CBD-level French Cuisine in Kovan @ alkove bistro, Singapore
Nestled within the gentile residential neighbourhood of Kovan is the excellent new French bistro alkove bistro.
French Onion Gratinee $12.99
The sweetness of the onions hits you straight away. You also get the richness of the beef (?) broth. With the delicious bread and warm cheese, I guess this is French comfort food at its best. Perfect for the tired body and soul and befits the cloudy day I came on.
Chicken Vin Blanc $27.90
Free range chicken leg, tarragon, maitake mushroom, egg pasta
The sauce on its own was ok—creamy and slightly garlicky. The chicken was amazing— the meat immediately felt off the bone, a testament to how long they have cooked it. The carrots were soft too, another indication they care and paid attention to details . The onions were amazing — with slightly char aroma and sweet. Overall, the dish is amazing.
Viu Manent Reserva Sauvignion Blanc
Add on wine for $8.50
Housepour wines are $14 at a la carte prices.
On its own, the Sauvignion Blanc was ok. The bouquet hits you. It was reasonably bright. It was an extremely capable pairing for the chicken. It cuts through the heaviness if the cream and pairs well with each of the component —- the chicken, onions and carrots.
Confit de Canard $22.90
Duck leg, risoni, duck jus, carrot
The duck confit was amazing! The skin is crispy and remains crispy even after it’s been left on the table for a long time. The flavour has completely permeated the meat. The meat is cut through easily and falls off the bone readily —- an indication it’s been cooked for a long time. The jus is really rich which is needed to give flavour to otherwise tasteless risoni. Even the carrots are soft. The attention to detail is amazing.
I think french food is very hard to get right. Many people try , for commercial or pretentious reasons. But 99% fail. The French food here is CBD level. The duck confit, especially, bests the French food in CBD.
This is also the duck confit that makes me understand why duck confit is invented. Cooked then deep fried to a crisp, the gameness of the duck meat is rationalised and leveraged into a delicious but not overly pretentious dish.
Viu Manent Reserva Cabernet Suavignon
Add on wine for $8.50
Housepour wines are $14 at a la carte prices
Bright reasonably bold and quite delicious to drink on its own. It did an ok job handling the duck confit. The wine could have been bolder to handle the gameness of the duck.
Babyccino $3.50
The babyccino is warm milk dusted with cocoa powder and mini marshmallows. Not the most delicious thing to drink. I miss caffeine but it was the practical solution for someone hyper-sensitive to caffeine like me. I don’t like sweet things so the mini marshmallows are the right sweet something to help me round off my meal.
The French cuisine here is worth travelling for.
alkove bistro
2 Kovan Rd, #01-10 Simon Plaza, Singapore 548008
Phone: 6858 5729
