Keong Saik used to be known as a red-light district in this area but recently I have been hearing about the new restaurants and cafes springing up along this street. We were thinking about places to check out one day after work and decided to settle for Keong Saik. I was mighty pleased that I managed to squeeze in a gym session before catching the train down to Tanjong Pagar to meet Stef for a late dinner.
Was obviously the wrong choice to meet at Tanjong Pagar Mrt because it was a horribly long walk to Keong Saik. Completely my bad as I thought Tanjong Pagar Mrt was the closest mrt station to Keong Saik. It was not. Outram Park mrt station proved to be much nearer. Alight at Outram Park, exit at the Cantonment Police Station, cross the road and walk towards the shop houses. Keong Saik is this little street nestled among the shop houses.
We walked up and down the street a couple of times, trying to decide which restaurant to pop into. We were initially keen on trying Keong Saik Snacks but the restaurant was crowded and the waiting list was long. So we contemplated going for Retrospective or Taratata Bistrot since both received rave reviews. We eventually decided on Taratata Bistrot because I wanted to try something special.
The restaurant has a very nice laid back atmosphere and warm cozy ambience. However, we realized that it might not have been the best choice after stepping in. There was a table of really rowdy (and extremely drunk) customers sitting at the front of the restaurant, screaming, shouting and basically behaving like drunk adolescents despite a combined age exceeding 400 years old. Frankly, if you are intending to get drunk and disgrace yourselves in public, be more considerate and do it in a KTV lounge, pub or club. Try not to do it in a nice French restaurant because you are just spoiling the experience for everybody else. Plus, I can never figure out why would anyone want to get drunk on red. It's red wine! You are supposed to savour it, and not down glasses like there is no tomorrow.
The food was awesome though. We ordered the Duck Confit and Chicken Simmered in Red Wine to share. The Duck Confit was great, crispy on the outside and extremely soft and tender on the inside. I'm usually quite wary of duck as I always find the texture of duck meat too tough for me. However, the Duck Confit here was so soft and tender, and so completely unlike duck meat! The Duck Confit came with White Beans Ragout which was really tasty. The mix of white beans, mushrooms and bacon was great.
The Chicken Simmered in Red Wine was a large chicken thigh braised with mushrooms, potatoes, bacon and lots of garlic. The chicken itself was very fresh and soft, completely absorbing the essence of the red wine sauce. The dish was really very fragrant. The potatoes were soft and tasty and I love the mushrooms!
The rowdy bunch retired for the night (boy was I glad) and the restaurant resumed its peace and quiet. We decided to have dessert here as well so we ordered a Pear and Chocolate Cake. It was really unique! Imagine a layer of rich chocolate on a bed of soft pear slices with a pear sorbet on top. Marvelous!
Service was attentive although they did forget about my red wine. The experience at Taratata Bistrot would have been amazing if not for the rowdy bunch of adults guilty of inappropriate behaviour. The food is really good and I would definitely recommend it to my friends. However, I would pop my head in and look out for drunks in the restaurant before settling down in future.
35A Keong Saik Street
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