Au Petit Salut French Restaurant (17th Feb 2009)

I love having meals with friends. Friends who know the importance of sitting down, having a good meal and good conversations. Might be a conversation which could be meaningless to the rest of the world, yet be a topic of interest for me and them. It is not the results of the conversation that matter, it is just the plain chatting, discovering another point of view, which might be or not be agreeable to one self.

If you do want to have such a moment with some friends, I think Au Petit Salut might be one of the choice, however, do make sure you get a corner seat, or an outdoor seat if the weather is good.

The start of a wonderful meal starts with a peek into the daily offerings...

Bread basket
I was so busy shooting... that the bread became cold when we started eating it.... so the service staff were nice enough to get us another warm portion :)

Oyster

I can't say too much about it, but my friends did enjoy them. I wasn't in the mood for oysters that day.... so I had missed out on something good.

Bisque de homard

Lobster bisque with tarragon and lobster ravioli

This was nice... why do i think it is nice? hahah cause I finished it :p

I am not a cook, I would not know what was in it... other than the obvious ones, which was written in the menu.. lobster and tarragon :P

Foie gras de canard poele au vinaigre de Xeres

Pan seared duck foie gras served with baby spinach, red onions and Xeres vinegar

I like the red onions and the Xeres vinegar and mix with a bit of the baby spinach, I am crying for another serving of this wonderful prepared foie gras. And YES I do think force feeding to get this foie gras is a bad thing, so i always TRY to say a prayer for the poor duckie when i consumed the liver... though... I might had forgotten to do it when I was having its leg...

Salade de gourmande au homard, anguille fumee et St- Jacques

Cold seafood platter with lobster. smoked eel and grilled scallops, mesclun salad with basil dressing (I think we got salmon tartare instead of scallop.... )

I can't say there was anything special about it... Maybe there are just too much vegetables in it... I know it's a salad dish... but I am just so much a vegetable hater that the sight of a few leaves laying on each other just put me sooo off a dish.

Cuisse de canard confite

Crispy french duck leg confit with green lentils stew and yellow frisee salad with walnut dressing

okie... so this is the other part of the duck we had. It is, I felt, been cooked too long. I find it rather dry and hard. So I would say this duck had given its leg for a unworthy cause. I would not order this dish again, just so no ducks would have to give up their legs for it. (Hey, it might not be in good humor for any animal lovers. But in the frist place, it's my opinon! so I guess anyone who doesn't think it's funny... too bad. Move along! )

Filet de boeuf a l'echallotes

Pan seared beef tenderloin (150 gm) served with shallots and garlic confit, mashed potato

We definitely love this dish. As I had not have any good time with red meat, my tiny bite of it gave me the impression that this tenderloin was done the way we wanted it to be. Excellent dish indeed.

Filet de daurade Royale de l'Atlantique au four

Oven baked Atlantic royal seabream served with ratatouille and tomato coulis

Fish! I so do like fish dishes. I think this seabream is indeed a great piece of meat :D. Along with the ratouille and tomato coulis, it had made to the only dish I would order for my main, should i come back again. However, I do detect some bitterness around the tummy area, though it's a good dish, I definitely think it could make some improvements. (did I mention I am not a good cook??)

Selection de fromages affines Francaise, pain aux noix et salade

Selection of matured French farm cheeses served with walnut bread and salad

Not the best selection of cheeses... could have easily given a miss. However the bread was excellent :P I won't mind packing some of the walnut bread for my cheese parties.

Fondant chaud au chocolat

Warm melted 70% dark chocolate cake served with chocolate sorbet

Chocolate... I, who can't resist chocolate... find this dark chocolate cake which had chocolate sauce oozing from the inside, fantastically amusing. I do enjoy the taste of it. I didn't won't say this is on the top top of my chocolate list. Nothing can replace my current love for peanut butter chocolate :p

Mignonettes au pain d'epices et abricots, glace macadamia

Mini gingerbread filled with apricot jam and served with macadamia nut ice cream

okie... I don't like ginger. I don't like gingerbread. I do not like the tiniest bite of the gingerbread I tried. But I like the ice cream! :P hehe so if u are a fan of gingerbread, I think it would be a good dessert to order. If not.... you can always ask them for more ice cream without the gingerbread. However, you might not get your wish.

The service here was great and indeed a, I felt, a worthy meal to have at this excellent restaurant. However.... I think the fact that it is not a HUGE stadium sized place, it would be good if you are able to get a cosy corner... or an outdoor table. The fact that it is such a worthy lunch, alot of business people head there for their client meetings, which is great business for the resturant, but a lousy deal for me. I just want to have a nice place to take a break from the stressful world and I definitely do not like working lunch... much less other ppl's working lunch. And yes I am shamelessly listening into their conversations... not because I want to, it just because the sounds are bouncing off the walls/glasses of the restaurant.

Hi! James from DXS Bank. It is great meeting you that day.