Les Artistes Bistrot

Restaurants

published on Aug 06 2009 - 16:38

After a stint away, Nicolas Joanny is back in Singapore and his latest twin ventures in Chinatown are not only exercises in Gallic exuberance, they’re a worthy counterpoint to the wildly expensive Les Amis. In the heart of Keong Saik Road’s red-light drag, Le Restaurant (complete with a chef’s table) ramps up the fine-dining quotient, while a few doors down, Les Artistes Bistrot presents a more wallet-friendly option that offers set lunches and dinners only.

From the reassuring presence of the tall French maître d’ at the entrance to the French-accented English floating through the kitchen’s peek-a-boo service window, the bistro gets everything right. Except, that is, its turgidly boring interior – plain walls and minimal decoration by way of unremarkable for-sale artwork – that evokes more a corporate diningroom vibe than it does a bistro. Indeed, the noise level from the long table of thirty or so business types – even when primed by a constant flow of reds and champagne – rarely rose above that of a polite argument.

Braised Beef Cheeks at Les Artistes Bistrot
Braised beef cheeks at Le Artistes Bistrot

Still, the moment passed when the bread basket arrived with warm, chewy home-made bread alongside a rich, earthy duck rillette. There’s not much on the regularly changing menu for vegetarians, but that’s the French for you. Why settle for sautéed greens when you could hoe into beef cheeks that have been braised for five hours? The portions themselves are on the small side and, for a bistro, a little too prettily plated. The upside is that everything is cooked with seasoned aplomb.

On the night we dined, a meaty, rosemary-laced rack of lamb arrived with a shot glass of garlicky, truffled purée that sparkled with the low crunch of sea salt. The gelatinous beef cheek, stained a deep red by wine, was defenceless against the slight prod of the fork. A speckled green wave of chives surfed along the foam of the velvety lobster bisque. It was all artfully done with obvious technique and a confident hand with the seasonings, even if the foam was so five years ago. Even the desserts cleaved close to Joanny’s less-is-more approach, exemplified by a sweet pear poached and served with a mere scattering of shaved almonds. Simple, but not insultingly so.

There were dull moments such as the rather tough and bland snail meat that not even the accompanying silky ravioli could rescue. But the lowest note of the evening came when the waitress started clearing up the table when my dining companion was still mopping up the last of her lamb. If this had been Paris, the incident would never have happened. But that’s when you remember that you’re in Singapore after all, and most chefs’ good intentions stop at the kitchen door.

Costs: Dinner set meals from $48 for three courses, $58 for three courses.