My dad was driving down to S'pore for the long weekend* so we had dinner together on Sat night. It's always good to have dinner with my dad, because he's a major foodie, and he loves to try new places. My sister and I normally reserve the more pricey establishments for when he comes down, so we don't have to pay hehe.
This time, we decided to try Maison de Fontaine, in a bungalow along Scotts Road. French food in a nice colonial bungalow, plus they had a fairly good review, can't go wrong right? We didn't call to make a reservation and decide to chance it by walking in. We arrived to a practically empty restaurant, and were told that the entire place was fully booked and the only table they could offer us was outside on the veranda. It was a nice cool night, so we didn't mind.
The first sign that things were not quite right was when the waiter came out to set the table while we were going through the menus. Instead of setting the bread plates and cutlery nicely by our sides, he plonked them down in a messy pile on one end of the table and walked off. Now, if that were to happen at a normal cafe, that wouldn't really bother me, but when you're a fine-dining establishment who charges at least $28 for a mains, then you'd better darn have some fine-dining service to match. But to give the waiters their due, they were always very polite and attentive, just not quite polished.
Overall verdict of the food: too salty (you have to say it Zhang Ziyi style). From the complimentary starters of little salad we got in Chinese soup spoons, to my sister's duck confit and my bay prawns, everything just made me want to gulp lots of water down. And as for my father's tenderloin, he got a well-done steak when he asked for it to be medium. He sent it back to the kitchen, after all, if you're paying $40 for steak, it had better be done right. The captain came back with the same steak sliced in half and said, "The chef cut your steak in half to show you that it's red inside and that he doesn't think it is overdone. However, just to please you, he's doing another one again." I could imagine the chef throwing a prima donna fit about how plebs did not appreciate his art. I dunno lor, what happened to the customer is always right? We were not impressed. Oh, and I forgot to add that the food took a reeeeally time to arrive. Looks like we're not going back there again.
To soothe our dissatisfied palates, we went to Halia for some dessert among the tall trees and chirping crickets. Muuuch better.
* My dad works in KL and comes back to visit about once every month.
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5 comments:
That restaurant deserves to be burned to the ground.
And I can't believe the captain was so f***ing brainless. Sure, he made his point about the steak, but what did he accomplish ? Three pissed off customers, one of whom has posted her bad experience on the Net for all and sundry.
Perhaps it's part of our Singaporean DNA, that we always have to be proven right. Etiquette and business sense be damned.
Well, I think it's a bit of an extreme to burn the restaurant down, after all it's such a pretty building! ;)
And as for the captain, you're right. She should have just held her tongue and said they were redoing the steak. But I think it was the chef who was being a wanker about everything.
The chef could have made a fuss, but if the captain had half a brain she would have made him think that she did correct your dad.
The first thing that popped into my mind was that the second steak would have "extra ingredients" added!
I have heard not so good reviews about Maison de Fontaine too. But yes, the setting is very pretty.
LMD: Yah, we were joking about 'extra ingredients' as we were waiting for his second steak to arrive.
Incidentally, that second steak also was too well done. Looks like the chef's skills cannot make it.
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