Poulet @ Bugis+

To be honest, we didn't want to come here initially. First, they are opened by Thai Express, which serves rather average Thai food. Second, it is the 1st of a series of chain restaurants selling French food. The words "chain restaurant" didn't exactly equate to "good food" in most cases.



But then, we read a few blogs which gave them the thumbs up. And of course, that the main chef here formerly worked in Les Amis and Au Petit Salut.



Free iced water is served here. The place gets rather noisy during meal time, and feels more like a food court than a restaurant with people walking everywhere. Not a very good place for a date.



French Onion Soup (S$5.80). Find this rather ordinary, and watery too.



Salad de Paris (S$9.80) - I ordered this after reading a magazine's recommendation. Unfortunately, they whole think didn't work really well. Can't really describe why it went wrong, but the 2 of us didn't finish the whole serving.



The Mushroom Soup (S$5.80) was slightly better than the onion soup. We can taste that it was made with lot's of real mushroom.



The stat of this restaurant is the Poulét: The Roast Chicken (S$15.80), which came with their unique chardonnay mushroom sauce. I must admit that the roast chicken was rather good. The breast meat was tender and tasty. However, given a choice, I will choose the roast chicken at The Rotisserie (review coming up soon).



Oxtail de Bourgulgnon (S$15.80) - Can't really find much meat here. Won't recommend it.



Caramelised Apple in Puff (S$7.80) - Something sweet to end our dinner.


Poulet
201 Victoria Street
Level 4
Bugis+

Keong Saik Snacks

Our initial dinner plan was dropped shortly after we chanced upon a hole-in-the-wall space along Keong Saik Road.



Keong Saik Snacks, one of the latest that opened just last week, is a collaboration between Hotel 1929's owner and renowned chef Jason Atherton, who is also behind Pollen at Gardens by the Bay and tapas bar Esquina in the vincinity.



Like many food bars, the bar top seats offer opportunity for a more intimate dining experience.



For someone who doesn't take fried stuff often, their thin cut Chilli Garlic Fries ($6) sure made an impression. Not only the fries didn't fall into the too-soggy or too-hard extreme, and the taste of garlic and other spices were strong and ran deep into every bite.



The kitchen was quite generous with ingredients judging by the Lobster Roll ($18) we had, not to mention the lobster chucks were super bouncy and packed a punch with the spicy mayo.



Don't let its humble appearance fool you. The Kimchi Burger ($20) had a really juicy medium-rare wagyu patty. A hearty dose of homemade kimchi was served by the side. The fermented vegatable was less spicy than the common ones and had a savoury note to it.





We shall be back soon for the interesting-looking D-I-Y Tuna Tartare I saw next to our table, as well as the desserts we missed.

Keong Saik Snacks (Facebook)
49 Keong Saik Road
Daily, 12nn - 11pm
6221 8338


On the hole-in-the-wall space I mentioned earlier in this post, it was a preview pop-up store called TheLibrary. Located just adjacent to KSS, the reference library showcases a collection of books on arts, photography, designs and et cetera. Pop in next time you are in the area.









All books here are free for browsing.



There is this trap door that opens up to a secret location within KSS, made known to only the close acquaintances of the business owner, according to the librarian. How intriguing.


The Library (Facebook)
Mon - Sat, 6pm - 1:30am