This is the second
of our 2 part lunch series brought to us by the exit of Maigai.
His selection of
Brasserie Les Saveurs was looked forward to as none of us had heard any
personal reviews on this establishment. But before diving into our lunch date,
it came to my mind that since this will probably be the last piece on MG, I
must do justice to recap some of our fond lunch memories together.
Among the highs
were his fantastic treats at Imperial Treasure Nan Bei, where we ate our hearts
content on fabulous dishes (all large/extra-large portions), with no member
contemplating even a mouthful of the post lunch Kaya toast with coffee to top
up whatever residual hunger. This was probably followed by his further
generosity (unintended) at Imperial Treasure Cantonese Cuisine, which saw
another sumptuous meal for the club members. But the meal that brought him his
definitive status as club VP was the “Buddha” engagement we were all enlightened
with at Dragon Phoenix restaurant.
But as MG was no
living Buddha, he also had his fair share of lows (possibly more than his fair
share actually). Amongst these was the legendary “FACES of DEATH” meal we had
at Long Beach Seafood. Our first class seats (at no extra charge) right in
front of a fish tank full of live fish morbidly acting strange and then
followed by what looked like fish gasping for air coupled with some odd looking
swimming styles and somersaults and after about 15 mins of action, a dozen or
so fish floating belly up in the tank, definitely made everything we ate that
day feel and taste bland.
And then there
were further lows as exemplified by his horrific unsteady behaviour of our
club’s VP at Osvaldo, which saw our club institute immediate rectification to
the club’s constitution in order to prevent a recurrence of MG’s “I’d rather
pay the restaurant extra than top up for the next meal” actions.
And then there
were even further lows into the pits, brought about by his near fatal decision
on his choice of Chef Daniel’s at Illuma. A double blow for MG during this BML
due to the poor quality coupled with the almost impossibility of meeting the
minimum spend despite ordering every dish in the menu. This experience and
establishment has now become the club’s benchmark for which a samolah is judged
against.
Like it or not,
MG’s past choices and actions have added to our club lexicon such that when a
good soup is served, we compare it against the best, which is whether we’ve got
a Buddha high. And when a meal is bad, and we are deciding on a samolah, we
always ask, “is it as bad as chef daniel’s?”.
So, back to
Brasserie Les Saveurs, we were ordered to order the 3 course set lunch by MG
(without the wine pairing), and since there were only 2 choices each for
starters, mains and dessert, we collectively ordered everything except the
lobster bisque.
Just before
starters, we were served what I thing I remember as an amuse-bouche of diced
beet root, some diced fruit topped in a cheese cream sauce. The overall flavour
was somewhat savoury, with a good texture, but taste wise nothing out of the
ordinary.
Following this, we were served bread and butter. The bread was warm
and whilst not exceptionally special in taste, it was a good partner to the
fantastic unsalted French butter which we were served. It was creamy butter at
its best.
We were then
served our foie gras terrine, which came topped with a thin crispy toast, and
accompanied by shredded salad leaves sat on a bed of cooked figs plus a fried
slice of bread. Upon being served, I suddenly felt like Spiderman, as my spider
senses gave me a 2 second head start on what I was sure I was going to
experience 2 seconds later. Without fail and as my spidey senses had expected,
Jon (mark my words, he will never make it as a food connoisseur) started off by
stating that the foie gras starters that we had at St Pierre
In any case, the
terrine was great, and since there was a lot of it, you could really spread it
out thickly on the bread and top it up with the figs which sort of cut away at
the richness and oiliness of the terrine. It was a lovely starter, but
definitely an artery blocker. Some wine would have actually done wonders with
this dish.
Next up were the
mains. The pan seared fish was cooked perfectly, but bass tends to be a bit
bland on flavour relative to the oilier fishes like salmon, cod, or even parts
of tuna. So, the accompanying lobster sauce and cooked vegetables was a good
match with the bass. The vegetables were cooked through but still crunchy.
The beef, which
most of the party chose was however a major let down. The accompaniments were
unusual and did not seem to pair well with the beef. But the real problem was
the beef itself.
It was cooked a little over what I consider medium, but beyond
that, the meat seemed dry, even for a slightly more than medium done piece. It
was also not as flavourful as one would have expected. I could get a medium
done tenderloin at a lower price at Jack’s place, which might taste as good or
even better than this.
Finally came the
desserts. CC bravely stood out singularly to choose the cheese platter, whilst
the rest of us chose from the dessert tray. The cheese platter was as with all
cheese platters, a standard fare of mild, medium and strong cheese. Whilst not
a cheese expert, I thought that the overall quality was quite decent or at
least in line with other cheese platters I’ve had (although I must confess it’s
not that many).
As for the
choices from the dessert tray, we did try almost everything. They were almost
all good, and definitely beautiful to look at. They were fresh, creamy and
rich, and well made. But if you must select 2, I would choose the strawberry
tart and the lemon tart.
The strawberry tart was infused with strawberry cream.
It was a bit like a strawberry fondant topped with a strawberry flavoured
macaroon.
The lemon tart was also
excellent with lemony cream topped with a meringue and sat on a crumbly pastry.
It was slightly tart and sweet at the same time with a rich lemon flavour.
The
cherry cake and the blueberry tart were also good.
For the éclair, macaroons
and cheese cake, I would say that they were good, but nothing out of the
ordinary, and considering the number of specialty confectioners in Singapore
Overall, the
best dishes were probably the terrine and dessert. But the poor standard of the
main course really let us down, especially considering the cost of the set
lunch.
The total damage came to S$406 after a 15% discount on businessman’s
HSBC infinite card. The meal did however come with 1 free complimentary
parking, which businessman took, but was originally intended for Erap II, but
was blackmailed away from MG by businessman. (He refused to get his HSBC card
from his car in the carpark unless he got something in return…. How mercenary!)
So with this, we
say adios to our dear amigo Maigai. Whilst his exit lunches did not bring us
another Buddha high, we do hope that he will grace us with his presence as a
special guest in future, possibly at our next presidential challenge session. So
to MG, despite all your past failures (planned or not), you have been a worthy
contributor to the colour of our club and we will miss u MG!
By Club Scribe
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