This reminds me of a bistro that I visited when I was in Paris some years back, it came highly recommended by a French friend because of my obsession with cheese. Yes, I've been known to "unwittingly" finish a 250g portion of cheese while watching TV. If you love cheese then you should check out Restaurant Astier at 44 rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 11th Arrondissement, Paris (01-43-57-16-35). Do be forewarned that it only has a prix-fixe menu (set menu) and is not a fine-dining establishment, the tables are small & set very close to each other. I didn't enjoy the food very much but it didn't matter, I was there for the cheese platter (plateau de fromages). The giant wicker tray bearing about 20 choices of cheese seemed to occupy the entire table. You're welcome to help yourself to as much cheese as you like, just be quick about it and try not to be too greedy as the next table is probably looking at you, waiting for their turn.

Pardon the side-track, back to the lunch:

The terrine was delicious as the turkey slices were not too dry (somehow I've always associated turkey with being dry...perhaps it was due to having eaten too many dry turkeys for Christmas). I especially loved the accompanying sauce as I'm a huge fan of capers for its tangy flavour.

Foie Gras Po êl é / Pan Seared Foie Gras

Pan seared foie gras with pumpkin puree & honey sauce

The foie gras was too seared for my liking and the serving size was pretty small. I guess its because its part of a set meal? I'm not a huge fan of any puree...unless its made with potatoes...so I didn't particularly enjoy the pumpkin puree.

Joue de Boeuf / Beef Cheek

Braised beef cheek with mustard sauce & mousseline of potato

The beef cheek was tender and well-infused with the flavour of the rich sauce. I love potatoes, especially mashed potatoes, thus I enjoyed the mousseline thoroughly. The general comment from the group was that the serving sizes were so small that some of them were still hungry even after the main course.

Parfait de Chocolat / Chocolate Parfait

Home-made chocolate parfait with caramelized pear, Grand Marnier cream

Eliana ordered the chocolate parfait for dessert. I tried a little of the parfait. It was deliciously rich. I had grown up eating American & Japanese-style parfaits (tall glasses of ice-cream garnished with whipped cream & various toppings). The French version, a frozen custard, was an interesting change for me.

Fromages / Cheese

This is my platter of a selection of 4 cheese from the trolley. I simply requested not to have any goat's cheese and left the rest to the good hands of the service staff. I was told that the cheese served were: (1) Carini, bottom of pic; (2) Brie, 2nd from bottom; (3) Reblochon, 2nd from the top & (4) Herve Mon's Persillé du Beaujolais.

The first cheese tasted a little like Comté, the Brie and Reblochon were good but my absolute favourite cheese on this platter was Herve Mon's Persillé du Beaujolais. The Persillé du Beaujolais was very smooth and rich blue cheese. It was so fragrant that it was unlike many of the other blue cheeses that I've had. This is definitely a MUST-TRY!

I was lucky that David was stuffed and so he gave me his Livarot (which was served to him instead of blue cheese). It was excellent! This is definitely a place to check out for cheese, as is their cheese shop in Mohd Sultan, called La Fromagerie.

It was an enjoyable lunch for the 30 of us as we chatted and joked over food and wine.

Wines

I'm not a wine connoisseur but I enjoyed both the white wine (Puligny-Montrachet, "Les Houileres" 2005) and the red wine (Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou, St Julien 1998).

Le Saint Julien
No. 3 Fullerton Road,
The Fullerton Water Boat House
Singapore 049215
Tel: +65 6534-5947

Operating Hours
Mondays - Fridays : 12.00 pm - 2.00 pm & 6.30 pm - 10.00 pm
Saturdays : 6.30 pm - 10 pm
Sundays : Closed