So it was time for the annual birthday celebration (aka excuse to eat good food) and *Shinta being ever so "considerate" and knowing that I was suppose to watch my diet after spending the whole of July doing practically nothing but eating, sleeping and shopping, chose French for dinner, under the misguided perception that "french portions are small"... Sure the portions at Les Amis are "not large" especially if you order the degustation menu, but its really filling given the number of courses both on and off the menu!
That aside, I was quite pleased because I had been wanting to try this place for ages, and somehow we just never got round to it... (price could of course have been a reason!!!)
Anyway it was a pleasure to finally be privileged enough to step into the simple entrance at the ground floor of Shaw Center and enter the tastefully decorated but still glam restaurant. Simple settings for the tables and chairs, but offset by the lush curtains, relatively high ceiling and sparkling chandeliers. I loved the little mini sofa they provided for my hand bag!
I forgot to bring my camera along (plus I was too pai seh to openly take photos in such a posh place), so I only managed a few shots discreetly taken by my handphone camera which unfortunately doesn't perform too well in low lighting conditions.
*Shinta and I both ordered the 6 course degustation menu, which had a little bit of all our favourites... Foie Gras, Lobster, Beef. This was preceded by a very nice selection of fragrant and tempting breads, followed by 2 simple appetisers: salmon on a cracker and some tomato-basil mix that I couldn't really identify. The first was a pretty unexciting combination, but the good quality of the salmon was pretty obvious at first bite. The second was more interesting, but unfortunately made of ingredients that I wasn't too fond of.
I started getting much more excited when the first of the degustation courses arrived. The terrine of foie gras was smooth and rich without being too oily, and went wonderfully with the balsamic glazed cherries, moscato foam and dried apple bread brandied cherry that accompanied it. I could have eaten much more of this!
The next course was black truffle with chopped lobster, small shrimp with pasta and spring onions. While I liked the overall dish and the truffle/shrimp combination, I have to say that this tasted a little Asian, and unfortunately I really couldn't see any signs of the lobster.
I've forgotten what this course is already, although I really liked it! Believe it was mushrooms on the side, and the center being crispy something or other enveloping a poached egg? I also forgot to take a picture of the cod fish that followed this. Found that to be not too exciting, although *Shinta had a more favorable opinion of it.
The main course was Char-grilled Japanese Kuroge Wagyu entrecote with baby spinach leaves and truffled french fry (singular!). Very very pleased with this! Even though the slice was so thin, they managed to keep it "medium-rare" as requested. In fact the tasting portion was just nice, because the meat is so rich and buttery, that it fills you up really quickly and a full portion (available on the a la carte) might be a little too much for most. I passed on the spinach and french fry (to *Shinta's delight) because I was already feeling really full at this stage.
For dessert, I swopped the peach melba (which *Shinta later described as "ok") for the tiramisu souffle with cherry ice cream. Was quite pleased with my decision, the souffle is definitely something I would recommend to others.
Coffee followed shortly after, accompanied by a small platter each of 4 macaroons and little delights, as well as a selection of chocolates.
A nice surprised followed shortly after, when they brought out a cake specially decorated for us. At first we shuddered because we were so full we thought we would be unable to eat it, but their choice of cake (Lime with Pistachio base) was excellent because it was palate cleansing, light and very refreshing after all the heavy chocolate desserts.
Just when we thought we were done with eating, they appeared with freshly baked Magdalenas!
It was in total a 3.5h meal, although I must say that I didn't notice it at all! After the many many courses of food and dessert, I finally decided I really couldn't eat anymore. So with 3-4 bites of the cake and half a Magdalena left on my plate, *Shinta called the waiter over to ask for the bill.
That's when the most amusing thing happened. Service the entire evening had been excellent, but our waiter couldn't hide the look of shock, horror and disappointment that flashed briefly across his face when he heard us ask for the bill. Worried that we might have somehow unknowingly insulted him, *Shinta couldn't help but asked him about it. The poor guy sheepishly replied that he thought we would have wanted to sit down and enjoy ourselves a bit more... and finish the cake and Magdalena! We were profuse with apologies and excuses that we were terribly full, and had to assure him repeatedly that we really loved it. Wracked with guilt, I had no choice but to finish off at least the cake...
It kind of struck a note with me that the waiter was so concerned that we hadn't been able to finish our food, and that we appeared to be "rushing off". We're not used to it in Singapore, but on my recent trip in Europe, I was reminded how it was normal over there to start dinner at 8pm, and have it last a good 3 to 4 hours. This evening in particular, the service and food were excellent, and the company really made time fly by.
Another thing is, I can't help but compared Les Amis to Saint Pierre which I ate at just a month ago. For a slightly cheaper price, Saint Pierre provided more courses (overall) with much more unusual concoctions and combinations of flavours. Les Amis however, had more classic dishes (although there were hints of slight experimentation in the garnishes at the side), better quality ingredients, extremely well-trained staff and truly excellent service. While Saint Pierre is probably a good place to go to now and then for its exciting new creations, I found Les Amis much more friendly, cosier and more likely to become a favorite for those very special occasions. It's probably the kind of place where if you were rich enough to go there often, you would be able to make friends with the waiter and have them recognise your name and know your favorite wines and dishes. Pity I don't belong to that group!
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Les Amis
1 Scotts Road #02-16 Shaw Centre
Tel: +65 6733 2225
Hours: 12.00 to last seating 2.00pm (Mon to Fri), 7.00pm to last seating 9.30pm (Mon to Sat)
http://www.lesamis.com.sg/
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Was actually going to get the much much cheaper 50mm F1/8, but *Shinta convinced me that since I probably won't ever be buying a 50mm again, I might as well get the better lens and be done with it.
