Thomson is where it’s at these days, and unlike Bukit Timah which has been gutted by MRT and condominium construction, the area around Cotton Bleu has kept its village atmosphere—it’s a place where trendy new cafés co-exist with long-standing shops, pubs and eateries. Our first impression was that Cotton Bleu seemed to have a bit of a European Union identity crisis; its décor is Greek Mediterranean meets Parisian bistro, its food is classic French with a selection of tapas, and it serves Belgian beers. We settled on their three-course meal ($44), where you get to pick an entrée, a main and a dessert, and added on a plate of anchovy wings ($10) from the tapas selection. To open, we had skewered scallops, and a plate of escargot. The scallops were juicy and plus-sized and we liked that they used sprigs of rosemary as skewers. The escargot was what you’d expect, slathered in butter and garlic, and they come shelled for your convenience. The anchovy wings were a little disappointing—small and with a too subtle flavor. For mains, we had the salmon carbonnade pasta and the pork fillet in prune sauce. The salmon was great, plenty of chunky pieces swimming in a tasty, clear sauce of onion and beer. The pork came in tender slices in a rich, comforting stew. Finally, desserts, which the French excel at, but which were hit and miss at Cotton Bleu. The banana turons were interesting and somewhat familiar, very much the goreng pisang of the Western world, served with vanilla ice-cream and fresh blueberries. The profiterole, however, was just an ordinary cream puff with chocolate ice-cream inside. Cotton Bleu might not pack a hefty “oomph” factor and it is a little on the pricy side for its category, but this family-owned eatery has decent enough food to warrant at least one trek out to Thomson.
Small plates, big taste. Check out our list of best Spanish restaurants in Singapore.
