Revisit: Black Sheep Cafe

I reviewed Black Sheep Cafe once before. It served rather good French inspired cuisine, at rather reasonable prices. The owner and chef, Ratha closed the cafe, went to work for another restaurant...found corporate life was not for him...and worked to rebuild the cafe. It re-opened recently at a curious place, in the basement of a condominium block.

My earlier review of the food, I thought, was rather positive, as I compared Ratha's duck confit to the best I have eaten in Paris (Chez Dumonet). I recently revisited Chez Dumonet, and it was still rather marvellous. And I also recently revisited Black Sheep Cafe...

The place is situated in the basement of a private apartment block in the Sin Ming area...the basement floors were designated for shops, and Black Sheep Cafe was at B1.

The rather quaint decor, almost bare lik a canteen, but the characteristic paintings of a black sheep adorn the wall.

Chef and owner Ratha and his wife, almost in silhouette flanking the famous Black Sheep painting.

Warm bread, I suspect possibly made in house...I forget to ask Ratha...was delicious. Very nice, with a pot of butter.

I had the confit du canard...as usual, to gauge if it was still good

First impression is that this is a rather small duck. The leg was more the size of a medium chicken than a duck. The outer surface was to have been crisp, but it was not quite. It had a crispy texture, but the skin of the duck was still rather greasy, and not rendered crisp like the one in Chez Dumonet. But still, the taste was excellent, the meat was ungreasy, tender, and fell apart on probing with a fork...as it should be for a proper confit. The apple rosti was nice as a contrast to the fat infused duck leg, and a small serving of salad adorns the side.

Edward had the coq au vin

A bit unusual, as I had expected this to be served on a casserole. But I think it was cooked in a casserole, and dished out on a plate. The serving was somewhat larger than the duck. Nice flavours, tender meat. Good dish.

Kin ordered the crispy pork cheeks

This was rather good. I would have preferred a slightly more crisp outer for the pork cheek. And a little less fat on the meat. But it tasted quite marvellous. Beautiful texture, melt in the mouth quality. Very nice flavours. The orange sauce was a nice touch, providing some acidity to cut the heaviness of the pork. Very nice dish.

We ordered one soufle to be shared

Quite possibly the best soufle in Singapore. No comparison to Chez Dumonet's soufle, but for Singapore, probaly as good as it gets. Very nice, light texture, with the characteristic membrane like skin over. Tastewise, beautiful aroma of egg whites, and a little Grand Marnier. The hot soufle with the chocolate ice cream was excellent.

I chatted with Ratha after the meal...he lamented the labour situation of F&B outlets, and was eager to hear feedback on his cooking. Great fellow. Good cooking.

Black Sheep Cafe
Thomson V, B1-30
11 Sin Ming Rd

Gastronomy in Paris: revisit Chez Dumonet for killer Duck Confit

I took the opportunity to revisit some of my favourites in Paris...Chez Dumonet is one of my absolute favourites. In my books, best confit du canard in the world..

I wrote a glowing review the last time I visited...click here for earlier review.

Time time round, we arrived for lunch, sans reservation. It was a rainy day in Paris...and we sauntered over after some light shopping at Au Bon Marche, which is a short walk away.

So is the confit du canard still good?

Absolutely. The duck skin still earth shatteringly crisp. The meat within, still moist, delicious. Maybe my diet is a little different this time, so I am used to leaner food...but although I found the confit to be magnificently satisfying, I felt that it was a bit greasy....no surprise, as the method of making a confit is to immerse the entire duck leg in a pot of duck fat, cook it over low heat, seal the pot, and leave till needed. This was one method of food preservation before the days of prevalent refrigeration. When needed, the duck is removed from the fat, and fried till the skin is crisp.

And so was the soufle...still the best Grand Marnier soufle I have eaten.

Light elastic skin. Smooth, moist, delicious inside. Magnificent.

Service was a bit spotty, but the waiters were cheerful and spoke English. Which in Paris, well lets just say having waiters who are not grumpy certainly makes a nice day. And the food, divine. Certainly worthy a trip over to Chez Dumonet if you are in Paris.

Josephine aka Chez Dumonet
117, rue du Cherche-Midi, 6th (Metro : Duroc)
T : 01.45.48.52.40
Closed Sundays and Mondays

Lunch spot: Culina Bistro

Culina is one of the interesting gourmet grocers which sprung up in Singapore recently. But Culina is different...for oen its much older. And for another it also offers a very nice kitchen/bistro.

I began being a customer not long after its founding in 1994, back then it was one of the few sources of extra virgin olive oil sold in 4 liter containers, that I used for most of our home cooking. But this article is about their bistro...tucked in the beautiful and lazy hills of Dempsey, along my usual cycling route to the city, it is a haven for many.

For this post, I feature their steak sandwich...

Part of their all day dining menu, it is known as the Grilled 1824 Tenderloin Steak Sandwich. Served with beautiful caramelised onion, tomato, gratinated comte cheese and a mixed salad, it is a rather wholesome meal on itself.

The star of course was the steak. Tender, done perfectly...with a touch of pink perhaps 75% inside, the outer 25% cooked grey with a tinge of charcoal on the outermost. Delicious. Truly a very good steak sandwich. At $26 a pop, not a bad price either.

My lunch companion had the Castaing duck leg confit with parsnip puree, pear, endive, walnut and veal jus.

I did not sample it, but the serving was generous...this was the leg of a rather fat duck...the skin looked crispy, and the insides, when he cut it open looked moist. As he ate, he mumbled words of appreciation which made me want to return soon to sample it.

Nice lunch location, though weekends can get rather crowded. But on a weekday lunch, it was relaxed, cool with good food.

Culina Bistro
Blk 8, Dempsey Road
#01-13 Dempsey Hill

6474 7338

Daily 11am to 1030pm