratinated Stuffed Mini Eggplant with Chicken and Tomato with Cheese Toppings and would probably persuade (quite possibly with a pout or... threat, if the pout doesn't work out) my lunch companion to order the onion gratin.
Main Course
Blanquette of Beef Cheek with Roasted Sweet Potato, Sauté Mushrooms and Zucchini: Cheek. Sweet Potato- Need I say more?
Dessert
Tiramitsu: Well, I'm not the biggest fan of tiramisu but the starter and main course would have more than made up for yet another humdrum dessert. Hey wait, it says, "tira-MITSU".. does that mean it comes with Japanese black syrup? Arghhh
I spy with my little eye a return visit soon enough.
- - -
A year ago, I left Copenhagen for Milan. Then, I didn't even cry.
No comments:
Post a Comment