One of the memorable restaurants we got to visit on our recent trip to Singapore with #YourSingapore Live, was Les Amis.
Les Amis, a restaurant famous for its contemporary European cuisine, seemed like the right choice for lunch, on our second day in Singapore. This restaurant, located on Scotts Road, very close to Orchard, shopping mecca of Singapore, is the flagship restaurant of the Les Amis group. The other restaurants that are part of the Les Amis group include Aoki, La Strada and Bistro Du Vin.
Amuse bouche – chilled egg custard and smoked caviar
We step into the restaurant and noticed that Les Amis whilst not terrible modern in design, was suitably chic. Designed by local renowned architect Tan Kay Ngee, Les Amis’ deco is that of old elegance – huge glass windows from floor to ceiling mean that there’s plenty of natural light cascading into the main dining area, which helps to liven up a dark teak and yellow marble interior. How apt, we think, that Les Amis means ‘friends’ in French, as it looked like the perfect place for a weekend catch up session with our mates from Singapore.
There’s no point in ranking dishes, so I’ll just recount what I loved.
The amuse bouche was so pretty I wanted to cry. I was convinced that the light fluffy egg custard and the gritty caviar would paved the way for greater things to come.
Carpaccio of Spanish Octopus- seasoned with horseradish, dill oil and radish
Loved the sharp contrast of the burn from the horseradish, that went straight to my head, with the sweet slivers of spanish octopus. A nicely executed dish.
Sauteed Foie Gras – Smoked Eel, Muscat Grape, Almond Dragee
The Sauteed Foie Gras – Smoked Eel, Muscat Grape, Almond Dragee was fat upon fat, and yet somehow the crunchy bread wafers provided enough contrast to the almost overwhelming creaminess, to make me want to eat the thing till I could physically eat no more.
fat upon fat.. give me more..
Free range Japanese Hen Egg Confit – Woodland Mushroom, Truffle, Iberian Ham, Agria Potato fried in duck fat
Another “please do not stop now” dish was the free range Japanese Hen Egg Confit – Woodland Mushroom, Truffle, Iberian Ham, Agria Potato fried in duck fat number. The Agria Potato that was 50% mashed potatoes (and maybe 50% fat) in which a half boiled egg was buried and whose yolks was waiting to explode, was just too good for words.
bloody marvelous bleeding egg yolk
Chilled Pasta – Fruit Tomato , Tomato Consomme
Lest you think twas all fat all the time, there was at least one fairly lean dish of Chilled Pasta – Fruit Tomato , Tomato Consomme. Unfortunately not everything was so wonderful and this pasta dish was overcooked, soggy and lacking in flavour. Not Les Amis’ best dish I am afraid.
French Chicken cooked in Hay – Asparagus, Natural jus
My mains which was the French Chicken cooked in Hay served with Asparagus and its own natural juices, was not as good as it sounded, though it was gorgeous to look at. Loved the presentation of the breast meat and a bit of the red (leg) but the meat itself was lacking in flavour. I expected more from a hay baked chook.
Char-grilled Iberian Pork – Cabbage rib and crunchy Pear
Cumi had the char-grilled Iberian Pork served with Cabbage rib and crunchy Pear and this dish was sufficiently fatty and decadent. The pears tempered the gamy tasting pork and neutralized the lipids, making this dish a rather well executed and memorable one.
Crispy Seasonal Fish – stuffed sweet chili, lettuce veloute
The fish was crispy and nicely presented, if not a little boring. This dish was not particularly bad. It just was not particularly good either.
Vodka Granite – Lime, Soursop, Grapefruit and Pomelo
Desserts followed the same pattern, either incredibly good, or not so. I can tell you that the Vodka Granite – Lime, Soursop, Grapefruit and Pomelo was world-class, but the Grape Gelee and Yoghurt Sorbet was just so-so.
Grape Gelee and Yoghurt Sorbet
Petite Fours
I don’t know what it is about the Canele served in Singapore (and we had these at Gunther’s as well) but they really were too hard. I prefer the ones from KL’s Maison Francaise much better – light, fluffy and with a rich custardy interior enclosed by a thin caramelized shell. These ones had a thick shell that was just too hard on the teeth.
All in all, more hits than misses. We had a great time at Les Amis.
Service with a smile!
During lunch time, it’s the set menu of 3 courses for just SD$55 or 4 courses for SD$75. Not expensive at all, if you are earning in Sing that is;)
[Olympus logo]
If you liked our post, there’s more fine-dining shots on FB!
Address: Les Amis, #02-15 1 Scotts RoadShaw Centre Singapore 228208
(65) 6733-2225
Oooo everything looks fab! I want the foie grassssss, loads of it. Fab photos as always.
Thanks!
when i saw the chilled egg custard and smoked caviar, i thought to myself, OK, no point looking at the rest of the post anymore, cos the highlight of this meal MUST be that amazing amuse bouche. but then i saw the hen egg confit … WOW!!! 😀
yeah.. those where my favourite dishes too.. well spotted Sean. Many more items on the menu.. but not enough stomach space. Nevermind.. next time!
OMG everything looks so beautiful!
It sounds delicious too – foie gras, smoked caviar, Japanese hen egg. I was expecting the bill to be something outrageous but when I read SGD 75 for 4, I was quite surprised.
I’m always telling everyone that Singapore’s food isn’t expensive compared to KL (if you don’t convert). RM 75 won’t get you this for sure. I go to Singapore quite often due to my mom and sis and I’m always pleasantly surprised by the bill when I eat out, even though I don’t earn SGD.
That’s true. Buck for buck, the singaporeans have it good especially for the lunch sets. I really wanna move there just for the food haha!
Larvely-lookin food, like so refined, hehe!… too bad there were some misses.
Yeah, more hits though than misses… i suppose every place has it’s off day:) But the service and dining is definitely a notch above KL’s, whatever way you look at it!
Was just looking at Miele guide 2013 the other day. Les Amis is ranked #10 in Asia. Tokyo has 15 3-Michelin star restaurants but its’ highest entry only came in at #19. So I guess Les Amis would be the equivalent of a 3 star place (easily)? Hehe.
LOL, never thought of it that way.. but, yeah! 😉
It’s an enjoyment too by just looking at the food!
PS: But Sure I want to digging in if got chance lah, hehe 😛
for sure! 😀