Croque Saveur (France, Paris)

As mentioned in an earlier post, this is the start of a series of overseas posts covering meals consumed in Europe (France, Switzerland and Italy) and United Arab Emirates (Dubai). These posts are 5 months overdue as it took place in December 2012. In some of the posts, I might side track to mention some of the must visits. 

The Galeries Lafayette is a popular upmarket French department store located on the Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris.

We were in Galeries Lafayette looking for a place for lunch. There were restaurants with serving, French, Western, Italian, Chinese and Japanese Cuisines), fast food (Mcdonalds) and a food court. We decided to venture out of Galeries Lafayette and see if we could get good local and maybe more authentic food.

After walking for some time, we saw this little restaurant called Croque Saveur. We decided to give this a try.

Croque Saveur is a local French restaurant located in the heart of the Opera District a stone throw away (5 mins walk) from Galeries Lafayette.

Croque Saveur was a small restaurant (can fit around 20 people), nicely decorated with no frills. A local restaurant indeed.

Menu

Part of the menu

Selection of food

Selection of food

We were spoilt for choice as there was a wide selection of food. We had a hard time deciding what to eat. In addition, we resorted to using hand signs and English to converse what we wanted to order as the owner were more comfortable with French. Come to think of it, we are quite fortunate. The owner was so friendly and patient trying his best explaining the set menus and also what is nice.

Ordered the Set Menu - Menu Lasagnes. Which comes with Choice of Salad, Lasagne and Choice of Dessert.

Bread

The bread was as hard as a rock! How come Europeans like their bread hard? Back home in Singapore, we are so used to softer bread.

Vegetable Soup

For one of the salads, we chose Vegetable Soup. Instead of a bowl, it was served in a cup. Brownish-green in colour, it did not look exactly appetising. But well, do not judge a book by its cover. This was a bowl of hearty Vegetable Soup, full of flavours with a ting of sweetness. Delectable!

Bulgar Wheat Salad

The Bulgar Wheat Salad was recommended by the owner. We decided to order this as we have not tried this before. The Bulgar Wheat is a type of cereal food made from different types of wheat with high protein and nutritional values. It had a chewy texture and a nutty flavour. Complemented well with the salad. A refreshing and healthy start to the meal

Meal Lagsagnes 

While there are several theories on the origins of Lagsagne, there is no doubt that Lagsagne is one of the most famous baked dishes in Italy. So much so that, it is also widely known as an Italian cuisine worldwide that is available in Europe (French), United States and even Asia (Singapore). 

Lagsagne

Do not underestimate this plate of Lagsagne. It was well-executed. Layer upon layer of soft wide flat pasta with grated cheese, spices, tomato, bolognese sauce and minced beef and pork. Covered with a thin layer of cheese crust, intense flavour burst out with each mouthful. So savoury and so perfect! Delish! A classic Italian Lagsagne. 

Creme Caramel

For dessert, we chose the Creme Caramel; a custard dessert with a layer of soft caramel on top. Unlike the Creme Brule we ate at Tao's restaurant which comes with a layer of hard caramel top (charred/burnt).

Creme Caramel

The Creme Caramel was light and soft with a smooth and silky texture. It did not taste overly sweet nor eggy.

Pommes Au Four  (Baked Apple)

Pommes Au Four (Baked Apple) is a typical dessert in Normandy, France. This was recommended by the owner too. It was a pity the sweetness of the apple was not brought out. Instead, it tasted sour. Is this how it should taste? Anyway, this did not suit our taste bud.

Overall, I would say Croque Saveur was a great experience. The food was cheap, great and fast! In addition, the owner was so friendly. With the ambience and environment, it gave us a warm homely feeling. If you are at Galeries Lafayette, Croque Saveur could be one of your options. After lunch, we headed back to Galeries Lafayette to continue exploring the department store.

Croque Saveur (Paris)
7 Rue Joubert
75009 Paris 9
Île-de-France, France
Tel: +33 1 42 82 15 21
Opening Hours: Daily 1130am to 4pm
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Location

The locations are as follows:

A - Pierre Herme in Galeries Lafayette

B - Croque Saveur & Galerie Kebab

Blue area shows Galeries Lafayette

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Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐 (Raffles City Shopping Centre)

Most of us would have probably eaten at Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐 before. But did you know that Din Tai Fung first started out selling only oil?

Din Tai Fung was founded by a man called Bingyi Yang. He opened a shop in Taiwan called Din Tai Fung and sold cooking oil. In the 1980s, when the business went down hill, he and his wife decided to use half of the shop to sell steamed dumplings. Their steamed dumplings were so good that they eventually stopped selling oil and ventured into a full fledge restaurant.

Today, Din Tai Fung is an award winning chain of restaurant with branches in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, the United States and Thailand. In Hong Kong, several of its branches are awarded one Michelin star.

Din Tai Fung was brought into Singapore after Breadtalk Group won the franchise rights. The group also won the franchise rights to operate Din Tai Fung in Thailand. Currently, there are 14 Din Tai Fung branches in Singapore.

I visited the Din Tai Fung branch at Raffles City Shopping Centre (which is just next to City Hall MRT station) on a Saturday evening. As usual, there was a crowd waiting outside the restaurant waiting for their numbers to be called (this is a norm during weekdays too).

For those who have never been to Din Tai Fung, here's a tip. There is no need to queue, instead you should approach the counter, inform the service staff how many person you have and get the order form (with the queue number written on it) from the staff. After that you can fill in the form, according to the dishes you would like to order. You should also ask what is the estimated waiting time. If the waiting time is long, you can consider walking around before coming back to check if your queue number has been called.

Although the restaurant had a considerably large sitting capacity, the place was full. We waited half an hour before our queue number was called. Simple, clean yet classy ambience. In addition, I like their open kitchen concept. Its great to see how the chef prepare our food! 

In another corner of the restaurant, the place had a classy oriental feel. 

Its great that they had Chilli, Vinegar, Soya Sauce, pepper and toothpicks on every table. It makes it so convenient for customers and at the same time, free up some bandwidth for the serving staff to concentrate on other things. Win-win situation. Crystal Jade use to provide these at every table too. However during a recent visit to their Plaza Singapura outlet, I noticed that they had removed them.

The ginger slices immersed in vinegar is a must have when ordering their Xiao Long Baos! 

Oriental Salad in Special Vinegar Dressing $3.50

The Oriental Salad in Special Vinegar Dressing was superb! It is my favourite appetiser at Din Tai Fung! Whenever I patronise Din Tai Fung, I am definitely order this! It's made of seaweed, beansprouts, strips of spicy bean curd and rice vermicelli. The ingredients are then mixed and tossed in their special vinegar dressing. It's very refreshing and addictive as each ingredient gives a different texture and flavour. A must order. 

Steamed Pork Dumplings $6.80 (6 pcs)

The Steam Pork Dumplings aka Xiao Long Baos (XLB) are one of Din Tai Fung's signature dishes. The XLB were filled with pork fillings and rich and tasty juice. Although the skin of the XLB was wafer thin, it was able to hold the juice.  Each piece of XLB is wrapped with a minimum of 18 exquisite folds.  Do handle the XLB with delicate care to avoid breaking the skin. In addition, be caution not to scald your mouth when the hot juice ooze out. The XLB are best eaten with ginger slices and vinegar. 

Fried Rice with Shrimps & Eggs $10.80

Fried Rice with Shrimps & Eggs $10.80

The Fried Rice with Shrimps & Eggs is another of my favourite dish! It was executed perfectly. You would be amazed to find out that the it consisted of just rice fried with shrimps, eggs and spring onions.

The shrimps were fresh with sweet succulent flesh. Each grain of rice was well coated with flavour from the egg, spring onions and shrimps. In addition, they did not stick to one another and was not lumpy. Kudos to the chef for his skills (heat control, timing and frying). 

Special Braised Beef Noodle Soup with Beef Brisket $11

The partner ordered the Special Braised Beef Noodle Soup with Beef Brisket. The beef soup was incredibly rich and well flavoured. However, the beef meat was disappointing. Several big chunks of beef meat were given. Although the meat were well flavoured, they were too tough and chewy. To put it simply, it was hard biting through the meat. Moreover, certain pieces had a thick layer of fat on it.

What I thought was amazing was that Din Tai Fung has so many branches in Singapore. Yet, somehow they manage to maintain the consistency of the food across all their branches. No matter which branch you patronise, the food taste the same! Not an easy feat to achieve.  Although the Special Braised Beef Noodle Soup with Beef Brisket was a let down, the rest of the dishes were perfect! I will certainly be back for more! 

Do note that Din Tai Fung does not accept reservations. Please click here to view the locations of the other 13 Din Tai Fung outlets.

Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐 (Raffles City Shopping Centre)

252 North Bridge Road 

#B1-08 Raffles City Shopping Centre

Singapore 179103

Tel: 6336 6369

Opening Hours: Mon to Fri 11am - 10pm

                         Sat to Sun 10am - 10pm

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The Naked Fish Shoppe (Yio Chu Kang)

I have recently purchase a Groupon deal that allows me to buy $30 worth of food from The Naked Fish Shoppe for just $15. I have been there several years ago and recall that the food was not bad. Hence, I purchased the voucher. If you are keen to find out more about this deal, you can click here. (but do note that the deal is over)

The Naked Fish Shoppe is a western style fish casual restaurant serving many types of fish cuisines cooked in different styles. Besides that, they also serve other type of western cuisines such as Oxtail Stew, chicken and steaks combos. This place is also halal certified!

The Naked Fish Shoppe is located right smack in the heartland at level 1 of The Grassroot's Club, 5 minutes away from the Yio Chu Kang MRT station. It is fairly easy to walk over from the station to the club. In addition, its a shelter walkway. 

Brightly lit with a fish theme, the walls were bright blue in colour. A cozy environment

The table although small was nicely decorated with real orchid. What a nice gesture. However, the chair was very uncomfortable especially if one was to lean back. 

We wanted to order the Austrailan Flounder and Australian Barramundi Fillet as this was after all a place that specialises in fish. However, both these fishes were not available that day. As such we had to change our orders to Baked Crayfish Thermidor & Fish, Mediterranean Seafood Platter (For One Person) and a bowl of New England Clam Chowder Soup.

Salad

The Mediterranean Seafood Platter was served with a bowl of salad. The vegetables and tomatoes were fresh. However, they were too generous with the sauce. 

New England Clam Chowder Soup $4

The New England Clam Chowder Soup was served with a piece of Garlic Bread. The Garlic Bread was cold and hard. 

New England Clam Chowder Soup $4

New England Clam Chowder Soup $4

The New England Clam Chowder Soup was not any better. It had a sour after-taste and certainly lack any flavour/essence of clam(s). There were no clams in the soup, only small pieces of potatoes and carrots. What a let down.

Baked Crayfish Thermidor & Fish $17.50

The Baked Crayfish Thermidor & Fish was served with Tartar sauce. Crayfish Thermidor consisted of a creamy mixture of crayfish meat, carrots, mushrooms, onions egg yolk and cheese stuffed into the crayfish shell which will then be baked. The amount of crayfish meat given was pathetic. This dish was saved by the fish which was fresh and complemented well with the tartar sauce.  

Mediterranean Seafood Platter (For One Person $16.80)

After shifting the fries to another plate

The Mediterranean Seafood Platter consisted of a combination of Prawn, Mussel, Calamari, Capelin, White Bait and Fish Finger Baked with Cheese. In addition, French Fries was added on top while Garlic Butter Rice was at the bottom. It was also served with a bowl of salad (as shown earlier).

As I ordered this dish, I could not help but notice the similarity between Manhattan Fish Market's and this. Manhattan Fish Market's version was certainly better (tastier, fresher). For The Naked Fish Shoppe's version, its prawn were not fresh (meat stuck to the shells) and the fries were hard. The Capelin was fishy, Calamari was overcook and the Garlic Butter Rice was not fragrant enough (tasted like plain rice). Need I say more?

Overall, this was a very disappointing meal. I had expected much better food. Even though I had purchased the Groupon voucher, I still had to top up $14.15 on top of the $15 I had paid for the voucher. (total bill amount was $44.15) I would have been better off visiting Manhattan Fish Market. 

The Naked Fish Shoppe (Yio Chu Kang)

The Grassroots' Club

190 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8, #01-02

Tel: 6457 8223

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Marmalade Pantry at the Stables (Fairways Drive)

The Marmalade Pantry at ION Orchard has always been attracting a large crowd during meal times. With its success, Marmalade Pantry has opened another outlet called Marmalade Pantry at the Stables at Fairways Drive. It is located near Bukit Timah Saddle Club and Riders Cafe. 

Marmalade Pantry at the Stables is located away from the city. I felt as if I was transported back to the past when there was no tall buildings and am at the country side surrounded by greenery. But of course with this, Marmalade Pantry at the Stables is located at a remote location and you would need to either drive or take a cab in. A quiet place for a relaxing evening, perfect for a date.

In the interior with its tall windows, high ceilings and cushion seats, it gives a modern colonial feel. The tables, chairs, utensils and cups were well arranged with precision.

Salad: The Mexican Chicken Salad $22

Salad: The Mexican Chicken Salad $22

The first thought when I saw The Mexican Chicken Salad with Crispy Tortilla, Avocado, Spiced Corn and Salsa was that, for such ingredients, they presented it so well. The different combination of ingredients resulted in contrasting texture(soft, crispy, chewy) with each bite. In addition, each mouthful was packed with different flavours. 

Salad: Pan Seared Haloumi $21

The Pan Seared Haloumi was served with Roma Tomatoes and Watercress Herb Salad. It was well presented. The Haloumi is a semi-hard cheese made from a mixture of goat's, sheep's or/and cow's milk. One of its (Haloumi) unique characteristics is its high melting point. Hence, it is often (suitable) fried or grilled. The Haloumi has a similar appearance to beancurd. In terms of taste, it had a delicate smokey and salty flavour. The saltiness was balanced with the sweetness from the fresh juicy Roma Tomatoes and Watercress.

Meat & Fish: Crispy Pork Belly $32

Meat & Fish: Crispy Pork Belly $32

Crispy Pork Belly with Celeriac and Apple Slaw, French Mustard and Natural Jus. It was well seasoned but lack the crispiness as the layer of skin (fat) was removed. It was also too dry for my liking. This dish reminded me of the Kalua Pork at Charly's T which was executed differently.

Meat & Fish: Braised 120 Days Grain Fed Beef Cheeks $32

Braised 120 Days Grain Fed Beef Cheeks with Horseradish Mash, Field Mushrooms and Pearl Onions was well executed. The Beef Cheeks were braised to perfection and were incredibly tender and flavourful with melt-in-your-mouth sensation.

Pasta & Risotto: Spaghetti Cabonara $24

The Spaghetti Carbonara with Poached Egg and Flat Parsley was a cream based pasta topped with shredded crispy bacon bits.

Pudding: Lemon Brulee Tart $14

The Lemon Brulee Tart will be a dish that you either love or hate. Thin crispy golden caramelised crust coated on the top of the moist lemon tart provided a mixture of texture. The mix of sweetness and sourness was just right for me. No wonder there is this saying 'there's always room for dessert'. Despite feeling so full, I could not resist second and third bites.

Cakes & Tarts: Sea Salt Caramel Cheesecake $8

The Sea Salt Caramel Cheesecake will also be a dish you either love or hate. Initially, my first thought was that this would be too heavy a dessert. Those who know me will know that I am not a fan of cheese cake. Yet this cheesecake was so good. The flavour of cheese was very forgiveable and not did not overwhelm the other flavours. In addition, it was light and dense with walnuts and a crumbly base with a hint of caramel saltiness. One of the best cheesecakes I have eaten!

Cupcakes: Red Velvet Cake $4.50

The Red Velvet Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting was unique as it was topped with grated coconut. Moreover, no red food colouring was added. Instead, the deep red colouring came from beetroot juice. Personally, I prefer a more moist cupcake and the addition of the coconut did not suit my taste preference. 

There was hits and misses. Out of all the dishes, I was most impressed with the Braised 120 Days Grain Fed Beef Cheeks, Lemon Brulee Tart and Sea Salt Caramel Cheesecake. Looks like a great place for a meal away from the fast-paced city life.

Thank you Amanda (FoodNews) for invite and hosting.

Marmalade Pantry at the Stables (Fairways Drive)

55 Fairways Drive

Tel: 6467 7748

Opening Hours: Tue to Fri 3pm - 11pm

                         Sat to Sun 10am - 11pm

                         Closed on Mon

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