Author: Alex Chua
There’s nothing sassier than a homely, nicely-wrapped crepes, the French affair not to be missed!
With a love for French food and with good business acumen, Le Cordon Bleu-trained owner and Executive Chef Daphane Loke opened SAYBONS, a restaurant that serves affordable French food 10 years ago. Now, the brand has expanded to 3 eateries, housed at Plaza Singapura, Junction 8, and OUE Downtown.
The recent revamp has included a refreshed logo, new store interiors, and vibrant product packaging to showcase a style that is reflective of a modern, chic French eateries. The eateries now possess a cosy and relaxing ambience that is conducive for guests to dine in and unwind!
Apart from SAYBONS intimate environment, its new and upsized menu is likely to entice you to come back repeatedly. Like the 10 Years in Shots ($10), Chef Daphne cleverly serves up soup shots to customers to experience the taste of SAYBONS over the years. I would give 100% for its creative presentation to the otherwise plain soup-in-the-bowl. The ten soups featured are Watercress Chicken, Red Capsicum, Cauliflower, Carrot Coriander, Golden Pumpkin, Potato Leek, Broccoli Cheddar, Tomato, Seafood Bisque and Wild Mushroom.
The Escargot Gratin with 3 Cheeses ($11) is surprisingly good. Served as an appetiser or snack, the six plump escargots are well-seasoned, rich, buttery and flavourful. Blue, Gruyere and Gouda cheeses lends a different taste profile to the escargot, and giving it a nice gooey texture as well.
The new SAYBONS menu features a selection of 5 risottos. The heartiest of the 5 is the Curried Pumpkin Risotto ($12.90). This al dente risotto features a natural pumpkin broth with a hint of curry powder to lift the flavour of this humble vegetable. It is well-spiced up enough and had some texture and bite, which fits just right for my palate.
Next is my personal favourite, the French Galettes. With a total of 6 French Galettes to choose from, ranging from the Cajun Croque Chicken Madame Galette ($14.90) to Grass-fed Sirloin Steak Galette ($17.90+), you would be spoiled for choices on which to choose from. As for me, I zoomed in straight to their popular Norwegian Salmon Aurora Galette ($14.90), which features succulent smoked Norwegian salmon and quenelles of cooked salmon with mayonnaise. Coupled with a robust galette and selected greens, it is simply a matchmake in heaven!
You might wonder what’s the difference between a galette and a crepe. A galette uses a mixture of buckwheat and wheat flour, unlike just the wheat flour used in crepe, this provides a denser texture and nuttier nuance to the galette.
For the 10th anniversary special, Chef Daphane creates a dessert that truly encapsulates and celebrates its French-inspired cuisines properly – Rum & Raisin Flambeed Crepe ($9). Soaked in Myer’s Rum for 18 days straight, the golden raisins are wrapped together with generous slices of banana and toasted slivers of almonds. Topped with a smooth vanilla ice cream, just one spoonful would sway you to the charm of this cosy, unpretentious French eatery.
SAYBONS – C’est Si Bon
SAYBONS OUE Downtown
6 Shenton Way, #01-24, Singapore 068809
Operating Hours: Mon-Fri 8.30am to 5pm, closed on weekends and public holidays
Website: www.saybons.com
SAYBONS Spices up its Menu and Outlets as it turns 10!
