PUBLISHED June 11th, 2013 02:23 am | UPDATED June 6th, 2016 05:26 pm
(6/6/2016) Saint Pierre has relocated to 1 Fullerton Road, #02-02B One Fullerton, Singapore 049213.
Dining at the old Saint Pierre at Central Mall was meant for that special occasion, or some measure of bragging rights that sometimes even eluded the most moneyed expats. The 13-year-old stalwart of French fine dining had stood fearlessly amongst sprouting contenders, until March 2013 when the restaurant synonymous with Chef Emmanuel Stroobant decided to fold.
Whilst the new Saint Pierre at Quayside Isle is nestled in an exclusive enclave reeking of conspicuous excesses, walking into the newly-rebranded, two-storey eatery hardly calls for a calculated demeanour. Idyll is placed above extravagance in what is a much more casual experience, what with exposed piping, undressed tables, and raw vegetables as table-top flourishes. A view of the marina with bobbing yachts and soaring gulls makes for the ideal spot for a lazy brunch – a meal segment that must have been way beneath the past iteration of Saint Pierre that it was never served.
But at the re-branded restaurant, you get brunch with a difference. Even if its Saturday brunch prices are affordable by Relais & Chateaux standards, your breakfast classics are given a sophisticated twist – so backward in their rusticity that they’re almost modern. A Waffle Wheel ($18) is studded with cubes of mascerated apples, with doodles of foie gras mousse and apple compote playfully nestled in every waffle nook. The interplay of fatty, light-textured goose liver with thick, saccharine apple sauce on waffles which are more crisp than fluffy, is Chef Stroobant’s signature culinary sonnet – it makes us swoon and wax lyrical.
You thought you knew Smoked Salmon ($18), that is, until you give Saint Pierre’s version a try. The fish oils are summoned to the surface by some out-of-the-world home-style smoking, and the fish fibres have surrendered and lost much of their tension. It’s quite an ambrosial bite, with nothing more than lemon juice and chives as accompaniments on a sourdough toast. Who still needs caviar?
Corned beef is fashioned elegantly in a Beef Parmentier ($18). Matchsticks of homemade corned beef and black truffle are served in a cast-iron casserole, earthy as the dish is homely. Underneath is pure potato gold – the oft under-rated mashed potato at its creamy best. We might have hovered precariously around our week’s limit of cholesterol, but our stomachs triumphed our arteries on this one. We let it all go, nibbling on brioches, croissants and breads, attractively presented in a burlap bag as part of an Assorted Breads ($15) basket served with jam and marmalade.
With a new-found accessibility, Saint Pierre could very soon identify with a previously-untouched fanbase. We even heard that Sunday afternoons will now be dedicated to a semi-buffet of Sunday roasts that won’t cost you a limb and a leg. It seems Saint Pierre is ready to re-stake its claim in local gastronomic circles faster than you can say ‘Oh la la’ to its outstanding offerings.
Written by Mr Nom Nom