Les Bouchons @ Ann Siang Road

One of my favourite places to go for steaks is Les Bouchons @ Ann Siang Road. It's a small restaurant located within a quaint conservation shophouse. The red walls, warm lighting and cosy arrangement of the tables (read: set very close to each other) reminds me of a typical bistro in Paris. The above picture was taken from my seat next to the window. Yes, this is how small the place is. The capacity of the restaurant must be about 20. Reservations are highly recommended to avoid disappointment and a wasted trip.

I love the posters that they have on the walls. This restaurant is owned by the same people who own L'Angelus (my favourite rustic French restaurant). Their restaurants have a way of hitting the sweet spot for the Francophile in me. The menu is rather limited but the main focus for this place is Steak Frites (Steak and French Fries) so you should definitely order this when you visit. Joyce and I were there for our Plats (read: dishes) of Steak Frites (@ SGD28.80++).

After we'd placed our orders, we were served a basket of warm bread rolls and unsalted butter. I absolutely love unsalted butter as it allows me to savour the rich, creamy unadulterated subtle sweetness of fresh butter. Unsalted butter doesn't contain any preservatives unlike the salted versions (the salt levels are pretty high in some brands). Some food for thought in considering a switch from salted to unsalted butter. They serve Président Gastronomique here which I think tastes pretty close to the fresh farm-made butter that I enjoyed while travelling in Provence. I was such a fan of the butter that I "impressed" the owner of the "Mas" (read: farmhouse) where I stayed for a couple of days by the amount of butter that I was slathering onto fresh slices of bread.

We were served bowls of salad (part of the set) which was a decent portion and was a refreshing mix of crisp salad greens with walnuts and rocket, drizzled with a tangy mustard vinaigrette dressing.

Here's a picture of the condiment platter which consists of mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, wholegrain mustard, horseradish and Maille's Bearnaise Sauce. I love mustard, especially with my fries! Man, I love this place!

Here's a picture of my Rib Eye (done medium rare) topped with a slab of herb butter and served with French fries. I love the steaks here as they're always cooked to perfection with fragrantly seared sides and juicy in the centre. The melted butter adds moisture and flavour to a deliciously tasty steak. The fries are not to be outdone either for they are consistently cooked to perfection. The exterior of the fries are crisp and the interior is fluffy, a perfect French Fry. Apparently the fries here are twice-cooked to achieve this result. I was told some years back that the fries are parboiled first then fried. Fries fans with hearty appetites will be happy to know that you can have unlimited servings of fries. I've not met a person who can go for seconds as we usually are unable to finish the portions on our plates. I'm usually too full after my steak and fries to go for desserts so I cannot comment on the quality of the desserts served here.

This place is definitely a MUST-TRY for steaks and fries!

Les Bouchons Restaurant
7 Ann Siang Road,
Singapore 069689
Tel: +65 6423-0737

Operating Hours:
Lunch - Mondays to Fridays: 12 noon to 2pm
Dinner - Mondays to Saturdays: 7pm to 10pm

Les Bouchons Rive Gauche
#01-01, 41 Robertson Quay (previously occupied by River Cafe)
Tel: 6733-4414
*I've not visited this new outlet myself as I've heard that its not as good as the original