Located at Level 1 of the hotel and is visible from the lobby. Travelled via bus #14 and it brought me right to the hotel's doorstep.
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| looks cosy inside |
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| restaurant's front |
Was met at the door by the friendly service staff, and the place was fairly relaxed at the time of visit, which was around 7pm. An hour later, the restaurant was almost full. We made reservations, so was led to our table once that was verified.
First impression of the place was "wow...so dark". The lightings were fairly dimmed during the evenings so reading the menu with its small fonts was fairly challenging!
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| menu |
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| candlelit dinner for a party of 6 |
Everyone was late due to the heavy traffic, so took the opportunity to snap some pictures.
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| Owl are you? |
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| mirror mirror on the wall, what is that paper roll for? |
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| bar counter |
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| the wall on my left |
Ten minutes later, I was still alone and one of the service staff came by so made small talk with him. Friendly chap. He asked if my group was celebrating any occassions, so told him that it was for my birthday. Minutes later, he came back with a complimentary drink; the Burgundy, a mocktail. That was a nice gesture, so thank you~
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| Burgundy (grape juice, ginger ale, lime, sugar) complimentary |
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| close up of the blackberries |
Shortly after, my friends arrived, so pretty quickly we placed our orders. Bread basket was served thereafter. Ice water was also made available.
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| bread basket, served with herbed butter and salmon rillete |
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| tasty~ |
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| rustic bread |
For appetisers, we had the charchuterie platter which consists of vintage saucisson sec (salami or dry sausages), parma ham, smoked duck breast, rillettes de canard and jambon blanc (white ham?) served with cornichons (gherkins or pickled horn cucumbers), mustard and bread slices.
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| charchuterie platter |
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| saucisson sec |
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| smoked duck breast |
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| mustard |
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| yummy rilletes de canard (duck rillete) |
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| nice pickle |
A little of duck rillete (fragrant with a little duck fats/oil) and a little butter on the bread, goes a long way. Yums~ We had a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, and sipping the wine was a good foil to the saltiness of the charchuterie platter. That or ice water if you're a teetotelar.
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| have a glass of Sauvignon Blanc |
My friends are all meatatarians, so our mains came mainly from the land/earth menu or the sea menu. We had duck confit, beef cheeks a la cuillere, entrecote from the land menu and then from the sea menu we had pan seared cod fish meuniere and papilote de dorade. Yes, it's almost like an unwritten pact for us to try and order different items to try.
The first to arrive, duck confit.
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| duck confit served on a bed of mashed potato "grand mere" |
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| the duck side |
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| duck shreds, tender and yums |
Not sure whose grandmother this is but I'm liking "grand mere". The mashed potato seemed like it had a hint of truffle oil. Smooth and nice. The duck meat was tender and doesn't feel too oily.
Next up, the signature 48 hours braised wagyu beef cheek, bordelaise sauce and mashed potato "grand mere". This was the one dish that I wanted to eat initially but since my friend is having it, I've decided to order something else.
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| Beef Cheeks A La Cuillere |
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| fork tender beef |
Just by looking at the beautiful chunk of cheek meat that glistens and served generously sauced on a bed of smooth creamy mashed, made one expects no less than a full-bodied flavour and seriously tender meat. This dish did not disappoint. It was soft and its flavours were good. Understandly why this deserves to be a signature.
Let's take a break and go for something from the sea. The pan-seared black cod.
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| Black Cod with potato and lemon butter sauce |
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| dreamy delightful morsel~ |
Had a small bite and the cod fish was tender yet firm, and fresh. Dainty dish.
Then came the most expensive main dish for our table that night, the Entrecote, which was a 200grams of black angus served with béarnaise sauce and pommes frites.
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| Entrecote, serious meat for serious eater |
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| fun sized fries |
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| beautiful medium rare |
The black angus beef done medium rare was tender but retained its beefy bite. Naturally flavoured (since I didn't try the sauce) and very likeable. My friend thoroughly enjoyed his beef, well, except for some fatty bits. The pomme frites should be eaten while it's still hot, otherwise, it'll get soggy towards the end of the meal.
The last dish to arrive was the Papilote de Dorade; steamed sea bream in parchment with wild fennel and fresh herbs. It came 15 minutes after the first of the mains.
Honestly speaking, first impression of this dish was, "small".
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| small parcel |
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| colourful, feels like summer~ |
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| steamed fish |
The sea bream was fresh and nicely steamed, soaking in the natural flavours of its own jus as well as the accompanying vegetables and herbs. However, the asparagus was a tad too soft though. Probably this dish is suitable for those who prefers light and mild flavours. Blame it all on the flavoursome bites that I had from my friends' mains that made my tastebuds craved for stronger flavours then!
My friends bought us cupcakes, so we had that as well.
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| twelve cupcakes hehee~ |
And we did the song and dance with the cupcake. Oh, did I exaggerate? Hahaha, just the birthday song with my chosen "red velvet" cupcake and yes, the other patrons stared at us while the friendly lady service staff sang with the rest of my friends.
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| half devoured red velvet |
Next, was desserts galore time! We ordered from the restaurant, their Gazpacho de Melon et Menthe (served with homemade madeleine) and the Valhorna Chocolate Moeullex.
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| desserts |
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| Cold Melon Gazpacho with mint granite |
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| Tahitian vanilla ice-cream, biscuit (milk biscuit, oui?) and moeullux |
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| decadence |
The gazpacho dessert was nicely cold and refreshing, plus not too sweet. The mint flavour was cool~ As for the chocolate moeullux, it was full of chocolatey gooeyness.
When we thought there would be no more, the staff surprised us once more with a small dessert for the birthday girl. It was a round chocolate sitting on a thin biscuity base, and has sliced strawberries on top. Came with a candle, so I had two wishes that night! Hahaha! Being a birthday girl was a busy thing, so I had forgotten to take a picture of this complimentary dessert till there was only one bite remaining. I present to you, the evidence as below:
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| birthday chocolate, part deux (one bite left) |
It was decadence part two. Nice, smooth and sweet end to an enjoyable evening.
To my friends; Adeline, Cherlyn, Hui Shan, Reuben and Joanne - a BIG thank you for the birthday treat! =)
To the service staff of Balzac Brasserie: Sorry I didn't get your names but thank you for taking care of us~
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