La Belle Epoque Restaurant Tasting Session
63 Boat Quay
Opening Hours:
Mon - Sat: 3pm - 11:30pm, Closed Sun
https://www.lberestaurant.com/
This was an invited media review. I did not pay for the meal during the free hosted tasting session.
Attended with representatives from Chubby Botak Koala, msginginly, SG Food On Foot, and Purple Taste.
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| Guerre Stellari / Star Wars (SGD $10) |
Golden Age Of Contemporary European
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 6
Ambience & Setting: 7
Food & Beverage: 6
Service: 8
Value for Money: 6
Budget about SGD $70 per person.
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Opening in February 2022, La Belle Epoque Restaurant, whose name means 'the golden age', is a chic gastrobar specialising in modern contemporary European plates, prepared using fresh ingredients sourced locally in an effort to be sustainable. Benefitting from its waterfront views along the Singapore River by Boat Quay, La Belle Epoque Restaurant is a relaxing place to chill with desserts and drinks.
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| La Belle Epoque Restaurant Signage |
Ambience at La Belle Epoque Restaurant offers waterfront dining with views of the Singapore River, beautiful especially in the evenings. Lively and bustling, with seats air-cooled by powerful fans, the comfortable furnishings lends well to long lingering meals and people watching. Lighting is minimal, lending an intimate feel, with thoughfully placed spotlights casting sufficient glow that allows you to clearly appreciate the dishes and presentation.
Service at La Belle Epoque Restaurant is great, with staff enthusiastically engaging diners, ensuring you feel comfortable. They introduce dishes with a brief description as they serve, and helpfully offer to clear finished plates throughout the meal. I note decent product knowledge, and quick efficiency at cleaning up when diners leave. Order fulfillment seems relatively quick, but waiting time for drinks feels longer than usual with a lone bartender.
Food at La Belle Epoque Restaurant is Modern European cuisine, with a dash of Asian flavours thrown in. Chef Firdauz Nasir leads the kitchen, with a philosophy of fresh locally sourced ingredients seasoned with natural herbs. Dishes tend to be heavy on flavour, complex, pushing the boundaries experimentally. Portions are large, designed for communal group dining. Prices are comparable to other gastrobars, budget about SGD $70 per person.
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| La Belle Epoque Restaurant Entrance |
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| Al-Fresco Waterfront Seating |
Loved the Cocktail Pear & Rose Gin Sour (SGD $20), a lady-like tipple that's gentle and enticing. Made with a blend of rose-infused gin, Mathilde pear liqueur, fresh lemon juice, homemade pear puree, sugar syrup, and garnished with a rose petal, this has bright floral fruity sweet boozy flavours. Good!
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| Cocktail Pear & Rose Gin Sour (SGD $20) |
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| Cocktail Pear & Rose Gin Sour |
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| Cocktail Pear & Rose Gin Sour |
A luxury morsel, the Oyster & Iberico (SGD $26 for 3 pieces) features a plump juicy oyster, lightly torched. Dressed with juicy tomato salsa, crispy Iberico ham chips, and decadent Avruga caviar, it looks elegant, sophisticated, and luxurious when presented. Bursting with robust briny salty sweet savoury meaty vegetal flavours, a complex layering of tastes that doesn't distract, despite the different ingredients. Good!
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| Oyster & Iberico (SGD $26 for 3 pieces) |
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| Oyster & Iberico |
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| Oyster & Iberico |
With the Charcuterie Platter (SGD $28), you have a choice of any 4 selections of cold cuts or cheeses, spanning 16 options in total. On this visit, Chef selected the following cuts for us, serving it with Tomato Focaccia Tuile. These crispy toasted bread chips break with a satisfying crunch, releasing the juicy vegetal sweet bready notes of the tomato and focaccia bread, yum.
The Comté Rivoire (or Gruyère De Comté) is a semi-hard French cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk, in this instance, sourced from the Rivoire-Jacquemin affineur which notably, rubs their cheese with Guérande sea salt, and refines the cheese on spruce wood planks for up to 30 months. It carries a mild savoury earthy salty cheesy flavour. The Taleggio DOP is a semi-soft washed-rind Italian cheese made from full cow's milk, notable for being washed with sea water once per week, and aged for up to 10 weeks. It carries a mild sweet fruity milky cheesy flavour.
Was a little concerned about the Black Forest Raw Ham, while tender, carried an overly gamey pungent taste, an indication that it's been exposed to humidity for too long. The Collar boneless (Cabecero) Iberico Ham fared much better, with its lovely tender bite and bold meaty salty savoury nutty flavour. Served with a delightful assortment of pairings which I enjoyed, including juicy pickled gherkins with vegetal sour salty flavour, fresh leafy lettuce with vegetal sweet flavour, juicy green olives with sour salty earthy notes, crunchy cashew and almonds with nutty salty notes.
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| Charcuterie Platter (SGD $28) |
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| Charcuterie Platter |
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| Tomato Focaccia Tuile |
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| Tomato Focaccia Tuile |
The Hummus Taco (SGD $10) is a tasty vegetarian appetizer, wholesome and fresh. A soft flour taco base is topped with creamy grainy mashed smoked chickpeas blended with tahini, tender whole chickpeas, juicy vibrant roasted capsicum / bell peppers, crisp romaine lettuce, crisp red radish, and soft pickled shallots, dressed with lemon juice and garlic. A vibrant and exciting mouthful, each bite bursting with smoky vegetal earthy sweet savoury tangy sour spice flavour. Feels so clean-tasting, healthy, and wholesome. Worth ordering!
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| Hummus Taco (SGD $10) |
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| Hummus Taco |
Chef Firdauz Nasir has created a brilliant communal appetizer with the Assorted Skins (SGD $8), and having eaten this, I wonder why no one else has thought to do likewise. Dressed with flowers which makes it so colourful and appealing when served, this features a mix of crisp crunchy fried skins, including grey mullet fish skin, chicken skin, pork skin cracklings, and potato skins, alongside seasonal vegetables (mizuna, curly endive / frisée) and a dressing of black garlic aioli. Has bold savoury salty spice flavours here, though I wish they had more dipping sauces or seasonings for dipping on the side. Among the lot, my favourite is the chicken skin, followed by the potato skin. Worth ordering!
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| Assorted Skins (SGD $8) |
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| Assorted Skins |
It's Smoked Pork Belly (SGD $16), with slabs of marinated and smoked pork belly, served along with pork skin cracklings, grilled peach salad, and pork veloute. We noticed that each of us received cuts of different sizes, from large and chunky, to thin and wimpy. As a bar snack, it was full flavoured and designed to entice drinking.
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| Smoked Pork Belly (SGD $16) |
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| Smoked Pork Belly |
Loved the presentation of the Beef Short Ribs With Smoked Haricot Beans (SGD $28), with the large bone-in beef rib looking succulent. The aged beef is spice-marinated, braised, sous vide, then grilled to finish; a confounding complexity of techniques that does little to enhance; better if they'd applied the 'less is more' adage. The smoked haricot beans are fresh and juicy, with lovely vegetal sweet flavour.
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| Beef Short Ribs With Smoked Haricot Beans (SGD $28) |
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| Beef Short Ribs With Smoked Haricot Beans |
The Cauliflower Steak (SGD $12) is a vegetarian dish that looks so pretty when served. A crunchy tender cauliflower head is smoked and cured then pan-seared with vegetable butter and herbs, served with creamy grainy purple mashed potato, tender soft braised and grilled purple cabbage, crisp curly endive / frisée, crisp mizuna, juicy sun-dried tomato, and a vegetable demi-glace. While I would have liked the cauliflower head to be cut into smaller bite-sized chunks to allow for better seasoning, the overall dish carries wholesome smoky vegetal sweet savoury salty flavours that are nicely appealing. If I wanted to eat clean, this is a decent option.
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| Cauliflower Steak (SGD $12) |
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| Cauliflower Steak |
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| Cauliflower Steak |
The Lemon Tart With Surprise (SGD $10) was surprisingly good, with a creamy torched Italian meringue, over a smooth lemon custard, served in a crunchy cinnamon tart pastry shell. With enticing bready sweet spice tangy sour zesty milky smoky flavours, this was yummy. Chef hides a surprise in the base of the serving tray, on this occasion, we'd received caramelised fruits. Highly recommended!
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| Lemon Tart With Surprise (SGD $10) |
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| Lemon Tart With Surprise |
Chef Firdauz Nasir shares his enthusiasm for the cultural behemoth that is Star Wars, with the dessert homage Guerre Stellari / Star Wars (SGD $10). It features a thin flaky horizontal pyramid-shaped dark chocolate shell, generously filled with rum infused smooth thick chocolate mousse. Has pleasing chocolatey sweet boozy flavours. This dessert resembles the iconic Victory-Class Star Destroyer used by the Galactic Empire in the Star Wars movies, a fearsome space vessel deployed for planetary assault or defence. Served with creamy raspberry sorbet with bright fruity sour notes, crushed peanut crumble with nutty sweet notes, and sprinkled with icing sugar. Highly recommended!
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| Guerre Stellari / Star Wars (SGD $10) |
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| Guerre Stellari / Star Wars |
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| Guerre Stellari / Star Wars |
Loved the appetizers, desserts, and drinks at La Belle Epoque Restaurant, and I would mind returning for more. Cheers to the team at La Belle Epoque Restaurant!
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CONVERSATION