Bistro Du Vin

With Les Amis' La Strada and Aoki ventured, the next logical step was to pay a visit to Bistro Du Vin, a casual French bistro along the same row of Les Amis restaurants at Orchard's Shaw Centre. If you're looking for some of the best Italian food in Singapore or the best Japanese food in Singapore or the best French food in Singapore -grin-, the Les Amis group of restaurants might just be one of the places to look at. Of course I'm not giving my personal stamp of approval to all of them, not by such a broad stroke, but aim for what they're good at individually and I'm sure you would be left quite satisfied indeed. Nothing ventured, nothing gained I'd say.

Toasted Baguette


It may seem odd to you, but I'm going to rave about Bistro Du Vin's plain and toasted baguettes. They're awesome. It's nicely crisp (but not hard) on the outside and soft (but not spongy) on the inside. Spread some butter on the hot baguette slices fresh out of the oven and before you know it, you might be through with your third, or even fourth. Simple pleasures.

Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Salmon


The Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Salmon was one of the appetisers on Bistro Du Vin's weekly set lunch menu, and it caught my eye because it has been a really long time since I had some good scrambled eggs (my favourite so far - Food for Thought @8Q).


Just like the toasted baguette, the scrambled eggs were downright simple, but good. It scored on the basics - texture and egg content in particular - which are good enough for me. It didn't quite match up on the third criteria in creaminess, but that's really a personal preference and I'm sure not everyone is so egged about this.

Duck Confit
Served with brussels sprouts and mustard sauce


Duck, duck, duck - I love my duck confits and Peking ducks. Bistro Du Vin does a pretty good Duck Confit, with enough crispiness on the top and tenderness on the inside. On most parts the meat fell apart quite easily with each gentle pull of the fork, and there were brief (nano)seconds where you could feel the skin melting in your mouth.


If I had to be picky, I would have to point out that there were a couple of burnt spots specks on my dear duck, and these did jar my tastebuds a little. Nevertheless, the rest of it was done more than decently enough, and a return visit may still be worthwhile. Duck confits aren't the easiest to prepare, so I'm always quite easy on them.

Mashed Potato


If you're on a "diet" or just hate your greens, go for the Mashed Potato, it's delicious. Smooth and oh-so-potato-ey with a hint of creaminess, this is guaranteed to delight the potato-lovers surely. I'm sure babies would love this too haha.

Caramel Ice-Cream with Selected Nuts


I really liked the Caramel Ice-Cream. It wasn't overwhelmingly sweet and had that slight bitterness which is a mark of good caramel. The nuts, pistachios being one of them, gave an added crunch to this little cool treat.

Caramel Custard


I can't say the Caramel Custard looked the most appealing of all the desserts on offer, but I suppose it's perfect for those who want something light to end of an already heavy lunch.

Crème Brûlée


I've been pampered with the best from Otto, so a simple Crème Brûlée such as this one here may fall a little short. I'm now a firm believer (again, after Otto) that a good crème brûlée should be accompanied by some berries to balance off the sweetness from the custard and caramel. This was decent, light and smooth crème brûlée, no doubt about it, but a dash of extra flavours would definitely help to make it a little less monotonous. Just a personal preference really.

Coffee


They need to make sure that you are awake enough to make your way back to work, and if possible, to last the next few hours before it strikes six or so. After so much sugars, this was a much welcomed drink as well.

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Wondering what's up next? It's time to start on Beijing! :)

Service
Excellent. Friendly and very helpful.

Price
$28 for the weekly set lunch
$3 additional/supplement for Duck Confit
$8 for the Crème Brûlée

* Prices subject to the usual 7% GST and 10% service charge.

Place
Orchard Shaw Centre, #02-12.
Opposite Pacific Plaza and HSBC Bank, Tanglin Branch.

Pictures taken with the Canon EOS 500D.