I got to know about Petit Menu from seeing pictures of their deconstructed Blackforest on Instagram (Oh, the power of Instagram). Called the day before to make reservation, to arrive to an almost empty restaurant on a Wednesday night. There were 2 groups of diners.

And in all honesty, I would not have thought (of) checking this place out had I walked past it. The décor resembled that of a typical restaurant located at the hotel’s ground floor to cater to the needs of hotel guests. But! I am glad my friend and I came as the food exceeded all expectations.

Menu came in an unsuspecting piece of paper which gave no hints of the food which plating is befitting of a five-stars establishment!

And from the menu, my friend and I ordered:-

1) Tasting menu, $36 comprised of:-

(A) Lavender-scented pumpkin soup (above) – Part of the 4-courses tasting menu, soup was poured into the bowl in front of us. We polished everything off easily.

(B) Smoked duck salad (above) – Second dish of our tasting menu, the meat was tender and juicy. And they were pretty generous with the meat too. Very nicely done.

(C) Chicken confit (above) – The main for our $36 tasting menu, skin was crisp while meat was tender. Awesome! But I thought the greens on the sweet potato puree was slightly out of place.

(D) Blackforest (above) – Rounding up our 4-courses tasting menu with Belgian chocolate mousse, brandied cherries, hazelnut soil, caramel ice cream. Petit Menu joins Andre and Blu in offering dishes with edible soil. We loved the dessert, and I applaud the chef’s ingenuity of getting customers involved in pulling the dessert together; By ‘pouring’ the soil from the pot to the plate. A must try!

2) Mushroom risotto, $14 (above) – We ordered this in additional to the tasting menu. And it was perfect. A must try! The risotto was smooth and creamy, yet when we bit into the grains, there’s that little resistance like how a properly cooked risotto should be! We enjoyed the roasted mushroom broth vey much too.

3) Kaya Toast Mille Feuille, $7 (above) – Curious to know more, we ordered additional desserts. And my friend and I were not disappointed. We were left in awe of the presentation. We were seeing our traditional kaya toast and kopi-C in a different light! Yet another must try! Although I thought the greens were (again) redundant.

So yes, the dining experience was an awesome one! I say, Petit Menu is one restaurant to watch. We were treated to fine-dining standard of food, but at very affordable prices. As the saying goes “Do not judge a book by its cover”, I (also) say “Please do not judge the restaurant by its location”.

In fact, on my way home after dinner, I went to Instagram to look up more photographs and came across the profile of the man behind Petit Menu: Chef Nixon Low. Left a comment on one of his pictures, to which he replied! What he replied is not important. Rather, it’s the fact that he’s so approachable! I appreciate chefs who do not build a wall between themselves and their customers. Cause it shows that they are listening. =)