Fren(s)h

Was shopping at Vivo last weekend and decided to rest our tired legs (GSS starting :D)

Stopped by Fren(s)h for their yummy tartines (open faced sandwiches). I haven't been there for a really long time and was craving for their delicious tartines.

The aircon in the little corner shop was spoilt on the day we went there - it was very stuffy and uncomfortable to sit inside. Luckily, since the last time I came, they have expanded their little seating area to the opening landing outside. It faces sentosa and there is a nice breeze. They have cornered off the area with a border of potted plants.

They have a new menu with new tartines, and we decided on the Savoyarde Tartin. It's $22 for the set meal (comes with drink and dessert cos it's under the premium tartins, normal tartins cost $17 for the set).

It comes with reblochon cheese, prosciutto ham and diced potatoes and fresh onions. The tartine didn't dissappoint - the potatoes were soft and fluffy, with the occasional salty piece of prosciutto ham and soft melted cheese. The onions gave the dish a zing and the whole meal was complete with a refreshing salad of iceberg lettuce in a zesty dressing (I have nothing against iceberg lettuce salad - but those who like their salad with fancy leaves won't like this).

According to Wikipedia, Reblochon is a soft washed-rind cheese made from raw cow's milk. Produced from the day's second milking... proof of its being well-aged in an airy cellar, the rind of this cheese is covered with a fine white mould. The optimal period to savour this cheese is between May and September after it has been aged six to eight weeks. Reblochon has a nutty taste that remains in mouth after its soft and uniform centre has been enjoyed.

Well, to me, it was tasty, salty, soft and went really well with the potatoes and bread :D For the drink, I paid 50 cents to upgrade a normal drink to the Hot Chocolate but it was rather dissappointing. The chocolate wasn't mixed properly into the milk, and there were lots and lots of flecks of chocolate. Furthermore, it barely resembled the nice thick chocolately drink I had previously.

For dessert, we ate the delicious creme brulee. They serve it cold so it's really delightful to have on a warm balmy afternoon. And very energising for the next cycle of marathon shopping :p

Fren(s)h
1 Harbourfront Walk
#01-163 Vivocity
Phone 63768005

Fre(n)sh - Fresh and French (3)

Super outdated post - I haven't been eating out (properly). And since patho has been canceled, so has our Monday 2h lunches. But wait till Sun, I'll have at least one good post then :D

Fromage Blanc from fre(n)sh - this time it's made with chestnut paste - I much prefer the fig jam I had last time but they had strawberry or marmalade that day. It's quite powdery, and has the cosistency of jam. I think it's about $6 or $5 plus if you get it by itself, but I'm not too sure of the price.
Another noteworthy dessert is the Tiramisu - it's quite unlike the tiramisu in other local restaurants cos it has a much much much more generous alcohol content inside :D it's about $5, quite worth it since I'm quite sure there's at least half a shot inside that.
Creamy chocolatey and alcoholic.

Fre(n)sh
1 Harbourfront Walk
#01-163 Vivocity
Phone 63768005

Fre(n)sh - Best hot chocolate in Spore?

We went to Vivocity to visit Pamela who was waitressing at Fren(s)h, and also for the food (for me).On Pamela's recommendation, I decided to try the hot chocolate. I don't usually take hot drinks, but then it was raining so i decided to make it an exception since she said that a customer told them that she hasn't been able to find such chocolate outside Italy.
It's really the best hot chocolate I've tried in Singapore, coming really really close to Australia's Koko black hot chocolate. Btw, Koko Black in Australia serves wonderfully awsome chocolate drinks and desserts. And this comes really close.
Forget going to Couderoy for hot chocolate - this one beats it hands down.
Chocolate lovers should really go and give it a try - you won't regret.

I also tried this new thing called Fromage Blanc, which is the first time I've seen it in Singapore. Dunno anywhere else that serves it. It's cream cheese with a jam base. The cream cheese is quite viscous - it's not runny but it's not solid either. Maybe it's like plasma? The fig jam is nice and chunky, and it's sweet and complements the cream cheese very well. It's a very authentic French dessert too.Of course, I also koped Fish's creme brulee which was delicious (as I said last time). It's served cold (not hot like other places) which I like. Sweet Cold Things are a great way to end off a delicious meal.
For my mains, I tried the Fren(s)h chicken tartine. It's minced chicken and potatoes. You can get either the mustard base which isn't very popular with the locals cos it's very strong and tastes like wasabi, or mayonnaise. I tried the mustard one but then I regretted my over-adventurous spur of the moment decision. Next time i'll stick with the duck or the goat cheese (which btw is also fantastic). They also have foie gras sandwich but it's more ex.Btw fish hates lettuce. The salad is lettuce only but the dressing is nice and sourish and with sweet rasins. But I like the salad.
This is the quiche - today was tuna quiche - the whole base is tuna so you'll be sure to get some tuna chunks in every mouthful. (Totally way higher than Delifrance where there's one morsel of ham in the whole mattress of egg/cheese mixture :P)

I'm getting hungry looking at all these food...

Fren(s)h

#01-163 Vivocity

Lunch Sandwich set with drink and desssert costs $15 nett

Lunch set with drink costs $10 nett

Fre(n)sh - Fresh and French

Thanks to Analisa's "Vivocity Palate Pleasers - Your Guide to Chill-out Waterfront Dining" book, I've decided to explore Vivo's restaurants! It's this guidebook to the various food places in Vivo.

So I tried Fre(n)sh today. It's at a corner of vivo, near Godiva. The view isn't very good - it's partially obstructed by this spiral staircase, but the food more than makes up for it. It's a pretty small restaurant - and a bit cramped but then they have quite a good variety of foods, like sandwiches, quiches and salads, as well as desserts.

We decided to try the Set Lunch Menu $15nett (it was all day lunch). It comes with one main course (from a fixed selection), Drink and Dessert. We got the iced Chocolat Viennois (they have it hot too) which is essentially chocolate with whipped cream.

For the main course, we had 2 Tartines. One was the Goat's Cheese with tomatoes and rosemary, as well as the Duck Rilettes.

The Goat's Cheese with tomatoes was very refreshing - the cheese was melted, soft, but not runny, and very flavourful. The brown bread was lightly toasted, and the tomatoes complemented the slightly salty cheese.

The Duck Rilettes was duck meat (with a bit of duck skin) finely chopped and spread onto the same brown bread. The duck was very tasty, and the duck taste was strong (so people who don't like the duck smell, don't take this).
Both of the tartines were served with a generous helping of salad, which were crisp lettuce leaves (not a single brown/wilted one, not even at the edges) tossed in a vinegrette dressing, and topped with raisins.

There's quite a good choice of deserts, from Tiramisu, Opera, Original cheesecake, apple crumble, Creme Brulee, and dessert of the day (depends what the chef feels like making). There is the option to upgrade it to a Formage Blanc (+$1.10) or Macaron Set (+ $4.50).

We tried the Creme Brulee and Dessert of the day, which was Chocolate Eclaire.
The creme brulee comes in a foil and tasted smooth and creamy. They use real vanilla beans, and the sugar on top was nicely caramelized.

The eclaire was ok, I'm not really crazy over eclaires. Thechocolate topping was rich, thick and delicious, and it was filed with a chocolate cream inside, though I thought that the eclaire body was a bit hard.
The sevice was quick and efficient, even though there was only one waiter. The staff are all French, and they started this restaurant in December, after coming over from France in July last year. Overall, it's a pleasant place to have a light lunch, good food and friendly service.

Fre(n)sh

1 Harbourfront Walk

#01-163 Vivocity

Phone 63768005