French cuisine is widely hailed as an expensive affair in Singapore. If you want something good and affordable without breaking the bank, Garçons should be on your bucket list.
If you are wondering what Garçons means… Garçons translates to ‘Boys’ in English. Opened by Chef Enoch and Immanuel who had experienced in French dining restaurants, they wanted to create a platform for youth-at-risk to aid them in their culinary journey.
Both Enoch and Immanuel met each other at Restaurant Andre. Back then, they were still boys. But dreams become aspirations, and aspirations become reality. Garçons is their brainchild, born with the heart to give back to society. They take in youth-at-risks regardless of their experiences and give them a new hope in life.
Located inside Essen at The Pinnacle, it was a ten minutes walk from Outram Park MRT Station to our destination. The place is like a hipster hawker centre with air-con, a large beer stall and the rest that are selling not-your-average local food.
The seating area is good for big groups given the long tables. At night, it is also nice to chill at the seats outside with some beers and bar grubs. We arrived at 2PM on a weekday and there was still a crowd.
We had two of their signature appetisers to start with.
The Charcuterie Platter ($14.90) consists of their home-made duck rillette and duck sausage. I particularly enjoyed the duck sausage which came in three round pieces of minced duck meat with chunks of duck gizzard. The texture was soft, moist and fell apart rather easily. It is best to spread some of it onto the toasted French baguette served on the side. For the price, it is worth getting a plate of this to share.
We decided to try the Black Miso Foie Gras ($16.90), something adventurous and a twist from the usual foie gras normally served in a French restaurant. The pan fried foie gras was seasoned in Black Miso and furikake crust which made it sweeter with a slightly smokey taste. The combination went well together and it was quite enjoyable.
As for the mains, the Cispy 12-hour Belly of Pork ($16.90) was my favourite out of the other dishes. The portion was generous with five thick slices of roasted pork, served with honey balsamic glaze and mashed potato. We agreed that the potato mash could be smoother but the pork belly was the one that stole the limelight.
Chef Immanuel revealed that the pork belly was firstly cooked in pork fat until it was moist and tender. The the skin is burst and roasted at 270 degree Celsius to make it crunchy without affecting the texture of the meat.
As for the French Duck Leg Confit ($16.90), the duck leg was cooked in duck fat and then pan fried for a crispy skin. I loved the skin for its thin crisp and melt-in-the-mouth fats underneath it.
Besides all these dishes, there are also other food worth a try such as the BBQ Pork Ribs ($16.90), Oxtail Stew ($19.20) or get the Carnivore Platter ($24.50) which consists of pork belly, chicken and three types of sausages to have a taste of everything.
Garçons is definitely an underrated eatery that everyone should know about. Where else can you get such restaurant-standard food in a hawker? For the amount I am paying, I would gladly have it with some beer to go along!
Expected Damage: $20 per pax
