Cocotte

Cocotte
2 Dickson Road

http://restaurantcocotte.com/

Shellfish Mussels & Clams In Fennel And White Wine Cream Sauce

Excellent French European Weekend Buffet Brunch

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 7
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 8
Value for Money: 7
Spent about SGD $90 per person.

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Located within the Wanderlust Hotel, a quirky, inspired design boutique hotel, the Cocotte restaurant opened alongside it in 2010. Basically the in-house dining option for the Wanderlust Hotel, Cocotte restaurant serves unpretentious, rustic French countryside food, in a casual, comfortable, setting that encourages communal dining. Cocotte restaurant is known for their free-flow weekend brunch trolley, which features a variety of ala-carte dishes at only SGD $69 ++ per person, from 12noon - 3pm only on Saturdays and Sundays.

Ambience at Cocotte is designed to resemble the farmhouses along the countryside of France. Think ample amounts of wooden tables, flanked by brightly coloured metal chairs, decorative lighting, rustic windowsills, and retro decor. While small, the area is well laid-out, allowing seating of many diners, and still having space to push the brunch trolley around! I also like the open bar, where you can watch the bartenders at work. When crowded, Cocotte restaurant can get rather noisy.

Service at Cocotte is good, with staff displaying a level of professionalism reserved for premium, fine dining restaurants. Was very pleased with the attentive, courteous service shown. Staff demonstrate good product knowledge, describing in detail each dish, and the ingredients within, and they willing accede when asked to repeat, or to elaborate further. I also like that staff pour a wine sampling, wait for your approval, then pour the actual glass of wine. However, you have to request for empty dishes to be cleared, or a change of plates, as these are not done proactively.

Food at Cocotte is rustic, hearty, French countryside fare. Each dish is crafted around 1 or 2 star ingredients, well executed and presented simply, with tasty, bold flavours. Very fresh too! The free-flow weekend brunch trolley has no fixed menu, instead, Head Chef Anthony Yeoh creates a wide variety of ala-carte small plates and sharing plates which suit his fancy, with 5 appetizers, 3 main courses, and 5 desserts. Guests can request for as many portions as they want. Very reasonable for a price of SGD $69 ++ per person, and a 3 hour dining time. You're encouraged to reach on time at 12noon, to maximise the full brunch!

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Cocotte Facade

Cocotte Dining Room

Seating

Seating

Bar

As part of the Cocotte free-flow weekend brunch, which runs on both Saturdays and Sundays from 12noon - 3pm, costing SGD $69 ++ per person, they offer complimentary water (warm or chilled), but drinks are available as ala-carte add-ons. The Hai Karate Cocktail (SGD $16) is a fruity, punch mix of dark rum, lime, orange, pineapple, Angostura bitters, and maple syrup. The result is a surprising blend of sweet, sour, bitter, and alcohol, a great summer thist quencher, pairing well with the mainly French European food here.

Water

Hai Karate Cocktail (SGD $16)

The complimentary Seasoned Olives are served upon being seated, but I didn't check if we could get a refill. It seems they've marinated it in-house, the flesh is sour, tart, yet tender, yielding easily to the bite, and coming away nicely from the seed within. I actually rather enjoyed this!

Seasoned Olives

The 1st item served was the Mushroom & Bacon Quiche, and we felt rather wary of filling up too quickly. A nice thick slice, soft and eggy in the centre, with the savoury earthy taste of onions, bacon fat, and shiitake mushrooms, surrounded by a crumbly, buttery pastry crust. Great start, but best shared!

Mushroom & Bacon Quiche

Mushroom & Bacon Quiche

The Pear & Bleu D'Auvergne Salad, or Pear And Blue Cheese Salad, was a delight. Fresh, crunchy leaves of lettuce, garnished with carrots, radish slices, fennel, and cubes of sweet, juicy pear, topped with strong, sharp tasting crumbs of blue cheese, and nutty floral hazelnuts. The lemon and hazelnut vinaigrette was unique too! A light and healthy appetizer!

Pear & Bleu D'Auvergne Salad

Pear & Bleu D'Auvergne Salad

Loved the Ham, Brie Cheese, Cherry Jam Sandwich, with its crisp, crusty baguette bread slice, and the savoury salty, thickly stacked slices of ham within. The cherry jam was unique, lending a sour sweet flavour and a slight tartness. But I couldn't detect the taste of the brie cheese amongst the much stronger flavours here. Still loved this dish though!

Ham, Brie Cheese, Cherry Jam Sandwich

Ham, Brie Cheese, Cherry Jam Sandwich

A duo of Egg Ramekins. The Sous Vide Egg With Baked White Beans was the weaker of the 2 dishes, while the egg was nicely runny and soft, it tasted disjointed from the savoury home made baked white beans in tomato ragout, like eating 2 separate items that just happened to be in the same ramekin. The Scrambled Egg With Corned Veal Tongue And Mushrooms fared much better, the star was the thick slice of savoury salty veal tongue, helping to lift the rather ordinary scrambled eggs and button mushrooms. Actually, I think I could eat the veal tongue all on its own because it's so tasty!

Egg Ramekins

Scrambled Egg With Corned Veal Tongue And Mushrooms

Sous Vide Egg With Baked White Beans

The Pan-Seared Seabass With Dill And Salsa features a lovely thick fillet of fresh, clean tasting seabass fish, with a savoury salty, crisp skin. The fish meat is slightly more firm than I like, I would have preferred it to be more tender, but my fellow diners seemed to like it. The tomato and onion coulis / salsa lends a floral, juicy, crunchy texture, while the herbs lift the overall flavour. Pretty good dish!

Pan-Seared Seabass With Dill And Salsa

Pan-Seared Seabass With Dill And Salsa

A house speciality, the Fried Honeycomb Tripe With Home Made Pickles & Wholegrain Mustard features tender strips of beef stomach / tripe, lightly breaded and coated with a dusting of smoked paprika. Chewy with a light crunch, and a savoury smoky, meaty flavour. The home made pickles (carrot, radish, fennel) stood out for us, just the right balance of tart sourness and crunch. So good that my fellow diners specifically asked for a whole serving of it on its own! Glad the staff were able to fulfill this special request!

Fried Honeycomb Tripe With Home Made Pickles & Wholegrain Mustard

Fried Honeycomb Tripe With Home Made Pickles & Wholegrain Mustard

The Shellfish Mussels & Clams In Fennel And White Wine Cream Sauce may feature mussels and clams that are rather small in size, but at least the shellfish are meaty, fresh, and clean-tasting. The light cream sauce, with a floral herb aroma from the house white wine, fennel, onions, and dill, complement the taste of the shellfish, without overwhelming it. Served with crisp, freshly baked, French style Sourdough Bread, this is a perfect appetizer!

Shellfish Mussels & Clams In Fennel And White Wine Cream Sauce

Shellfish Mussels & Clams In Fennel And White Wine Cream Sauce

Sourdough Bread

Among the weaker dishes here, the Roast Chicken With Couscous has a savoury skin on the chicken, but the meat, while tender, borders on dry. Light in taste, it gets tiresome to eat after a few bites, and the dry, grainy couscous doesn't help either. May have been slightly better with some sauce, or more moisture in the meat.

Roast Chicken With Couscous

Roast Chicken With Couscous

Absolutely loved the Pot-Roast Pork Collar With Pumpkin Puree, I think it's the best dish I had here! The pork meat is fresh, incredibly tender, with a melt in your mouth texture. Good enough to stand on its own, as I felt the creamy smooth pumpkin puree didn't really pair well with it, despite also being executed well. Unstoppable, I had piece after piece of this flavourful, succulent pork. Highly recommended!

Pot-Roast Pork Collar With Pumpkin Puree

Pot-Roast Pork Collar With Pumpkin Puree

The Oyster Blade Roast Beef With Salted Kale And Roast Pumpkin features tender, medium rare roast beef, cut from the oyster blade. The beef meat is moist and yields easily, with good savoury, meaty flavour. The salted kale, soft without being limp, lends a needed burst of saltiness, while the tender and well executed roast pumpkin is just bursting with flavour. Among the better dishes we tried here. Highly recommended!