A boundary-pushing, global spin on French cuisine  

Claim to fame: Chef-owner Christophe Lerouy, who casually snagged a culinary award while helming another restaurant  

Reason to go: A veritable feast for the price of a song  

To look out for: The menu remains secret until the dishes land in front of you  

Anyone who is gaining momentum by reinventing traditional French cuisine is okay by us. Chef Christophe Lerouy, a quasi-rebel and Alsatian transplant, got his haute-hefty experience working under decorated chefs of old, including Guy Martin of Le Grand Véfour and the Pourcel brothers of Le Jardin des Sens, yet his is a very unique brand of Grande Cuisine.  

The unusually quiet chef prefers to let his “petit” and “grand” carte blanche-menus do the talking. Christophe’s most unique pairing of ingredients and flavors yet arrive by way of his signature, a hunk of egg yolk-embedded, salt-baked cabbage layered over with lardo and finished with a dazzling green, ambrosial drizzle of blitzed anchovies, parsley, garlic and brown butter, flanked by refreshing dollops of lime gel. His shy charm offensive may continue with an unusual take on the popular cured fish dish of ceviche––sliced Patagonian toothfish cured in lime, tomato water and herbs, torched and served with sea grapes and capsicum sauce in the warmed curing broth of the fish. On a warm winter’s night in Singapore, Christophe digs deep into his heirloom recipe book for a thick, rich and hearty dish that he grew up with––burnt bread soup laced with soy sauce for a local slant, served with slow-cooked egg yolk, foie gras cubes, Iberico ham jelly and corn croutons. It’s the sort of dish that will make grown men mist up just thinking of mama’s cooking.  

Lerouy offers only 26 counter-style seats, all facing the open kitchen, in a conservation shop house on Stanley Street. While wine pairing is not available, it has a short and sweet, albeit not terribly exciting, wine list with only 10 labels of mostly French labels available at any one time. If you prefer to imbibe by the glass, there are three sparkling options and two each for red and white. Given the casual over-counter setting, service is prompt and professional.