A while back when I was in the Keong Saik Road area, I noticed that a restaurant I used to go to (and liked a lot) – Bistro Soori, was no longer around and replaced by Grignoter. It was not open for business yet, but what left an impression was the sign saying it’s by Chef Justin Quek. In my mind I was thinking “did he shift his restaurant Sky on 57 from MBS?”. Apparently not – Grignoter is a different concept which features a wine list entirely from Bordeaux while serving mainly French food and some of JQ’s signature dishes. I’ve never tried Sky on 57 before and this is my first time trying any of Chef JQ’s restaurants.
While looking for a place to have dinner, wine and cheese, this place seemed to be a good choice so here I am. It’s been a while since I’ve been to a proper restaurant in Singapore! These days I prefer to cook my own meals so there has been less motivation to go out and I kind of prefer to try restaurants when I’m abroad instead.
The interior was similar to Bistro Soori and still as lovely as always. If you come during the day there is plenty of natural light and I love that.
Baby Spinach Leaves, Lardon And Crispy Molten Egg – $12.00+
Lardon is like bacon, but better and the lardon worked magic on baby spinach. The whole salad was simple but the lardon and coarse salt added perfect flavour to the greens. Possibly my favourite item from the savoury stuff I’ve had tonight!
Grilled Holland White Asparagus – $19.00+
It’s white asparagus season once again. White asparagus is basically the same plant as green asparagus – but it is grown underground hence no chlorophyll is produced. Everyone at the restaurant seems to be ordering it tonight, from the number of portions being prepared (I was seated at the counter). It was grilled then torched before serving hence that slightly charred taste to it. Honestly I don’t really get the hype around white asparagus – good green asparagus is just as good to me! But I guess it’s all about the rarity of the white version that matters since it’s a seasonal vegetable.
Charcoal Grilled Eryngii Mushrooms with Butter and Natural Sea Salt – $7.00+
I love king oyster mushroom, and even more when it’s grilled, but this one would be better if it could be a little less chewy.
Iberico Pork Belly Buns – $10.00+
This item was from the specials menu. Yes the Iberico pork was fatty on it’s own and tender, but I feel that it doesn’t surpass the traditionally kong ba pao. Kong ba pao is all about that rich flavour from the braised meat. This one is obviously not that braised, as you can see from the colour. Of course I know this is not meant to be a replica of the old school kong ba pao, but just saying that this version of cooking the meat doesn’t go as well with these sweet buns compared to Chinese braised pork.
Charcoal Grilled Steak Frites – $29.00++
The cut of meat here is nothing fancy and neither does it have fancy marbling, but it was well grilled to a nice even medium rare. The real mustard sauce here sure added some points to it and it was a good steak frites overall. The steak frites seems to be a popular item too.
AOC Cheese Platter – $25.00+/100g
I am impressed with the selection of cheeses on my platter! I loved everything and that melba toast was good.
Chocolate Mint Soufflé – $18.00+
This flourless soufflé was a good size to share among 2 and it was made in front of my eyes. It was super light, as if I was eating dense foam. Great way to end this meal!
Dinner with wine (2 glasses) and cheese worked out to be $163.90. No extra GST was reflected on the receipt, just extra 10% for service charge. The service was polite, no hiccups at all so the service charge was well justified. It was a pleasant experience here and it’ll be a restaurant I would recommend! Since we didn’t have a bigger party, it wasn’t feasible to get wine by the bottle today, but from the white I had by the glass (yes I know I should be having red since it’s Bordeaux…) it was pretty good and I believe the wines here are well selected.
Ambiance: 7.5/10
Food: 7.5/10
Value: 7.5/10
Overall: Great place for wine, cheese and modern French bites.
Grignoter
2 Teck Lim Road
Singapore 088380
Tel: 64383802
Mon: 5pm-12am
Tue-Fri: 12pm-12am
Sat: 5pm-12am
Closed Sunday & PH
Hungry Bird 