Since we always frequent the same restaurants, this week I was determined to try out a new area and a new restaurant (just to spice things up a bit). We decided to check out Chip Bee Gardens on a Friday “couples” night out. After Googling all the Chip Bee Garden restaurants online, we made a reservation at Bistro Au Petite Salut (i.e. Chez Au Petit Salut).
Type of Cuisine: French
Atmosphere: They offer both indoor and outdoor seating. Although we made a reservation for a table outdoors, we decided to sit indoors because there were more people inside and it seemed a bit more lively. Since this is the “Bistro” and not the more upscale Au Petite Salut on Dempsey Road, we sat at a brown wooden table with paper napkins and no table cover.
Food: The food was good overall. Although we all four of us had our own starters, mains and desserts, we were not very creative with our ordering. For starters we had the “Burgandy snails” which was cooked in tomato garlic butter, which was a pleasant change compared to the just normal “garlic butter”, and the “oven melted goat’s cheese, celeriac remoulade and walnut dressing salad”. The goat cheese salad was a surprisingly large portion; it was a massive amount of goat cheese (no complaints here).
All of us ordered different types of steak. My “pan roasted beef tenderloin in a red wine sauce”, after a group taste test, was the best dish since I ordered it “medium rare plus”. The others ordered their “tenderloin” and the “pan seared onglet beef with “Café de Paris” butter sauce” “medium” which they found to be a bit over cooked. All of our meals came with pommes frites (i.e. thin french fries).
For dessert, I had the chocolate molten cake “warm melted 70% chocolate cake”, which I thought was very good. It came with a small scoop of vanilla ice-cream and a red currant jam sauce. My friend had the “classical crème brulée with vanilla beans”, which he found to be exceptional, I thought it tasted the same as all the rest, but then again I am a chocolate connoisseur.
Child Friendly: I personally would not bring my kids to eat here – this seems more like an adult place to eat. Da Paolo Pizza Bar which is also in Chip Bee Gardens would be a better option for kids.
Cost: Bistro Petit Au Salut is average priced. Starters: SG$16-$28, Main Course: SG$30-$44, Dessert: SG$10-$20 They did offer a really good three course set dinner option for $48++per person. With the set dinner you could choose any starter, main and dessert. Some of the more premium foods (like the tenderloin), were an additional add on of SG$4-$14, depending on the course. All four of us ordered the set, with a few upgrades and a bottle of red wine for the table. We spent $98 per person.
Service: Aside from the fact that one of us did not have silverware, I found the service overall to be good. The place was not packed (which was surprising for a Friday night), so it was easy to get the server’s attention when we needed it.
Attire: Not fancy. Anything would be fine during the day. At night I would consider leaving the shorts and flip flops at home – but it seemed fairly relaxed.
Getting There: Chip Bee Gardens is directly across the street from Holland Village. It is easily accessible by MRT. If you are driving, there is a lot of coupon parking on the street right in front of the row of restaurants.
Contact Info: You can either call or make a reservation online. Bistro Au Petite Salut at Chip Bee Gardens, 44 Jln Merah Saga, #01-54 Singapore 278116, Telephone:+65-6474-9788. Note: They are closed on Sundays.
Would SuperMommy eat at Bistro Au Petit Salut again? Yes, I thought the food was good and reasonably priced for dinner. I am now eager to try out the “fine dining” Au Petit Salut in Dempsey – I will keep you posted.
