Lerouy (2020)
Chef Lerouy’s Michelin-starred restaurant serves up modern French cuisine from the heart and he likes to keep things intimate. The casual restaurant has only counter seating and it’s arranged like you’re in his own home. Dennis and I couldn’t find the place despite standing right in front of it though, due to its subtle signage! I only realised when I recognised their chick-footprint logo at one corner of the window. Haha!
Since there were four of us, we were seated at the inner end where the counter ended in a bulb-like shape, so it was easier for us to interact with each other. We could also watch as the crew prepared our meals since there was no separation of kitchen and dining. We started off with a red that Dennis brought and also ordered some champagne. Later on we added another bottle of red from the menu.
Appetisers
Foie gras with apple and smoked sardines (though I could’ve sworn I’d heard ‘wasabi and tuna’). It was really cute and green, and looked like something that’d be delicious. The overall texture was great and the base added a nice crunch to it.
Next was tuna tataki with romesco sauce and red miso. Liner and Dennis felt there was a strong curry flavour, which was interesting. The tuna was good, and there were little crunchy bits on top - I don’t know what they were but elevated the texture in my opinion.
Our next appetiser was a munster cheese ball with bacon and corn chip. It was as good as it sounds, like a profiterole filled with mild cheese with the lovely crunch of chip. I found it to be well-balanced in both texture and flavour.
The last installment of the prelude to our coursed meal was ‘liquid sauerkraut’ served in slim test tubes. Also, it was warm. Now, that’s a fresh way to serve up liquid foods. Something with pork broth and infused with sauerkraut. It tasted sour like in a sour plum kind of way, but it wasn’t as sweet. It was more savoury, like umami. Intriguing and I have to say it did whet my appetite for what was to come next, despite not knowing what it was.
This was about the same time they served us bread - with four butters! Sumac butter, smoked paprika butter, charcoal butter, and normal salted butter. I’ve experienced interesting bread accompaniments but none quite like these. The paprika butter was “fun” - Liner. I really liked the sumac butter.
First course
Australian spanner crab salad with caviar and crab jelly. I removed the vegetables but Liner and Dennis both felt the vegetables made it even better; that the vegetables were carefully chosen to go with the dish. The foam was light, the oil was nice and the crab meat was fresh and free from cartilage. It was a great start.
Second course
Spanish mackerel with ‘beef heart’ tomato and burrata, topped with a black olive chip. I don’t know what the orange stuff was. I ate it all together except for the tomato, but it was great anyway. I liked the black olive chip and its contrast to the softness of the mackerel, combined with the subtle cheesiness from the burrata.
Third course
Kunihiro oyster, beef tongue, girolle mushroom, and yuzukosho. Yuzukosho was the foamy sauce and it was actually pretty spicy, so mine was swapped out for duck tea instead. Liner’s oyster was swapped out for fish instead. This was probably one of my favourite dishes from the night. Dennis felt it was equally as awesome with the yuzukosho and the duck tea. The duck tea was good, I have to say.
Fourth course
Salt baked cabbage with parsley sauce, on a base of cheese. My parsley sauce was swapped out for egg yolk sauce. The cabbage remained since this was one of Chef Lerouy’s signature dishes. The little white translucent gel blobs were insanely sour. Nevermind that, the cabbage was actually really good! The cabbage had somewhat of a fish texture, too.
Fifth course
Spanish octopus with black garlic, carrot and butter milk (could’ve sworn I heard ‘turmeric’). Liner’s octopus was swapped out for short rib. The octopus was fresh and not rubbery in the least, and the sauce was heavily spiced. It was a good dish overall, though I did wish for a little more octopus hehe. Liner’s short rib was also delicious and super tender.
Sixth course
Before our dish came, we were presented with a set of knives. Like 12 knives to choose from. What’s the difference? Not the blades but the handles! Each handle was purely handmade and differed in both size and wood. We made our selections and awaited the main dish.
Te Mana lamb, with Jerusalem artichoke skin (like chips!), verjus (green juice from grapes) and hazelnut. It was perfect. Absolutely perfect. The lamb was juicy and tender, and went splendidly with the other elements of the dish. Can’t say if the knife was hella sharp or the lamb was hella tender, but my mouth said the lamb was really tender either way. It was during this dish that Chef Lerouy himself came over to say hi and check on how things were going. Excellent, Chef, excellent.
Dessert
Our dessert came in two parts. One was a tray of petit fours and the other was a dish of Japanese strawberry with fromage blanc (“white cheese”) and ginger. I liked the cream stuff and the strawberries. The green thing Liner surmised was mint. It was overall definitely a different taste.
The petit fours consisted of little Fruitips-like jellies that tasted like raspberry, some kind of blackforest tart, and yuzu canele. Sour, bitter, and soursweet!
Overall my experience here was great. The food was excellent, the service was great (never missed an opportunity to top up our water and wine), and the place was cosy. Although, while each dish was fabulous in its own right and I would eat it all again, there was no overarching story to the entire meal. We didn’t feel that there was cohesion between dishes. The tastes and textures didn’t fight but they also didn’t hold hands.
Food: 4.8/5
Ambiance: 3.9/5
Price: About $250+ per head
Service: 5/5
My experience: 4.6/5