After walking about 15 minutes from Little India NEL station, I finally reached a quaint boutique hotel Wanderlust, which houses the French restaurant Cocotte. Wanderlust is a designer boutique, with each of it's four floors designed by well-known local designers. My friend and I went for a tour after lunch, and was impressed by its design.
So, with that expectation, Cocotte delivers in creating a designer space of concrete-meet-wood-and-glass, which carved out a relaxing environment from the messiness outside along Dickson Road. It impressed my friend who felt she was transported into another world as she entered.
The table layout says it all. It's rustic countryside French cuisine, which is ironic because the price tag is higher than what you would call "rustic". The set lunch is a good deal, which I recommend. For two ladies, I'd suggest to share one set lunch and another main course from the ala carte menu. That was what we did and the amount of food was more than enough as we left feeling very full.
The complimentary bread basket came with three buns. I ate one before I took a photo. It was warm and crisp on the outside, and soft inside. I love the stick of salted butter than came with it. It promised good things to follow.
Pear Bleu D'Auvergne Salad
As part of the set, my friend chose the Pear Bleu D'Auvergne Salad served with arugula, lemon and hazelnut dressing. It was light and refreshing. Being a cheese lover, I found the cheese a wonderful accompaniment to the salad. The pear lends a sweet touch to the arugula's (or wild rocket) sharp aftertaste, and the nut (hazelnut?) gave a nice contrast to the texture.
Pan-seared Sea Bass
My friend's choice of main course under the set lunch menu. She enjoyed it tremendously and found the portion sufficient.
Daily Special: Pâté de Campagne
I got a terrine of pork and bacon, served with a delightful salad, bread basket (not featured but same as the complimentary bread basket) olives, cornichons and a mustard-like spread. I enjoyed the saltiness of the terrine on the bread, paired with olives, or cornichons, or with the spread - whatever the combination I felt like. Eaten alone, the pâté would be too salty, but with it's condiments and the bread, it provided a hands-on experience that was at home with it's designer environment. When my friend asked me how it was, my best summary was it tasted like "French luncheon meat". Haha...
Chocolate Souffle Cake
My friend and I stared at the two small pieces when it was presented to us. As a rough guide, the height of the cold chocolate cake (pictured left) is half the length of a fork's prong. We wondered if a souffle cake was meant to look like that as we thought it was a puffy cake. And the portion made us wonder if this was worth it.
Minute later, our doubts were cleared. The hot and cold duo was sinfully chocolately and rich. One small bite can bring you to chocolate heaven in an instant. Being full from our previous courses, we couldn't finish these two small cakes, but we both agreed that it was worth the try. I popped one of the halved brandied cherries and was surprised at the burst of brandy as I bite into the well-soaked fruit.
The set lunch alone cost close to $50 after taxes. Although a bit pricey, I felt it was worthwhile because of the food quality and portion, great ambience and extra-mile service. When my friend asked a waiter about the hotel, he initiated and arranged for us to visit the rooms. I was impressed.
Cocotte Restaurant
No. 2 Dickson Road (in Wanderlust)
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