Le Bistro Parisien

Went for a lunch meeting and my friend suggested this new place.  This charming little french restaurant is around the Arab Street area. 

When we got there, we were greeted by the friendly and vivacious owner, Jean Francois Nordin.  Apparently, I heard that he was living in France a long time ago for 12 years working in the restaurants there and he got started by being a dishwasher to get himself into the kitchen.  I guess that's part of the reason that he speaks fluent french too.  We got our seats and was given the menu.  I like the way it was written.

The Onion Soup ($12) was baked well, along with the lovely crusty cheese on top.  The sweetness came from the onions, like how it should be.  It was very tasty.

The Carrot Soup ($8) was really lovely too.  It was creamy but not too much cream that makes you feel sick.  It had the right consistency to it. 

The cod baked with cream was very nice.  Again, it was just right and not too creamy.  The cod pieces were perfectly baked in the sauce.

Ahhhh... the next dish is my personal favourite.  I would come here just for this!  It is a marrow dish   ($21)  and I am so sure my eating kakis would LOVE it!  The marrow was baked and the gravy was glazed on top of it.  This dish is definitely not for the faint-hearted.  It is not oily as I could tell they didn't add any oil....only the oil that came from the natural fats of the marrow.  It was served with some saute mushrooms.

It is superb as you can see the marrow goodness here :P  The marrow was done perfectly well.  The marrow was smooth, rich and simply succulent.  It is like having the equivalent of our local soup tulang minus the knocking and the sucking :D

As you can see, I polished off the whole plate!  In my opinion, this is a must try! YUMS!!!  I don't think you should have this everyday but hey, some fats will do you good...  This is definitely a dish for someone who lives life with a passion :)

We ordered two different steak to taste the difference.  The US Black Angus Ribeye ($48)  was really tender and tasty.  It came with a 2-4 marbling.  It was well seasoned and extremely tasty.

My Australian Wagyu Ribeye ($98) came with a 8++ marbling.  There's fatty goodness in every morsel.  Delicious, extremely tender and is slightly sweeter than the US ribeye, I think due to the fatty content.  Both were perfectly done medium, pink without being "bloody".  It is indeed a superb cut.  However, I always find Wagyu to be a bit rich for me.  I couldn't finish it, not because it was not good, but because I have a relatively small stomach :D.  But I decided to pack it home to make a fab steak sandwich for dinner later.

Dark chocolate dessert

The dessert (again, I can't remember what's the name) is lovely.  I tried 3 different flavours. The dark chocolate, the raspberry and the coffee and chocolate.  I think it is perfectly executed.  All wasn't too sweet and simply delicious.

Raspberry dessert

Coffee and chocolate dessert

The sponge is soft and goes well with the various flavours.

We also tried the creme caramel.  The soft layer of creme caramel on top was nice.  Again, it's not too sweet though the consistency should be just a tad firmer.  But it was tasty.

This unpretentious restaurant has good quality ingredients and top grade meats.  I heard they will be renovating the upstairs bit during Hari Raya as currently the upstairs deco is not too French.  They also offer set lunch menu at a fab price of $18.90 nett.  That would include a soup, a choice of beef stew or a lamb or chicken dish and a coffee.  All meat are halal.  I realised as well that there's no GST nor service charge here.  They do not sell alcohol but you can BYO.  I will definitely visit this restaurant again.... especially for the marrow! :P

Ratings:

Onion Soup: 8.5/10
Carrot Soup: 8/10
Baked cod dish:  7.5/10
Marrow dish:  9.5/10
US Rib Eye: 9.5/10
Australian Wagyu: 9.5/10
Sponge 3 flavour dessert:  9/10
Creme Caramel: 7.5/10

Service: 8/10

10 Haji Lane
Singapore 189203
Tel: 6396 6383
Tel: 6396 6383
(11am to 11pm)
www.bistroparisien.com.sg