Returning to Singapore after my overseas work stint was a great relief for me. It was hard being away from family and friends, especially when I couldn’t make any short trips back during the last 1.5 of my 2 years due to COVID-19. And as much as there’s still many restaurants I had not ticked off my to-try list in Australia, I was keen to start on my fast growing to-try list in Singapore. One could say it’s also because Singapore is where my heart ultimately belongs to. :)

Since returning in mid July 2021, I had been lucky with my reservations. And I am very thankful because I heard it’s hard to obtain bookings at the more popular restaurants. Especially Japanese restaurants which offered omakase menus. Although I think it helped that I was making reservation for myself. I know right… Didn’t think I would still be dining solo after returning, but most of my friends had tried most of the restaurants I was keen to go to. And several times at it too.

However luck had it that I found a fellow foodie who was keen on trying Fleurette. Yeah! And thus, reservation was made through the restaurant website with almost 1.5 months advanced notice for counter seats.

Located at Rangoon Road, the nearest MRT station to Fleurette was Novena or Farrer Park. But the distance from either stations to the restaurant ain’t quite walkable. One would still need to take the bus before embarking on an additional 5 to 10 minutes walk. Me? I took the taxi. Ha!

As I neared the restaurant, I saw a staff waiting at the entrance in anticipation of arriving diners. And after checking my reservation detail, he led me to the dining space while thanking me for my past purchase of their madeleines. I was surprised. I had supported Fleurette by ordering the madelelines almost 2 months back (for delivery to a friend), but I didn’t think they would connect it to my dinner reservation. So that was a nice personal touch. And I fell in love with the space. Being the first to reach, I couldn’t help but initiate conversation with the waiting staff and gush about how lovely the space was. I liked how they softened up the interior with (preserved) flowers and accentuated the texture of the walls through clever use of lights.

There’s no physical menu at Fleurette. In fact, when one is making the reservation, it’s indicated that the tasting menu for dinner is priced at $228 and is changed monthly. And the meal do not require everyone to fully arrive at the counter before starting. So once my friend arrived, we commenced our dinner tasting menu, $228 with:-

1) Dish #1 (above) – Sea bream with coriander and jalapeño sauce, and bonito with bell pepper and leek sauce. We were told to start with the sea bream first. With 2 slices served for each of the 2 appetisers, these were lovely. The sea bream was light on the palette, while the bonito was heavier cause of its smokiness.

2) Dish #2 (above) – Sweet prawn (awaebi), avocado and heirloom tomatoes tart.

  

3) Dish #3 (above) – Salt water sea urchin (ensui uni), salmon roe, oyster, mussel, medium fatty tuna (chutoro) and vinegar jelly.

4) Dish #4 (above) – Grilled arctic surf clam (hokkigai) and gingko nut in dashi broth. This unfortunately smelled good but taste did not match up to the aroma. The gingko nut also had a weird texture. I was expecting it to be sweet and squishy, but it was bitter and its core had a honeycomb texture (ie, non solid).

5) Dish #5 (above) – Steamed egg (chawanmushi) made with shiitake mushrooms, and topped off with 2 drops of matsutake mushroom oil and shaved truffle. So while the chawanmushi was silky (as what I would expect from a restaurant of Fleurette’s calibre), my friend thought the truffle did little for the overall taste. I personally thought the truffle introduced a slight nutty depth to complement the mushroom flavour such that it was a very earthy dish. But I wouldn’t say this dish impressed.

6) Dish #6 (above) – Langoustine served with parsley and assam sauces. This was not too bad. I liked it.

  

7) Dish #7 (above) – Abalone from Jeju Island (Korea) served in a sizzling hot stone bowl, and accompanied with focaccia. The waiting staff went round to ask if we wanted seconds of the bread. And me being a huge bread lover, I was given 2 more pieces even before I started on my first. Oops, greedy me strike again. But sadly, the bread was a tad oily and didn’t quite go well with the abalone liver sauce. Uh huh, I used the bread to wipe clean my bowl. And one should not underestimate how hot the stone bowl was. The sauce was bubbling away as we tucked in. So much so that the sauce that’s in contact with the stone bowl was burnt by the time I got to the bottom of my bowl. Puffed rice served on the abalone was burnt too. Pity.

  

  

8) Dish #8 (above) – Pork served in 2 ways; French-cut pork loin with thinly sliced matsutake mushroom, pumpkin and ginger flower, and pork cheek ragu with wild mushroom. This was beautiful! I especially enjoyed the pork loin. Served pink, it was tender with a great balance between meat and fats. And the use of the pickled ginger flower was clever!

9) Dish #9 (above) – Firefly squid (hotaru ika) claypot rice. Another dish which I thoroughly enjoyed. I especially liked the scorched rice bits for the additional firm and crunchy texture on top of the ‘popping’ from biting into the firefly squid. And note how I used the singular form – Firefly squid. It would have been nicer if we got more firefly squids in our portion. But that aside… My friend and I went for seconds. Keke.

10) Dish #10 (above) – Palette cleanser of cucumber sorbet with compressed cucumber in mint syrup and horseradish.

11) Dish #11 (above) – Hokkaido milk ice cream with snow salt and Spanish olive oil. And to be very honest, I wasn’t impressed. Don’t get me wrong. It was a great combination, but I expected more from Fleurette. A more… Complex dish? Maybe it’s a case of me being spoilt (since I tried a good number of restaurants), but this dessert really ain’t that hard to assemble on one’s own.

12) Dish #12 (above) – Fleurette’s signature Tahitian vanilla & honey madeleine. And it was nice I finally got to try the madeleine that I previously ordered as a surprise delivery for my friend. Although I hoped the madeleines sent then didn’t look like what’s presented to us. Again, I may be nit picking but I was taken aback to see our madeleines served as ‘broken’ shells. And I knew they could do better because they offered us seconds, and the second piece was perfect.

13) Dish #13 (above) – Warabi-mochi.

I enjoyed myself at Fleurette. But it really wasn’t entirely because of the food. Quite a big part was contributed by my company. Had I dined at Fleurette solo, I probably would have left the restaurant slightly disappointed. You see… Yes, service was good. And yes, there were dishes that were beautifully executed. But… I was left feeling mostly confused by the end of my meal.

It was evident the dishes were heavily influenced by Japanese cuisine. Actually… I ain’t sure if I could even use the word ‘influence’ because of dishes like the hotaru ika donabe or truffle chawanmushi which were Japanese dishes. Prior to dinner, I read from their website that chef-owner Tariq Helou was of Japanese, Chinese and Lebanese origins. So I arrived at the restaurant looking forward to fusion dishes, or a good mix of different cuisines. But what’s served were 70% Japanese dishes. And because majority of the dishes were Japanese dishes, I found myself putting on my ‘Japanese critic hat’… And the dishes missed the mark (to my standard) only because Fleurette really isn’t a full-fledged Japanese restaurant.

I also thought it was a little weird that they charged us for warm water. My stomach was feeling a little queasy in the afternoon, which was why I opted for warm water. So while the waiting staff mentioned upfront that it’s a one-time charge for still or sparkling, I was surprised to see a charge for warm water on the bill. Isn’t warm water just boiled tap water? Unless it was the still water that they boiled with… *Shrug*

Would I recommend Fleurette? Well… It’s not exactly bad to the extent where I would say “don’t bother”. Do still give them a try. I do empathise with them as they opened in the midst of the pandemic and went through the 2 full lockdowns. In fact, give head chef Tariq some time. Time for him to further develop his dishes and be able to showcase what’s uniquely him. I would really love to see more Chinese and Lebanese influences in his dishes.

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