Lifestyle

Food

Les Amis

I first ate at Les Amis not too long after it was opened by the highly acclaimed Justin Quek and some friends in 1994. Justin was at one time, chef at the French Embassy in Singapore and was reported to have been asked by the French ambassador to teach his new chef, a Frenchman, how to cook his way. In addition to recalling it to be a very good meal, I also remember it to be pricey. Not to the extent of ‘kuidaore’ (Japanese for eating till you become bankrupt) but significant enough to make an impression on me. In June 2006, I had lunch there again.

Les Amis is not an ordinary restaurant. It was the first restaurant of the Les Amis Group and was started with the aim of providing ‘the ultimate in fine-dining experiences’. True to its objective, Les Amis has won numerous awards including many Best Restaurant awards. It is also named as a Fodor’s Choice restaurant and described by Fodor’s as Singapore’s finest French restaurant. However, Justin left in 2004 and Les Amis has lost some of its lustre since then. Many previous diners were friends or fans of Justin and liked his style of cooking. However, Chef Gunther Hubrechsen who took over has his own ideas about cooking.

Chef Gunther is a Belgian who has worked as sous-chef under Alain Passard, chef-owner of Michelin three-star L’Arpège in Paris. He worked there for five years so he does know the standard required of a Michelin three-star restaurant. Alain Passard, incidentally, is the chef famous for completely removing red meat from the menu to concentrate on vegetables and starting his own organic farm to ensure the quality of his vegetable supplies.

This obsession of his former boss for quality ingredients has rubbed off on Chef Gunther. He likes his ingredients as fresh as possible and he eschews frozen food unless there is no other alternative. He also prefers using natural jus and slow cooking techniques to enhance flavours even though such simple cooking techniques might really be very difficult. The reason, as Chef Gunther notes, is because ‘there is nothing to camouflage any mistakes’. This explains the special arrangements that he has made with contacts in Europe to get him the right kind of supplies. This preference for simplicity may also be the reason why diners who prefer more classical French cooking may not think too highly of his cooking. However, it suits me fine. By the way, I found out that because Chef Gunther’s style of cooking does not involve as much preparation work as Justin’s, the kitchen staff are happier since they are less stressed. Anyone who has eaten food cooked by a happy cook will know the importance of this factor in the cooking process.

Les Amis offers the choice of a few menus for lunch and I had the Chef’s Menu, which is the near equivalent of a culinary blank cheque. The only thing I was asked was if I had any dietary restrictions and I replied that I was not too keen on insects or tables and chairs but would eat most other types of food. Like many Chinese, I would eat almost anything on four legs except tables and chairs, and almost anything from the sea except submarines.

My first course was carpaccio of langoustine, oscietre cavier crème, chives and extra virgin olive oil. It looked more like a picture of geometric patterns rather than a dish to be eaten. According to my English edition of the Larousse Gastronomique, carpaccio is actually an Italian appetizer consisting of thin slices of raw beef served cold with a creamy vinaigrette sauce made with olive oil named in honour of the Venetian painter Carpaccio. Apparently, his paintings were famous for their geometric designs and architectural perspectives. In this case, Chef Gunther had creatively contrasted the thin translucent slices of raw langoustine (a type of marine lobster) with dark brown oscietre caviar cream in repeating patterns. It was very pretty but I must confess that it looked better than it tasted.

My second course was a pan-fried foie gras a la dragee (ie in the style of candied almonds) paired with a salad of apple, dried fruits and mixed nuts. The piece of foie gras I got was moist with jus inside and full of flavour. The dish was well executed, the combination worked beautifully and I could not find any fault with it. It was excellent.

The next course was wagyu beef. My slice of beef was char-grilled medium rare and had a tender texture and rich taste. No wonder it is sometimes called the ‘foie gras of beef’ and priced accordingly too. The wagyu beef came accompanied by a memorable confit of seasonal vegetables and bordelaise sauce. Again the mix was perfect and it was clearly first rate.

Dessert was warm caramelised strawberries in whipped vanilla cream with fresh basil. It was well prepared with just the right balance in complementary flavours. However, strawberries are not my favourite fruit and I actually prefer my desserts cold so this was a slight disappointment though due to no fault of the chef.

My meal ended with a tiny cup half-filled with espresso forte and a canelè. The coffee had a thin layer of small bubbles on top giving out a very strong coffee fragrance. The canelè (a small pastry with a soft custard centre and caramelised crust that is a specialty of Bordeaux) was slightly sweet and the perfect counterpart to my expresso forte. What was the quantum of damages for my meal? Let me just say that I had flown to Chiang Mai and back on Tiger Airways for less. Incidentally, Les Amis also has an excellent wine list but like I told friendly Chef Sommelier Randy See, I was a wine dummy and so it was all lost on me. But do not take my word for it – just take a walk into the private dining room facing the kitchen and see the display of many of its awards for its wine list.

I am always curious about how a leading restaurant gets to be where it is and what is done to stay there. In this regard, the owners of Les Amis seem to be doing many things right. Key staff are sent (on full pay and with expenses paid) to dine and experience top restaurants all over the world. I am given to understand that they have gone to the restaurants of superstar chefs including those of Tetsuya Wakuda and Joel Robuchon, and to Michelin three-star restaurants like Arzak and Martin Berasategui in Spain and Le Cinq and L’Arpege in France. Les Amis has also arranged attachments for their kitchen staff to top restaurants like Tetsuya in Australia, Le Gavroche in England and Lameloise in France. Even those who do not travel also get to work with leading foreign chefs like Tetsuya, Alain Solivèrès and Maria Goncalves when they are invited to cook at Les Amis on their visits to Singapore. It is no wonder that many prominent people and celebrities have been spotted there. On the day I had lunch at Les Amis, I saw the chairman of a statutory board and the former chairman of an airline there.

Did I mention I enjoyed my meal at Les Amis very much? If only I could afford to eat like this more often.

Les Amis

1 Scotts Road

#02-16 Shaw Centre

Singapore 228208

Telephone: 67332225

[Note: Closed on Sundays and certain public holidays. Damages begin at S$48 +++ per person and upwards for lunch and at S$105 +++ per person and above for dinner.]

Richard Tan Ming Kirk

Shook Lin & Bok