IN an interesting twist to the old adage, it seems that familiarity breeds, well, more business for the folks at Au Petit Salut, who moved their popular French restaurant from its long-standing Chip Bee Gardens location to the Dempsey Road area last month while converting the original outlet to a more casual bistro that now serves as a better-than-decent culinary support base to the parent restaurant.
Regular customers barely blinked (Au Petit has been doing roaring business since it re-opened at its new location just over a month ago) while a new category of clientele - younger diners who had previously given the restaurant a miss - has discovered that Bistro Petit Salut serves as a pretty authentic lower-cost alternative to the main event.
Au Petit's executive chef Patrick Heuberger now runs the flagship restaurant in Harding Road without longtime sous chef Jason Wong, who has taken the helm at Bistro Petit Salut - and he hasn't missed a beat.
Wong, who joined the company in 1999 as a part-time baker, is a Shatec and Au Jardin alumnus who is obviously at ease and in his element in a French restaurant kitchen. The bistro has been given a low-key makeover to create a more informal atmosphere, while the menu is suitably comprehensive and even more user friendly than before - it is the kind of neighbourhood joint that wouldn't look out of place in Paris.
Owner Alice Ang sent Wong and his team over to Paris to scout the real thing during the restaurant renovations and the trip was an eye-opener for them, she says. 'I actually wanted to give the space up but after building up a reputation over nine years, it was a shame to leave,' says Ang. 'In the end, we were right to keep this place because even though 90 per cent of our regular customers have gone over to the new restaurant, we now have a new set of customers.'
She adds: 'We wanted to have the bistro for walk-ins and people who don't drive but surprise, surprise, it is now possible to find parking spaces around here.'
As for the food, several standard items from the previous menu have been retained such as bouillabaisse, onion soup and foie gras - but there are also other items that need no further translation, such as entrecote, canard confite and coq au vin. As a result, people who have dined here previously will feel a certain kinship, accompanied by a certain sense of discovery.
'Our aim is to sell both set lunch and set dinner,' says Ang. 'I want to offer a homey atmosphere, value for money and affordability for the younger working crowd.'
A three-course set lunch is priced at $22, compared to $25 for set lunch at Au Petit Salut. Diners can choose from a selection of six dishes in each category. Meanwhile, a three-course set dinner goes for $48 (compared to $85 for four courses at Au Petit).
It's a success story to savour. Bistro Petit Salut offers French comfort food that appeals to a large cross-section of people. A recent tasting session opened with a starter of oven-baked Portobello mushroom with mixed greens and melted goat cheese ($14). Then came a starter portion of sauteed frogs' legs ($20), about as traditional French as you can get, while the following dish - Hachis parmentier (mashed potato and mince beef pie, $18) - was every bit a bistro staple. Finally, a traditional smoked pork shank with braised lentils ($28) confirmed the authentic nature of the cuisine. The strawberry short cake ($10) that completed the meal was merely, well, icing on the cake.
BISTRO PETIT SALUT Blk 44 Jalan Merah Saga, #01-54.
Tel: 6474-9788.
Closed on Sundays
