Au Petit Salut - Classic French nosh done good

Dempsey again. This time, Au Petit Salut.

The moment I walked into the restaurant, the number question on my mind was, where to sit? 

Inside?

 Or outside?

The external dining area looked good for some privacy, while the interior looked really elegant.

We eventually decided on dining inside as we wanted to enjoy our meal air-conditioned =)

 Complimentary bread platter was served and it didn't leave much of an impression.

 Lobster bisque with tarragon and lobster ravioli ($16)

We had a soup to share; our first dish and star of the night! We immensely enjoyed this. It was slightly creamy, savoury much, and we could also taste the natural sweetness of the crustacean. The soup was nicely perfumed with tarragon; and it was..bowl-licking good!

They very kindly portioned it into two for us. At that moment, I thought. "Why did we had to share? I don't want to share!" Every mouthful was pure pleasure.. Sigh..I only had one grouse; that they could have been more generous with the shredded lobster meat innards.

 Oven baked baby French seabass "butterfly" served with mixed greens and fennel salad, thyme and tomato vinaigrette

I didn't know what "butterfly" means; I just found it interesting and ordered it out of curiousity. And when this arrived, I immediately regretted. It was such a boring choice! Michelle NEVER orders boring food like this. 

What to do! It was my own choice. So simple and clean-tasting(read: plain) that I would have believed if you told me that it was steamed fish. Not that this was bad, I just don't fancy it.

Crispy shredded pork with braised red cabbage, chestnuts, and grain mustard

The boyf's main was a much better choice. This was yummy. I loved the charred, crispy skin and the silky strands of pork which were juicy and flavourful. As this was almost half a year ago, I really forgot what the accompanying sauce was. Madeira sauce, I'm guessing?

But I do remember that the whole dish hit the right notes and there was nothing not to love about.

Orange and Grand Marnier soufflé with chocolate truffle

This was remarkable as well. The exterior was slightly crispy and had a nice caramelized taste, and the innards were ethereally light. The souffle was infused with a little grand marnier, giving it a nice, citrusy taste. I felt..What's that word? Oh yes..Invigorated. And the melted chocolate truffle in the center was a nice touch of sweetness. Chocolate and orange come together just like long-lost best friends.

Warm melted 70% chocolate cake served with 64% dark chocolate sorbet and red currant jam and pistachio nuts

Ubiquitous, but resistance is futile when faced against the sheer indulgence of chocolaty goodness.

APS's rendition had a crispy chocolate crust which when provoked, oozed out a tide of gooey, molten chocolate. Warm chocolate paired with cold ice cream. My, this was ridiculously decadent. The tart jam provided a nice contrast against all the sweetness.

With 4/5 hits, we remember leaving APS with a satisfactory smirk and a champagne-induced high. The big question..Will I ever return again?

Hell yeah.

Au Petit Salut
40C Harding Road, Tanglin Village (Dempsey Road)
Tel: +65 6475 1976
Website

Opening Hours
Mon– Fri 
Lunch: 11.30am – 2.30pm (last order)
Dinner: 6.30pm – 10.30 pm (last order)
Sat 
Lunch: 11.30am – 2.30pm (last order)
Dinner: 6.30pm – 10.30pm (last order) 
Closed Sundays


Random: We adjoined to PS Cafe for some post-meal drinks. And I have to comment that their Passionfruit martini is really good! It's not passionfruit syrup, mind you. There were more than a couple of passionfruit seeds in the martini glass.

And there was this Sunrise Caprioska or something that was pui, but the boyf insisted on finishing it. Guess who got tipsy in the end? ;)