I suffer from a funny but very typically Singaporean ailment. When I go overseas, I'm happy to pay loads and wads of cash at fine restaurants, but when I come back here, I scoff at anything above a hundred dollars a head. I know. I need therapy I think....
The logic is simple. The food in Singapore is so delicious, so yummy, so accessible, that to think of food as any other experience is almost impossible. To think of a dining experience in Singapore as a place where you can have a romantic dinner, chat, talk, remember the good ol days, well it's all a bit too much when you're trying to slurp the noodles and eat the wagyu beef.
I know. It pisses my wife off tremendously too.
So, C and I have been looking for romantic places to have dinner. And I hesitated when I thought of this place. I mean Au Jardin is almost something out of a hollywood film. The beautiful, calm setting in the botanic gardens, the colonial house, the wonderful lighting, its almost too good to be true.... I think if you decided to bring your first date here, its almost as if she knows she's being wooed. Deliberately. 
And I hate that. I hate going to obvious places. I hate sending flowers on valentines day. I hate all these very obvious romantic gestures. It smacks of a lack of imagination, sort of like when you watch Iron Chef, and you see the Iron Chef puts uni and foie gras on everything, even when the mystery ingredient is cabbage. "Oh here's Iron chef now wrapping Foie Gras and uni in Cabbage". 
Bringing a date to Les Amis Au Jardin to me feels very much lilke that.... throwing money at the problem.
Well at least that part of the experience was correct. This place makes buying a gucci bag look like a frugal experience. For the record, the degustation is 200 dollars, and the 4 course "a la carte" is 150 dollars.
Anyway on to the experience, and when I went up, I was pleasantly surprised. The decor is impeccable, the beautiful colonial surroundings, the china with orchid motif, the paintings, the lighting, and most importantly, discreet service. 
I almost thought discreet service went the way of the Dodo in Singapore. But this place, the service was very very close to the best I've seen internationally. It was just a nice comfy and attentive service level.
C and I opted for the a la carte option. It wasn't that the degustation was more expensive, it was just that for me, if I was going to eat here, I wanted to eat a meal, not 7 small bites of cute and stylish things. I wanted a soup, or a starter, or a proper main course, a nice dessert, a plate of cheese, and a bottle of great wine. I thoroughly recommend this approach to this place than the degustation, which everyone seems to want to do nowadays.
The meal was great. and the Wine list is huge. 
So the point is, I'm going to have to succumb to coming back to Au Jardin. After all, its a beautiful dining experience, I didn't want to leave, I was happy to sit there and chat away, and so what if its an obvious choice to have a romantic dinner. I'm going to have to make sure I come back at least once a quarter. 
Word of warning though, if you don't like a fine dining experience, then this place is not for you. You just won't feel its worth paying that much money. But just think of it not as a SGD 500 dollar meal, but a SGD 250 dollar meal with 150 for rental of the ambience...... does that mental accounting make sense to everyone? If you don't want the ambience, try Iggys, try something else. 
But for that traditional, french dining experience, the beautiful china, the discreet service, I'm so glad I found a place which can be up there with Daniels in NYC, Joel R. in HK, etc. 
:) Btw I never thought I would ever write such a glowing review of this place.....