Pardon My French

Some ang moh came and created a stir in our food scene. Michelin Star, Michelin Bib Gourmand, this and that. Frankly, what do ang moh know our our food scene and culture just after being here for a while? Many of us were here at the beginning when our hawker and street food evolved. When every hawker created every ingredients from scratch. 

How many of you are aware that Michelin are first and foremost tyre makers? Michelin makes the finest tyres since days of old and are of course famous even in the race circuits. My dad was a fan of Michelin tyres and back then his cars were always fitted with Michelin tyres. I was a fan too. They cost more than other tyres even for their lower range. Michelin tyres are made from softer quality rubber and are reputed to stop more effectively when you apply the brakes. They are also more sensitive when in usage and those of you who often scrap the curb need beware as the side walls are very sensitive to damage when you graze or hit the curb.

In old days France, everyone uses Michelin tyres and in order to sell more tyres it was their strategy to get people driving around and looking for good food and the Michelin Star for restaurants was born. Well, I have great respect for some ang moh food like French and Italian but for our local food fare? When I first patronised Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle at Hill Street there was just a normal queue of say five people and when the relocated to Marina Square the queue was like ten. When they finally settled at Crawford, you probably have to wait a minimum of half an hour and now with that Michelin thingy, the whole Singapore descended on it and the queue now stretched to one and a half hour. But why no Michelin Char Kway Teow or Mee Rebus or Roti Prata? Is Tian Tian the best chicken rice? We have many good chicken rice all over the island.

I don't know about you but I like making my own discoveries. The best Char Kway Teow I ever knew was the old man at my old Toa Payoh neighbourhood home where he meticulously prepared every ingredient and whipped the champion dish. Everyone in the neighbourhood or those who came visiting tried and confirmed it to be the best. But there was no such long queue. People were poor so we do not travel all over just to eat. You had better not to take it for granted the kind of life you enjoy today where you travel just to catch Pokemon. 

Anyway Michelin or not, pardon my French. Yes, I heard of this place called 'Pardon My French' and so I same to give it a check. I like to always look out for original stuffs. Don't you think it is an overkill when these days what everyone can think of are all things salted egg? Salted egg crab, squid, prawn, puffs, croissant, carbonara, etc. Salted egg this salted egg that, salted egg everything.

The smallish restaurant is located at Icon Village. It is unpretentious with a straight forward menu. Standard fare like Duck Confit, Poulet, Fish and Beef plus pasta are all there. 

I ordered Poulet. It tasted home cooked and was good.

A friend had mushroom with his pasta.

He cleaned it up but then said to the chef that the sausages are salty. I told him his complaint or feedback was invalid. Sausages are supposed to be made that way. 

Prices are reasonable for such food. Most unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to try a wider spread of their fare. I am certain they have more good stuff for me to explore including their desserts.

Here are yours truly with the brother/sister/owners/chefs who are both so passionate about their food and they spoke so fondly of their love for cooking and serving their versions of French food to their customers. 

They were both so hands on preparing all meals in the kitchen for their customers. Like I said the last time, owner/chefs can't go wrong. Everyone should give this place a try! Oh yes, they have beer too. Now waiting for people to 'jio' me.