Serene Centre used to mean just one thing to me - Island Creamery ice cream. After last night, it now includes affordable French food!
La Petite Cuisine is a casual, family-friendly French joint at Serene Centre that's pretty hard to miss if you follow your nose. (but seriously, the ventilation is pretty horrendous. Long-haired ladies take heed!)
I've been meaning to try this place out for the longest time, but only got around to it yesterday. Anyways, here goes:
The staff recommended the duck confit, which I had, while she had the salmon filet.
Duck confit - $15
Filet of Salmon with spinach - $14According to her, the salmon was seared really, really well. She remarked that the cook somehow made spinach taste good, something I'm sure parents with finicky kids will appreciate. (Don't know what happens to the vitamins/minerals in the process though)
Again, the reduced cream sauce with bits of spinach and lemon accents went beautifully with the fish.
Dessert-wise, we opted to have the upside-down apple tart. You should know, however, that it takes a good 20 mins from the time you order, before it arrives at your table.
Again, the reduced cream sauce with bits of spinach and lemon accents went beautifully with the fish.
Dessert-wise, we opted to have the upside-down apple tart. You should know, however, that it takes a good 20 mins from the time you order, before it arrives at your table.
Upside-down apple tart - $6Although I maintain that serving pastry straight from the over is never really fair (the puff/tart/cake needs to sit at least for a few minutes as it keeps cooking) as you don't get the full flavour or "done-ness" for want of a better word, it's always impressive to see your food arrive "piping hot" - which was the case with the tart.
Apples are naturally tangy, almost sharp, when they're cooked without copious amounts of sugar. That's why bakers always add a layer of glaze to your apple pie, or soak the fruit in syrup before baking.
In this case, the chef opted to use the apples more or less au natural, with a dash of icing sugar on the top and something similar to evaporated milk on the side, finished with a reduction of applesauce.
If you're used to how Americans serve their apple pie - with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream - you probably would find it a little too tangy for your liking. Though if you're in the mood for something a little (and I mean just a little) healthier, this is a pretty good choice.
On the whole, this hole-in-the-wall-turned-proper-al-fresco serves up pretty decent French cuisine in tiny portions, at cheap prices. It costs probably 30 - 40% less than what other French restaurants do here, but then most other French restaurants do not ask you to fetch your own drinking water; so you decide.
I liked the somewhat schizophrenic ambience of LPC; family-friendly with crayons and boardgames exist next to al-fresco tables for dating couples.
But that is what makes this place irresistable.
La Petite Cuisine
Serene Centre
Taste: 7.5/10
Value: 9/10 (oh, btw, it's important to note that the portions, like the name suggest, are pretty small. So you may want to get an entree to share in addition to the mains/dessert)
Ambience: 8/10
And....random food shot from Cedele's all-day breakfast! (What a fantastic idea, the all-day breakfast. No excuses for skipping those pancakes!)
Apples are naturally tangy, almost sharp, when they're cooked without copious amounts of sugar. That's why bakers always add a layer of glaze to your apple pie, or soak the fruit in syrup before baking.
In this case, the chef opted to use the apples more or less au natural, with a dash of icing sugar on the top and something similar to evaporated milk on the side, finished with a reduction of applesauce.
If you're used to how Americans serve their apple pie - with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream - you probably would find it a little too tangy for your liking. Though if you're in the mood for something a little (and I mean just a little) healthier, this is a pretty good choice.
On the whole, this hole-in-the-wall-turned-proper-al-fresco serves up pretty decent French cuisine in tiny portions, at cheap prices. It costs probably 30 - 40% less than what other French restaurants do here, but then most other French restaurants do not ask you to fetch your own drinking water; so you decide.
I liked the somewhat schizophrenic ambience of LPC; family-friendly with crayons and boardgames exist next to al-fresco tables for dating couples.
But that is what makes this place irresistable.
La Petite Cuisine
Serene Centre
Taste: 7.5/10
Value: 9/10 (oh, btw, it's important to note that the portions, like the name suggest, are pretty small. So you may want to get an entree to share in addition to the mains/dessert)
Ambience: 8/10
And....random food shot from Cedele's all-day breakfast! (What a fantastic idea, the all-day breakfast. No excuses for skipping those pancakes!)
Wild blueberry pancakes with bacon
1 comment:
i love cedele too. and the food seems healthy dont feel so guilty after that. anyway how are you?? havent spoken to you in ages.
amelia
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