Although Cocotte's brunch was a great experience on my first (and only visit), I never really got down to revisiting as I didn't fancy jostling for parking space on a weekend. But now Cocotte has launched an all week brunch menu during its lunch time slot and thanks to the restaurant, I had the opportunity to try it out again.

The place hasn't changed a bit since my last visit and is still rather spartan in some ways. The only difference is the apparent lack of crowds. I can say this from visiting Cocotte twice on my own accord (and expense) after this invite. But the lack of crowds may not be a bad thing from a customer's perspective (but definitely not from a restaurant's!) as it offers peace and quiet and of course a choice of seats.

Hot Smoked Salmon ($12) - We got off to a great start with the hot smoked salmon sandwich, which featured thin slices of beautifully smoked Norwegian salmon sitting prettily on a bed of moist and creamy scrambled eggs atop a slice of nicely toasted white loaf. Absolutely beautiful. However, just a note of caution. On my return visit during a weekday, the bread was smaller, the eggs were less creamy and the quantity of salmon, significantly lesser. Which of course raises questions on consistency. One might also be inclined to suggest that quality and quantity during tastings don't reflect the actual standards of day to day operations. But to be fair, I will give it another try before passing any judgement.

Provencal Tuna ($12) - Next up was the provencal tuna, which was essentially Nicoise salad with tuna on a toasted baguette. I honestly didn't find this too special although the sliced eggs and tuna chunks were aplenty. The baguette was also a little too hard for my weak jaws and wrists (had to slice it with a knife) to handle. But if you are a huge Nicoise salad fan, you might just like it.

Pan Fried Seabass ($14) - Based on this invite and my 2 individual outings, this dish was the most consistent. And at $14, I personally find it a steal. Very fine, almost silky texture coupled with crisp skin and a light flavour. Easily one of the best fish dishes I've had in a long time.

Dessert Platter -

Desserts are evidently not Cocotte's forte as neither of the 3 desserts in the dessert platter shone, with all coming across as average. Nonetheless, it was a sweet way to end off our wonderful meal. 
 
In a nutshell, Cocotte offers some really good dishes at a very reasonable price. However consistency needs to be worked on. Service is decent.

Thanks to Cocotte for the invite!

See all my pictures here.

Full review and photos: http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2013/04/cocotte-at-wanderlust-hotel-little-india.html

Cocotte is a 2 year old French restaurant located at the lobby of Wanderlust Hotel, is located in between Bugis and Little India MRT stations along 2 Dickson Road. I took about 15 minutes to walk over from Bugis MRT station cutting through Rochor Centre. 

The restaurant managed by Head Chef Anthony Yeoh was recently named as one of the top 500 restaurants in the 2013 edition of the Miele Guide.

Cocotte had a unique environment. An assortment of chairs with different colours and rustic timbre tables of brown and white colour. It gave a bight cheerful and country style ambience. 

Cocotte has recently opened a Pastry Counter and will be serving Brunch everyday. The Pastry Counter will be opened from Monday to Saturday from 12pm to 10pm and on Sunday from 12pm to 3pm. 

The Pastry Counter offers a wide variety of choices with its prices displayed clearly next to it.

Our table dining table, I like the brown timbre table. 

The Shredded Pork Confit Sandwich - Confited Free Range Australian Pork Shoulder, Wholegrain Mustard Dressing, Fresh Tarragon, Parsley & Cucumber with Toasted Country Baguette. The filling in the sandwich were delicious. However, the downside was that the toasted country baguette was too hard compared to the tender soft fillings. The shredded pork confit deserved a special mentioned. Coming from the pork shoulder, it was tasty, moist and incredibly soft and tender. In addition, the cucumber provided a nice crunch. 

The French inspired French Onion "Soup" Sandwich blew me away. It consisted of Caramelised Onion Confit, Melted Gruyere Cheese, Thyme Leaves and Toasted Country Baguette. Instead of a soup, you get the dry version which is probably grilled with gruyere cheese on top so that it melts. I believe that gruyere cheese was used not only because it is 'the' cheese which is traditionally used in French Onion Soup but also because of its rich, creamy, slightly smokey and nutty taste. If you are a fan of French Onion Soup, you have got to try this! 

The Grilled Boneless Chicken Leg was served with Garlic Roasted Potatoes and French Beans. As the whole the dish was well executed. The boneless chicken leg was grilled perfectly. Crisp cracking chicken skin with juicy tender meat. The partner and I also particularly like the roasted potato. At $12, it is cheaper in price than most of restaurants and I would consider this quite value for money considering the quality! 

For desserts, we tried the Chocolate Tart, Pistachio Creme Brulee, Nectarine Tart and Citron Lemon Tart.

Full review and photos: http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2013/04/cocotte-at-wanderlust-hotel-little-india.html

For the complete post with uploaded pictures and quoted prices, please view:

http://www.thefoodnomads.com/2013/04/21/a-new-pastry-counter-and-an-improved-brunch-menu-at-cocotte/

Cocotte @ Wanderlust Hotel was one of The Food Nomads’ earliest reviews (as done by Bryan C.) and during my last few visits that I had paid to the 2- year old rustic French Restaurant, the menu had certainly changed quite a lot. Despite its rather inaccessible location at Little India, the communal- dining restaurant has managed to garner a firm following of customers with its simple and homely French fare. Now serving brunch on a daily basis and with a new dessert counter situated rather near to the entrance of the hotel, Cocotte does certainly seem to be all set on providing the most fulfilling experience for its diners.

The Foie Gras Mousse Served with Cornichons and Port Wine & Cherry Preserve was decent was my favourite for the day. It hit all the right spots for me when it was spread across the Cornichons and accompanied by the Port Wine and Cherry Preserve that provided a rather discernible sweet tangy touch to the  pairing. Then again, I felt that I could have the chilled mousse on its own given that it had a close resemblance to the taste of the main ingredient itself.

While the name of the sandwich item itself intrigues, we were pleased by the fact that the French Onion “Soup” Sandwich delivered our expectations. The combination of the rich savoury notes from the melted Gruyere Cheese, together with the delectable sweet and sour flavours from the Caramelised Onion Confit, was soul- satisfying. A small price to pay for delicious comfort at its best, this would certainly be one worthy dish to order.

Pan- fried Sea Bass- stacked atop an assortment of vegetables- Tomatoes Provencal, Slow Roasted Garlic, Fine Beans, Grilled Eggplants, peppers and Courgettes and Saffron Aioli (Rouille), I would opine that this is the kind of main dish that satisfies when all one would want is good, simple food done well. The Pan- Fried Sea Bass was executed considerably well, yielding easily to the fork.

The dessert numbers that we had the privilege to try, was praise- worthy. We were rather surprised by Cocotte’s rendition of the Creme Brulee and we agreed that this was indisputably one of the better versions of the classic dessert in town, the vanilla taste was intense but not too strong. All in all, it conveyed a perfect balance of taste and texture. The Paris Brest boasted a luscious swirl of premium cream sandwiched between the pastry layers, in which I thought that the latter could have fared a tad better texture- wise. Nonetheless, it was still a delightful miniature treat that could be finished within two or three bites.

For more dishes reviews, please view the link above.