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Au Petit Salut – French Fine Dining at Dempsey

My hubby surprised me with a dinner treat at Au Petit Salut to celebrate our 7th year of knowing each other. Nestled in greenery along Harding Road at Dempsey, this house-like restaurant exudes a quiet charm that is a perfect contrast to the hustle and bustle of the city centre. Make your way down the steps – that’s where you see the entrance to the restaurant.
We were warmly welcomed and shown to our seats speedily. While we browsed through the menu, the attentive service staff had the napkins laid out on our laps and ensured we were served drinks while we discussed what to order. While doing so, I couldn’t help but took a picture of the lovely table setting.
I was thrilled as I tested the warmth of the bread rolls with my finger to make sure we were eating fresh warm rolls. Much to my delight, the exterior was pleasantly crispy while the interior was warm, moist and fluffy. Pairing with the butter, seriously, bread had never tasted so good ever!
Lobster bisque with lobster ravioli and tarragon
One of the best lobster bisques I had ever had. It was surprisingly lighter than I thought. The best part was that it didn’t taste fishy at all. It would be even better if lobster flesh was in it to give that extra crunch rather than having ravioli which I thought was a bit soggy.
Half dozen baked Burgundy snails with tomato and garlic butter
Simply to die for. The garlic butter was fragrant and we couldn’t help but pinched the bread rolls to wipe out the garlic butter sauce. The little morsels of snails were so tender and tasty, not at all chewy. This was something I could possibly order a few more helpings.
“Degustation de Canard”
Duck terrine, seared foie gras, homemade duck sausage, rillette and ravioli
(serves two)
Beautiful (aesthetically pleasing) combination but you’d have to like duck to like this platter. The only thing that we thoroughly enjoyed from this dish would have to be the foie gras.
Seared foie gras
For foie gras lovers, this would be a must try. For foie gras beginners, you’d probably fall in love with this. I wouldn’t say this was the best I had tried but definitely one of those that I would come back for. Truly amazing texture for this well seared piece.
Braised Kurobuta pork cheeks stuffed with bacon, served with
baby carrots and green asparagus, polenta and own jus
The hubby ordered this but it wasn’t quite what we expected. The cooking was done alright but the flavours of the pork and the polenta did not blend. It was a miss of East meets West.
 Crispy French duck leg confit served with green lentil and
brunoise of vegetables, mixed greens with walnut dressing
The portion was generous! The duck leg was crispy on the outside, moist and tender on the inside. Again, you have to like duck to like this dish because there was a slight gamey taste to it.
Crème Brulée infused with fresh Madagascar vanilla beans
When this was first served, I thought I couldn’t finish it as I was already feeling full from the earlier few courses. But the more I ate, the more I fell in love with this dessert. The caramel surface was sweet and crispy and definitely went very well with the custardy texture of the base. Best of all which I must really highlight, it wasn’t overly sweet and I didn’t feel sick from eating too much of it even though I finished the whole thing myself!
Warm melted 70% chocolate cake served with 64% dark
chocolat sorbet, red currant jam and pistachio nuts

What a sight to have melted chocolate oozing out of the fluffy cake just like a volcano eruption! Chocolate taste was rich but not overly sweet. My hubby loved this to bits! Our dinner certainly ended on a sweet note – an enjoyable dinner at approx. $210 for both (no wines ordered).

Au Petit Salut
40C Harding Road
Tel: 6475 1976
Opens: 11.30am to 2.30pm, 6.30pm to 10.30pm (Mon to Sat)

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