Due to the over-priced French affair locally, indulgence for dishes, like foie gras and duck confit are indeed hard to come by, until the recent opening of Poulet and a personal discovery of Saveur. Nestled along Purvis Street in Bugis, Saveur is the brainchild of two young food enthusiasts, who has worked at top French restaurants, like Guy Savoy, Fifty Three and Tetsuya’s in Sydney. Their goal was never less than bringing good and affordable French cuisine to people from all walks of life. Being said that, be prepared to queue up if you are 5 minutes later than their opening hours.
Despite being a full-fledged French restaurant, most of their dishes are fusions between the former and a tint of the local Singaporean taste. Take for example, Saveur's rendition of Beef Bourguignon (S$13.90) was not the typical beef chunks, which one expected to be simmered in thick brown sauce and wine. Nevertheless, the beef slices were tender and juicy, with seasoning kept to the minimal. The dish is completed with scalloped potatoes and salad greens.
Most of the diners came specially just for their Duck Confit (S$10.90) - a combination of duck leg confit, home-made mashed potato, sautéed shitake mushroom and orange infused natural jus. For the price, this is probably the best duck confit one could get.
Having tried the benchmark-setter from casual French eatery - Poulet, every poulet that comes after, does not really come up to par. Saveur's rendition was slightly overcooked, resulting in a tough and dry texture of the chicken meat. Vegetables-wise, the incompatible flavours within itself, soaked in the creamy sauce was a complete mess. As told by the service staff, this dish was just recently introduced in the new menu. Looks like it needs more than just mere improvements.
Pan-seared Sea Bass (S$14.90), served with sauté potato, french beans and caper vinaigrette, had all the little hints of freshness infused in it. It was tender and juicy beneath a layer of nice, crisp skin. To top that, potatoes were simply fabulous, even my grandma who is wearing dentures finished it all up.
Besides a variety of main dishes, Saveur whips out interesting infusions, such as Mushroom Cuppuccino (S$3.90) and their signature Saveur pasta (S$4.90), angel hair pasta tossed through olive oil with slight spiciness and topped with sakura ebi, konbu and minced pork.
Most of the mains are priced reasonably around S$15, with a few exceptions going slightly over S$20. Besides the decent French affair with impressive presentations, services at Saveur were excellent, prompt and fuss-free. Just remember, come early or risk queuing like nobody's business.
Saveur
Tel: 6333 3121
Opening hours
Lunch: 12:00noon – 2:15pm
Dinner: 6:00pm – 9.15pm (Sunday 9:00pm)
5 Purvis St
Talib Court
#01-04
5 Purvis St
Talib Court
#01-04