Saint Pierre, Singapore

Saint Pierre has recently closed its doors at Central Mall but like they say, when one door shuts, another opens.

Chef Emmanuel Stroobant, along with his very capable team has reopened last Wednesday at the Quayside Isle in Sentosa and I had the privilege of visiting them during the weekend. If you've never been to QI in Sentosa, picture this. A dazzling amount of yachts, stretched over the waters with gorgeous (multi million dollar) houses and condos in the background. Just for awhile, you could escape to what feels like Australia. 

A dining experience at the new Saint Pierre gets you all this and dare I say it's prettier during the day than the night! 

So we were there for Saturday brunch...surprisingly the place was quite empty, perhaps only because it's been opened for 4 days. 

 Homemade Assorted Breads ($15)

Absolutely famished, we ordered a "bread basket" which literally came in a basket. We were given a croissant, a pains au chocolat (chocolate croissant) and some bread. Served with homemade jam and farmed butter. This was nothing to shout about. Croissants were buttery and good, just not great. Unfortunately the butter wasn't salted...a sprinkling or a little pile of salt would have been greatly appreciated.

 Eggs Benedict ($24)

The simplest things are the hardest to get right, right? (; And so I ordered the Eggs Benny, which was probably the most expensive item on their brunch menu, if you don't count the cheese platter. 2 slices of perfectly toasted brioche, 2 perfectly poached eggs, shavings of melt in your mouth not overly salty iberico bellota ham, and....champagne hollandaise.

Now, the hollandaise. I couldn't quite decide if I liked the hollandaise sauce. It was velvety, rich, buttery and thick - with the texture of stiff whipped cream. Perhaps a little too thick? Yet as I sit here tonight typing this post, perhaps it was best described as thick yet airy, and the acidity from the champagne cut through it just nice. Love hate relationship, really.

 Beef Parmentier ($18)

If you're thinking about the generous shavings of truffles in this dish for the $18 you pay, I need to stop you there. We had a little hiccup with this dish. My dining companion found a strand of hair in it (thick and curly, just incase you wanted to know), and they so very kindly replaced the dish and took the liberty of taking it off our bill. What was supposed to be a brunoise of truffles came back as large shavings of truffles. It was a lovely gesture and the waiter was very apologetic! The second time, we found a little piece of plastic in it but we decided to let it go and didn't want to be painful customers!

Waffles ($18)

I would return to eat this. Any day! Crispy sides, fluffy in the middle, topped with apple compote and foie gras mousse. Apple and foie gras? Classic. Put it on a perfectly cooked waffle? Heaven. My only gripe is that the table next to us had micro herbs on hers and ours didn't. Perhaps she was a popular blogger and we weren't. But still. We eat with our eyes first! 

Goats Cheese ($16)

When the waiter heard that we were going to share this, he very thoughtfully arranged for it to be plated individually. This is half a serving. Crisp, buttery arlette, topped with goats cheese, drizzled with chestnut tree honey and a sprinkling of pine nuts. I could eat this and die happily...everyday. I mean, think about it. Sweet and sour, sweet and spicy, sweet and nutty, sweet and creamy...why wouldn't this work? Buy a bottle of good quality varietal honey like lavender or infuse a plain one with herbs and drizzle it over cheese and suddenly the day becomes so much better. $16 though, for two portions of this seems ridiculous, would have been justified with the addition of a few slices of figs or pear. Just saying. 

A note worth mentioning is that you could opt for a set brunch menu for $38 which include a choice of fresh juices, some assorted bread, a main, and a coffee/tea of your choice. 

So will I return? Definitely. Word is that they serve an excellent semi-buffet Sunday roast for $68 per person. I had the privilege of meeting Chef Stroobant himself and the when he spoke about the menu you could tell he was oozing with passion and sincerity about his food. Nothing pretentious, just pure heartiness. 

It's also been a while since I came across such level of hospitality and service when dining out. There were 2 waiters that afternoon, Kelvin and another whom we didn't get the name of. They didn't rush us when ordering, but made sure that we weren't forgotten, quick on their toes, and very thoughtful throughout our entire brunch experience. 

Saint Pierre Singapore 

31 Ocean Way, #01-15 Quayside Isle

+65 64380887