Blowing the French Horn at Toots Brasserie

This is an overdue post. Sorry for withholding the best-kept set lunch gem of a secret in the city for too long. The lion and his colleagues, who work in the vicinity, have graced the cosy archways of this restaurant in a hotel a couple of times for team lunches. But let's start off with breakfast, shall we? Yes siree, the lions were planning to sleep in late on a weekday public holiday morning when Mr Business Times called to summon them to Toots Brasserie for a sunrise fuel up.

The Sultan Hotel, spanning 10 conservation shophouses,
is a glorious tribute to Singapore's colourful colonial
past with wide arcs, tall columns and beautiful
shuttered windows.

A part of the fabric of Singapore's rich heritage.

Natural Curtains

Heading past the narrow wood-panelled walkway to... ... 

Toots Brasserie. Veteran Chef Jason Wong is at the helm
and has cut his teeth in the kitchens of restaurants
like Au Petit Salute. He promises an authentic,
good old-fashioned delivery of French cuisine.

Love the wood-carved monogram.

Look out for the decorative steel cast horns on the wall representing
the name of the establishment. The love of jazz certainly runs deep
in the veins of one of the investors who also owns Sultan Jazz Club
that sits above the restaurant.

Lovely fresh flowers.

Sitting under an arch - stately but cosy interior with rustic dark teak
furniture, earth-toned banquettes and carpeted mosaic tiled flooring.

Breakfast at Toot Brasserie is rather straight forward.
You get to choose how your eggs are done,
along with some sides and the rest are a buffet spread. 

The flaky and buttery croissants are a must-try at the breakfast
buffet spread apart from the the other french rolls.
When the lions were there, the in-house pastry chef
was previously from Joel Robuchon Singapore.

Parma Ham and Cheese.

Sunny side up eggs done with runny centres. Good for
dipping bread in!

Poached Eggs.

Cuchi's Egg Benedict came out a little weird that day though.
The egg itself had the consistency and look of a chwee kueh!

Scrambled Eggs.

Coffee was decent; don't expect your gourmet-style cuppa.

The semi-buffet breakfast spread was good value at $13.80++ given that there were other items like breakfast cereals (didn't manage to get pictures of that) and you get to start your day in a colonial setting. The lion also had a chat with Chef Jason and he encouraged them to try their dinner and lunch menus. Being supportive of home-grown chefs, the lion returned with colleagues for lunch.

Freshly baked baguette made in-house.

In the afternoon, Toots offers an a la carte menu on top of 2 types of set lunches: the (normal) 3-course lunch set menu priced at $18++ and a 3-course executive set lunch for $28 nett. Thank goodness that he came with a rowdy bunch of colleagues so that he could see some of the decadent spread of choices.

Executive Set Appetiser: Oven-baked Burgundy snails in
homemade garlic butter and herb sauce.

Normal Set Lunch Appetiser: Farrner's Soup (soup of the day).

Executive Set Appetiser: Smoked ham on melon served with fresh fig salad and
walnut dressing. The play on sweet and salty was evident here.

Executive Set: Provencale-style Braised Spanish Pork Ribs in
white wine. Hearty and tender.

Executive Set: Toots Beef Minute with garden vegetables and mash potatoes.
The beef minute was well done and slightly chewy.
Mash potatoes complemented it well by being the creamy neutral base
to the beef's savoury saltiness.

Set Lunch: Coq Au Vin aka braised chicken in red wine.
Ordered by the big boss of the group, he gave it a thumbs up
for being juicy and succulent.

Executive Set Lunch: Warm dark chocolate Valrhona cake with mix berries.
Normal Set Lunch Desset comes with a delectable Creme Brulee with a
scoop of citrus sorbet. Not too shabby as well!

This has got to be one of the most inexpensive set lunches in town for French cuisine in such a fine setting, bar none. We would recommend that you pay a little more for the executive set lunch. No regrets.

Here is our review for Toots Brasserie:

Food Quality: 8.0 pawprints out of 10

Ambience: 8.0 pawprints out of 10

Toots Brasserie

101 Jalan Sultan,
The Sultan Hotel

Singapore 199002

Cocooning at Cocotte

Sorry for the delayed postings as Cute Cute and Cuchi had a vacation in United Kingdom. More of their adventures in English lands later down the road. Meanwhile, just before they flew off to London, the Lions managed to sneak a bite at Cocotte Communal restaurant.

Located inside Wanderlust hotel, Cocotte also adopts a retro interior decor just like the hotel. In fact, it models after the 70s French feel and serves up rustic French communal food.

Feeling cosy and nostalgic (Cuchi is into French things), Lions and their friends, Coconut and Kermit, got to ordering food to share.

French Onion Soup Sandwich
The French Onion Soup Sandwich was great. Sweet, sour and savory, the sandwich was so good that the pack ordered another one to share.

Pan Fried Sea Bass
Fish was done very well, the skin crispy and the fish tender. The vegetables that went along with the dish were also a good complement to the main.

Hot Smoked Salmon Sandwich
Cute Cute felt that it should be an egg and salmon sandwich instead due to the large amount of scrambled egg on the sandwich. Overall, it was a good sandwich but the Lions' choice still went to the French Onion Soup Sandwich.

Unfortunately, the Lions had forgotten what sandwich this was, but it looked and tasted good. :)

Shredded Pork Confit Sandwich
Another classic from Cocotte, worth trying.

Lemon Curd Tart
Ladies who love sweet sour treats will love this dessert

Cafe Latte

Apple Tart

 

The Lions had a wonderful time at Cocotte. Good food and a lovely atmosphere added to the enjoyment. Do check out their pastry section as it changes with time.

Here is our review for Cocotte: 

 

Food Quality: 8.0 pawprints out of 10

Ambience: 8.0 pawprints out of 10

For those who are interested in going there, here is the address:

Cocotte

2 Dickson Road

Singapore 209494

Tel No : 6298 1188

http://restaurantcocotte.com/

Coffee, the new Black Gold

While walking through some of the old flats in Tanjong Pagar area, Cute Cute and Cuchi were drawn to some of the new shops that were opened in this fast upcoming indie area. One of the eateries that beckoned to them (literally) was Black Gold....

Black Gold, a casual French dining cafe, is located at the first floor of one of the few HDB flats in Tanjong Pagar. Don't let the exterior cloud your mind though. One may write it off initially but on closer look, it has quite a good value set lunch plus their own Black Gold coffee! Of course, it was the coffee part that drawn Cute Cute in.

Black Gold's own roasting machine

So Cute Cute and Cuchi went about and ordered a weekday set lunch which included a cup of their Black Gold 'Kopi'.

Beef Soup and Mushroom Soup
First up was the 2 soups that the Lions ordered. The beef soup reminded Cute Cute of the taste of Bovril. Very savoury and thick, it was like a beef consummate. The mushroom soup was pretty average though. Your usual fare. 

Stewed Chicken Leg (Coq Au Vin)
Cuchi ordered this and she was surprised that french fries were given. Thought normally for Coq Au Vin, boiled vegetables or salad would be the usual side dishes. Anyways, Cuchi felt that the chicken leg was a bit bland. Tender but a bit lacking in the taste department....

Pan Fried Beef Steak
The steak came in slightly better. It was done medium rare and was tender. The brown sauce that came with it was a bit too salty. Overall it was rather average.

Chocolate Molten Cake with Ice Cream and Lavender Sauce
Surprisingly this was the only item that the Lions found to be better than average. Nice and warm in the inside and slightly crisp on the outside. The ice cream also compliment well with the cake.

Black Gold Coffee
Apart from the nice looking cup with thick walls.... the coffee was pretty average.

Overall, the Lions felt that Black Gold's food was kinda of average but should you want to have a nice place to sit down and fellowship with your friends over food, it's a nice place around Tanjong Pagar area. Other than that, the food needs more improvement.

Here is our review for Black Gold

 

Coffee quality: 6 pawprints out of 10

Food quality: 5.5 pawprints out of 10

Ambience: 6 pawprints out of 10

Specials that you should try: The cheap set lunches

For those who are interested in going there, here is the address:

Black Gold

7 Tanjong Pagar Plaza

#01-104B

Singapore 081007

Tel: 6226 0726

Savoring Saveur...

Joo Chiat Area, one of Singapore's more authentic chill out areas for food and drinks. Home to some of the popular food in Singapore like Katong Laksa, it is also home to many other coffee joints and quirky food joints. The lions were wandering around that area when Singa noticed a goose on one of the stall signboards. It was not about a stall selling roast goose but Saveur! A little French joint, which serves your traditional French fare, Saveur had been in operation early this year and became more and more popular in Singapore. On top of that, it was set up by Singaporeans! Nothing like supporting our home guys!

Stall front of Saveur

After waiting for a short while for seats, the lions got to ordering food. Angel hair with Kombu, foie gras, duck confit and beef bourguignon were ordered by Cuchi. Cuchi was a bit surprised when she was told that waiting time was 40 minutes. Having some time to spare, the lions waited, at least they were sitting beside the road and watched vehicles and people walked past as they gazed and waited.

Angel hair with kombu

Foie Gras on Lentil

The appetisers came first and they were wolfed down ferociously. The angel hair with kombu (a cold dish) looked plain but it was very tasty. A very good appetiser to start your taste buds working. The foie gras came thinly-sliced but it was just nice for one lion. Wasn't the best foie gras in Singapore but at $7.50, it was a good deal especially if one had not tried foie gras before.

Beef bourguignon

Duck Confit at only $8.90!

Finally the main courses came.The beef bourguignon was tender but it was not fantastic, the star was the duck confit. One complete duck leg laid on top of mashed potatoes graced with mushrooms and tangerine slices. One taste of the duck confit, you could tell that the duck was marinated long enough. Skin of the duck was also crispy. All in all, it was a nice French meal for the lions and at a grand total of $35.00 for four items (which was reasonable), it had some hits and misses.

Here is our review for Saveur

Price of food: Expect to spend about $15 per person for a full meal

Food quality: 8.5 pawprints out of 10
Ambience: 6 pawprints out of 10 (It is located in a coffee shop)

Specials that you should try: Duck Confit, Angel hair with kombu
 
For those who are interested in going there, here is the address

Saveur

Ali Baba Eating House, Foodstall No 3
125 East Coast Road, Singapore 428810

Tel: 91250124