It was a lovely lazy afternoon and I absolutely loved it! My new favorite restaurant for a slow leisurely lunch. Excellent food, nice ambience and good service. The sound of water trickling down the rocky slope created a soothing relaxing mood and the al fresco dining just brought to mind being on vacation. The indoor dining section was already full when I called to make reservations 2 days in advance. I guess I would need to make reservations 1 week before the scheduled date to get the indoor area. Personally I quite like the outdoor area too as it was much more casual and relaxed.
Just being there made me less stressed and I thoroughly liked it. We stayed there for a solid 2 hours. T said the lady behind me at the next table looked effortlessly put together - elegant and gorgeous and I do agree with her.
The other side had more plants. I am not sure which side I would prefer. Plants and greenery or water? One subtle way the restaurant did to inform diners of the last order was to turn off the water. That was the trick we typically used when we want to end any event - turn on the lights (not that it worked all the time since there would always be guests who were obtuse :p).
The complimentary bread and butter. The weather was so warm (though it was not as bad as in Thailand where I would perspire non stop) that the butter melted after 20mins or so. The bread was crusty and warm, typical of French bread. I still prefer Aria Bistro's bread though.
The service was really good. I was prepared for average service as I read some reviews that it was not great at all, plus they were rankled by the fact that strollers were not allowed indoors. I could understand that as the indoor area was really tiny and screaming babies indoors? Not a good mix at all. Be thankful they don't ban babies at all ;p It is the kind of place where you want to be away from noises and just enjoy your meal with nature, good conversations and friends.
I was asked if I wanted a drink (juice or anything) while waiting for my friend to arrive since I was early. Then the waiter asked if I would like to reserve the oysters (not in the menu at all) first as there were limited platters and the oysters were just in at 1145am or so. The oysters were really fresh and good. I liked the chopped onions with vinagrette that went very well with the oysters. We loved it so much we ordered another platter (there was one available).
T ordered the escagots - Baked Burgundy snails with tomato and garlic butter.
I tried one of them. It was nice. Not too rubbery like those I tried in Canada.
I topped up my set menu with the change to the lobster bisque served with lobster ravioli and terragon.
This was not too bad, with a pretty strong lobster flavor and it was not too rich and creamy that you would feel a bit sick afterwards.
Both of us had the red wine braised beef cheeks which came with mushrooms, carrots and potators. The beef was just so tender that you could cut through it with a fork. The carrot was soft and infused with wine. Totally yummy!
We shared desserts - Passionfruit souffle. Airy light soft mixed foiled with the tangy passionfruit. Nice. Not too sweet at all.
This was the highlight for both of us - a moment of silence once we had our first mouthful. Savoring the lightness and slight bittersweet of the chocolate. This was the "petit pot" dark chocolate ganache 70% with whipped cream and chocolate balls and crushed pistachio. This was heaven on tongue. Absolutely amazing.
Our happy expressions with the desserts :) I had coffee while T had tea. The coffee was equally good and strong. Didn't take pic of that. See our bags? I had requested for an extra chair to put my bag and the waiter initially said they do not have extra chairs. He said to sling it on the back of the chair. I just went but it's leather and left it at that. Usually I am not so fussy but wicker chairs with leather just do not mix. You might snag it on a stray fibre or something. Even
Au Jardin would provide a bag chair for its guests, so you would expect it from
Au Petit Salut.
But later, he just put the chair there. We had a bit of laugh earlier when he said this was where men would never understand women and their bags :p I was pleasantly surprised by his (and his colleagues) service and initiatives. They did top up the water glass frequently without us asking though T had to ask for ice as it was such a warm day. They would ask you if you prefer still or sparkling water but they do serve tap if you request for it.
I wish I could go there every week for lunch or something. It was just so fantastic. I prefer Au Petit Salut when compared to Au Jardin and I usually am not big on French food at all.
This year I ate so much durians, more so than in other years I think. So I was driving home, when I decided to detour to Yio Chu Kang Road to buy some durian kuehs from 727 Cakerie. Mooncakes were in, so I bought a box. It was quite wasted cos we didn't store in the freezer section and after a few days, they turned sour :( Boo hoo. Lucky I manage to eat 2 before they went bad. There were about 3-4 left when they went bad.
I like this - durian coil. Durian pulp inside with the sponge cake and then another layer of durian over. Double durian power. Nice.
I like the durian puffs too. I bought 2 boxes as I thought 1 box was not enough for the family. Again, some puffs were bad after a few days so they were thrown away. Lesson learnt: do not keep durian for long, even if stored in fridge.
Mango cheesecake. I actually wanted to buy mango puffs, but somehow the store person thought I wanted this and I was also quite blurred. I didn't realize this was in the bag when I made the payment. I just wondered why my bill was so high :p I didn't get to eat this but they seemed to like it. It was all gone.
My durian loot. No more durian till next year. 
