A close friend of mine who was recently having second thoughts in his career texted me all of a sudden for a quick catch up over dinner at the newly revamped Chinatown Point. He was all excited about sharing 2 piece of good news in his life and could hardly contain the joy over the phone! While scouting for great Chinese eats, we were surprised to see that Poulet, a restaurant well known for its amazing French roasted chicken has actually flew over to open a new outlet at Chinatown Point! Looks like even the French wants a piece of the Chinese market. Unlike its other outlets in town, there wasn’t a queue hence we decided to drop in for the chick.
The staff were pretty quick with their orders but we were told that we need to wait 20 minutes for the roasted chicken to be served. Great time to break the good news! My friend previously shared that his company, a global MNC was giving him an impossible task at work. It was pretty obvious that they were trying to get him to leave the company. Thankfully, he has managed to secure a new job in another Multi-National Corporation that is willing to pay him a sizable increment over his current MNC pay package. Yippie, the meal is on him already.
The 2nd piece of good news was more for his mom who has been working at the public sector as a junior officer all her life. I know Auntie personally; she is an active lady who is really task-oriented and cannot stand idling around the house even on weekends. She will probably choose to continue working even after retirement age.
Here’s the awful truth about working after retirement age in the public sector. Under public sector re-employment practices, Auntie was due to take a pay cut of up to 30% when she is re-employed at 62 years old even if she is a hardworking and contributing staff. She also may not have any reduction in job scope, length of working hours or even flexibility at work. In short, everything status quo but pay cut of up to 30%!
This practice does not make any sense. Why should hardworking re-employed individuals, who wish to continue the same contribution at work, get a pay cut? Thankfully, Public Service Division (PSD) recently announced a policy change to do away with these pay cuts for junior officers which takes effect from 1 August 2013. So Auntie will not suffer a pay cut upon re-employment, double yippie!
Upon reading the news, it actually turned out that the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) was the main driver calling for this change in public sector. After more than two years of active lobbying, their efforts paid off and they finally managed to nudge PSD forward.
In perfect timing, our famous French roasted chicken Poulet Roti ($15.80 for half, $28.80 for whole) was served after the announcement of all the good news. Here’s how the story for this supposedly amazing poultry goes – the entire chicken was brined for a full day in a traditional recipe before being placed in the rotisserie for a slow roast till the skin turns to a golden brown. We have to give it to the french when it comes to presentation. The sight of the beautifully roasted chicken was enough to whet our appetite and get us all hungry. On its own, the chicken was tender and succulent but not amazing yet. It only manages to hit home run with its home made mushroom Chardonnay sauce, that’s what gave it the X factor.
Mediterranean Stew Lamb Shank ($15.80) consisted of baby lamb shank stewed with root vegetables and rosymary in its own jus infused with orange. The lamb meat was nice and soft but diners who are not comfortable with the distinctive smell of lamb should steer away from this dish. I am afraid I could not sense traces of orange infusion at all.
Braise De Canard ($15.80) was braised duck leg in sweet wine sauce on baby spinach topped with cranberry and glazed shallot. I came to the conclusion that the chefs here are pretty good with their meat. The dulcet wine sauce was truly an additional bonus!
Iberico Pork Belly ($15.80) consisted of braised Spanish iberico pork belly served with mashed potato, leek confit and double mustard. I am not sure if I am personally biased towards pork belly in general but it is just impossible to go wrong with this delectable part of the pig. Ladies need not be overly concerned. Despite the word belly, the meat was still pretty lean overall with mild hints of fats in every bite. This is definitely my favourite dish for the evening!
To sum it up, Poulet offers casual French dining that’s decent and won’t hurt your pocket. If you are keen to pay homage to the amazing French Roasted Chicken, here’s where you can find them:
Chinatown Point
Address: 133 New Bridge Road Level 2 Singapore 059413
Tel: (+65) 6538 3595
Bugis+
Address: 201 Victoria Street #04-12 Singapore 188067
Tel: (+65) 6509 9411
Great World City
Address: 1 Kim Seng Promenade #02-K2/K3 Singapore 237994
Tel: (+65) 6733 4395
Jurong Point
Address: 1 Jurong West Central 2 #B1-57/58/59 Singapore 648331
Tel: (+65) 6861 0217
Vivocity
Address: 1 HarbourFront Walk #01-175/176/177 Singapore 098585
Tel: (+65) 6376 9087
Website: poulet.com.sg
Fan Page: facebook.com/PouletSG
You may also like to check out my posts on other delicious food places here
