Absinthe Restaurant @ Bukit Pasoh Rd Singapore

Recently I unexpectedly met a young gentleman in the republic whom has a passion for champagnes and wines. Also during this time, we've been "whatsapp-ing" each other and sending pictures of bottles after bottles that we were drinking. And so when I was in Singapore recently, we met up and have dinner at a French restaurant called Absinthe, located on Bukit Pasoh Rd at the end of a quiet corner street.

There's nothing pretentious about this restaurant. It's small but cosy and the best feature of the restaurant is actually the "la fée verte" ("green fairy" in French). The staff is all out to charm you especially when it comes to Mr. Philippe Pau, the GM and also the co-owner of this place. He exerts a bubly charm, with funny antics up his sleeves and an unforgettable personality. It was also a pleasure to meet the chef, Mr. Francois Mermilliod whom was kind enough to come out and say hi to me. Vincent, the sommelier is also another charming guy whom showed me a bottle that I should be ordering the next time - a freaking 5 litre of Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2000! It's going to cost me an arm and a leg...

And since my dinning partner is a sommelier, I just leave the wine ordering to him. He chose a bottle of Prestige des Hautes Garrigues 2004 from Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas.

Just a little information about the appellation Gigondas : It is solely a red wine region with a small amount of rosé wine produced in the Southern Rhone wine region of France. Often called the little brother of Chateauneuf du Pape, with the lowest annual yield in France of only 36 hecto-litres per hectare, the association of noble varietals such as Grenache Noir, Syrah and Mourvèdre helps produce a very delicate palette of Gigondas wines.

I'm surprised with this "lesser" wines of the Rhone. While Gigondas may be a source of inexpensive alternatives to nearby Châteauneuf-du-Pape, this bottle here certainly exceeds the prices for many CDPs. Priced at SGD$140 a bottle, it's definitely more expensive than the bottle of CdP 2005 I had a at Oenotheque.

I love the rugged tanins, the chocolate notes and the great earthy spicy molten pepper and minerals on the palate.

"One of the top successes of the vintage is the 2004 Gigondas Les Hautes Garrigues Cuvee Prestige. Full-bodied with phenomenal intensity, an inky bluish purple color, and hints of asphalt, black truffle, blueberry, black cherry, and flowers with a hint of subtle oak, the wine has superb fruit, full body, and a beautiful, silky finish. It should drink well for 10-15 years. " Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: 94 points

As a starter, I ordered a soup but I couldn't make up my mind at first and instead asked Philippe to recommend. He did and the soup I had was a spicy tomato soup with hints of seafood and crab flavours. The interesting thing was it actually tasted like tom yam kung without the "fiery" factor. I think the chef did a good job with this soup!

My dining partner ordered a pan seared scallop served with a artichoke and Bearnaise sauce. The scallops were done perfectly without a slight hint of being overcooked. And did you know that the total antioxidant capacity of artichoke flower heads is one of the highest reported for vegetables?

And I had the French Duck Leg confit with Saladaise potatoes and rocket with Madiran Wing sauce. The duck leg meat was absolutely tender, flavourful and it requires no extra chewing unlike my favourite Peking duck! haha.... I love the dish.

My dining partner is having the grilled grain fed beef tenderloin, served with potato galette and bone marrow. OMG the bone marrow was so good. It's not called the "butter of the Gods" for nothing! The meat was tender and the beef didn't disappoint. Very rich dish indeed!

I think no one gets away without a dessert here in Absinthe. It's your choice of either the sinful Valrhona chocolate desserts, the tempting trolley full of matured French Farmed cheeses or a professional pour of Absinthe.

Selection of 6 cheeses for SGD$22

I don't know why but I happened to always skip the desserts unless there was something interesting that I want to try. I'm already having a full plate of Valrhona Guanaja chocolates in front of me throughout the whole dinner because I happened to give Philippe a box of Valrhona and he in return, gave us a plate of it! Ok, the cheese trolley was really tempting and what a surprise to see my favourite blue cheese on it. Actually I didn't want to have any of it but ended up taking the whole blue cheese off my partner's plate. Sorry!

Absinthe is really one of the restaurants that I'm impressed with in Singapore. I think it's perfect if you like a non-pretentious French restaurant with bubbly French faces and if you don't mind the friendly staff. There's even a wine room if you want to dine privately for 4-6 people. I did enjoyed myself that night and let's hope that I get to come back for more good food!

Absinthe
48 Bukit Pasoh Road
Singapore 089858
Tel:+(65) 6222 9068
Website

reservations@absinthe.sg

Opening Hours
Lunch : 12pm - 2:30pm (Mon - Fri)
Dinner : 6:30pm - 10:30pm (Mon - Sat)