very unimpressive french food at this otherwise beautiful restaurant set in a old two-floor shophouse along duxton hill. I’m hoping my experience was a fluke – but I think it worth sharing anyway – for I came on the recommendation of another foodie who really likes this place.
this place is very likable, conceptually – it feels like a neighborhood bistro you might get in the parisian suburbs, the lighting is dim and cosy, and it has provenance in a wine-making holiday-making mansion in burgundy (we’re talking proper french roots, people). but the food is less sparkling than what you might expect it to be (though still decent), which is a waste – this would be a brilliant dateaway otherwise.
I can’t imagine why I seem to have hit a slew of so-so restaurants in the last few posts – I suspect it comes from a mixture of pumped up expectations following countless recommendations, perhaps coincidentally met by a restaurant’s fall in standards. this place isn’t quite so offputting unappealing as the not-so-fabulous baker boy; it’s decent, just not great.
we started off with a bit of bread – a basket of wheated dinner rolls where I had expected crusty baguette. a little dry and stale, but edible. our glasses of wine were just about OK too – I don’t profess to be any sort of a connoisseur – the mellow red better than a too-dry white (I didn’t take down the labels, sorry, but there aren’t that many by-the-cups).
the dishes were largely uninspiring – nothing bad, but a beef bourgignon was slightly tough and without sufficient gravy (though what there was was deeply savoury) and my fish main just a plain seared slice atop diced cooked greens.
this place has potential, but the food is meh, which is a waste – it has a ways to go before it lives up to the gone dining, bistro excellence of its furnishings.
La Maison Fatien
76 Duxton Rd
Singapore 089535
tel +65 6220 3822
$$$: two mains, two glasses of wine = ninety
p.s. we cut our losses at mains and headed to chinatown for dessert – cheap, easy rescue of a meal!
andmorefood 