Instead of beurre blanc and béarnaise, you’ll find butter chicken curry and prata on this French restaurant’s menu. We’ve all seen enough East-meets-West concepts in Singapore to be a little wary, but Les Ducs by Chef Louis Pacquelin (formerly of Clos Pasoh) is a refreshing exception. Expect bold flavours and robust sauces at this unassuming bistro – a testament to Pacquelin’s decade-long experience cooking in Asia and his clear understanding of the Singaporean palate.
Located along Ann Siang Hill, the 40-seater sports New York-style exposed brick walls and industrial ceilings, casual enough for a walk-in after work but polished enough for a proper celebratory dinner.
Les Ducs’ self-styled ‘French fun dining’ is more than just a catchy phrase. Pacquelin knows his way around classical techniques, and while his food is French at its core, the flavours are dialled up a notch, incorporating subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) nods to the Southeast Asian pantry. The menu switches up every three months to make way for seasonal dishes, but there are also evergreen signatures and a daily rotation of specials.
The octopus carpaccio ($24) is a bestseller for good reason. Paper-thin slices of cooked octopus are served with a zesty olive oil dressing, topped with capers and dill. The Asian touch comes through in the fried shallots and the sting of chilli at the end.
Meanwhile, the croque prata ($15), a local spin on the classic Croque Monsieur, sounds heavier than it tastes. French ham and comté cheese are folded into thin, not-too-oily prata skins, with a light truffle sauce on the side. It’s snackable, but frankly more of a novelty than a must-order. Go for one of the seasonal specials instead. We are served fresh French tomatoes over a creamy base made of gazpacho and roasted hazelnuts from Piedmont, Italy.
Where Pacquelin’s brand of fusion really shines is in the moules marinières ($36), a dish of Bouchot mussels swimming in a punchy murgh makhani (butter chicken) cream. Only that it’s not entirely ‘fusion’, but based on a lesser-known preparation from La Rochelle in southern France that uses saffron and yellow curry. Here, the curry is thoughtfully amped up for local taste buds, and there’s more than enough sauce to dunk those chewy sourdough rolls in – though prata might be a more fitting option.
Everyone is familiar with bouillabaisse, and Chef does a stellar rendition ($48) of the traditional Marseille dish with skin-crisp seabream, perfectly cooked octopus and succulent clams. The stock is simmered for 12 hours until it’s deep, heady and rich – if a little salty for our liking. But somehow, the real star of the show is the crunchy bread on the side, piped with a slightly pungent mayonnaise made of potatoes, egg yolks and extra virgin olive oil.
The Angus beef tenderloin with black Kampot pepper sauce ($56) is easily our favourite dish of the evening, with the mussels following closely behind. Chef transforms the humble, lean cut into a thing of beauty, with a gorgeous, rosy-red and perfectly even centre despite the thickness of the slab – done just by char-grilling and not sous vide, by the way.
The sauce isn’t your typical black pepper gravy, but a sticky glaze that clings to the meat, with the signature fragrance and heat of Kampot pepper. Chef tells us how the peppers are ethically sourced and part of a model that supports Cambodian farmers with their children’s tuition and insurance fees. And whatever you do, make sure to order the homemade potato wedges ($15) on the side. They’re excellently crisp on the outside while being impossibly moist inside, thanks to a tedious process of blanching the potatoes before slow-cooking them in low-temperature oil – also known as confit.
You’ll definitely want to make space for dessert, which leans delightfully old-school. Dig into a textbook crème caramel ($15), served in a mason jar with a generous helping of gooey salted butter caramel. Or go for the chocolate fondant, which is indulgent, warm and moist, topped with a coffee crème that cuts through the richness.
For those who want to linger a little longer after dinner, retreat to the sultry, velvet-clad Madame Claude just upstairs – a cosy cocktail lounge that slings classic tipples and a stellar sugar-free espresso martini ($25). Inspired by an infamous French ‘mamasan’ of the same name (and also named after Pacquelin’s father), the bar offers signatures named after notable escortés who once graced the heights of French society.
Tipples range from Lucienne ($26), a dangerously drinkable clarified milk punch with Haku vodka, apples, vanilla, yuzu and lemon, to Vivienne ($32), a more potent blend of Hibiki whisky, banana and chocolate bitters. Wednesdays and Fridays are the busiest nights at Madame Claude, with free-flow cocktails ($38) for ladies’ night on Wednesdays being a major draw.
Les Ducs and Madame Claude are located at 8 Ann Siang Hill, Singapore 069788. Opening hours for Les Ducs are Mondays to Saturdays from noon to 10.30pm, and for Madame Claude, Tuesdays to Saturdays from 5.30pm to midnight.
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