Food Review: Bistroquet at Alexandra Retail Centre, Singapore 119963

I was invited to try out Bistroquet (pronounced "bistro-keh") at ARC, or, the Alexandra Retail Centre that is just next to the PSA Building. That's why I like food invites - they bring me out to places that I will never consider going or even pass by.

It was quite the hassle trying to the get to the place from Lavender, where I work. I had to take the train to Outram, then change to the North East Line to Harbourfront, then take the circle line to Labrador Park. From there, I had to walk across the expansive overhead bridge that connects the MRT to the mall. It was quite a smooth journey though, surprisingly. The connectors worked quite ok to bring me there on a weekday 7.30pm.

The place is just next to Delifrance on the 2nd floor, and has a very quaint French-style decor for casual bistro dining.

Here's the menu for everyone's perusal. For food there's starters, platters, sandwiches, pastas, and  pizzas that they are focusing on, even if its a French bistro. Who says Italian food can't be served? Prices are reasonable at $4-9 for starters and $12-14 for pastas. Pizzas range from $14 to 18 for the small, and $20-22 for the large.


For drinks they are on the slightly pricey end - that's where they earn some of the rental back I suppose!
Its around $4-$7 for a drink. For alcoholic ones it is $12 for a glass of beer.


I had the Lychee Italian Soda ($5) to start. Rather sweet.. would prefer a more authentic lychee flavour. I think I would stick to the usual Coke type of soda next time when I'm having pizzas/pastas.


The first dish that was served for the group of 6 of us was the Seafood Platter ($54).  It was a platter with salmon, prawns, chilli NZ mussels, calamari and served with French fries and garden vegetables. In general it was an ok dish. Good for a group of 4 to share over drinks if you are not too hungry.

What really stood out was actually the chilli mussels. The chilli sauce in there packed a surprising punch! Even though I don't eat mussels, I enjoyed the sauce a lot. The calamari was also not tough or chewy, though the batter can be a bit lighter.



Next, a dish that made all of us exclaim in delight. A GIANT CURRYPOK?


No, actually. It's the Foie Gras Calzone ($24)! When you cut open the calzone (folded pizza skin), we found that it is mostly hot air, sauteed foie gras and caramelized onions. The foie gras was cut into little bitty pieces, which were quite oily. But it was tasty. Foie gras lovers will like it for the strong goose liver taste.


Next up, a real pizza. The Mushroom on Truffle Paste White Pizza 12" ($22) created quite a stir when I posted the photo on Instagram. 

The wood-fired pizza is made with truffle paste (the black stuff you see on the pizza) and button and shiitake mushrooms. We enjoyed this pizza a lot too! The truffle pasta gave it the unusual depth and brought the fungi madness level up a notch. The white pizza base also provided the perfect foil for the shrooms to shine. Would be quite different if it were the normal tomato base. The crust was thin and crispy with a hint of the wood-fired char, just the way I like it.


We then have 2 pasta dishes to taste. First up, the Feta & Bacon spaghetti ($15) that is a tomato sauce pasta with feta cheese cubes, bacon and onions. The feta cheese were mistaken as tofu by some at our table, which gave an unpleasant surprise since they are by nature rather salty! The bacon also adds to the saltiness, but the dish itself managed to stay on the normal salt level. I quite enjoyed this pasta.


The next one is oil-based. The Parma Ham Aglio Olio Pasta ($16) was a delightful pile of parma ham, mushrooms, garlic, chilli and olive oil. Unfortunately the parma ham turned out to be little bacon-like pieces of meat. Again, I really liked this because it's aglio olio, and it had plenty of garlic. What we all agreed was the oil - there's too much of it! When we were done there was a huge pool of oil on the plate, which does not make one feel good about one's health. We did gave this feedback to the restaurant manager. Hopefully it will be better next time.


Lastly, just for fun, the Spicy Chicken Wings - $8! The crispy chicken wings were drenched with BBQ sauce. Very strong tasting, so expect that when you first put it in. It wasn't spicy. But it was enjoyable. I just feel like there needs to be a huge bowl of rice beside it, haha. Chinaman in me strikes!


Last but not least in this food feasting adventure, the Tiramisu ($8). It had layers of sponge fingers dipped in espresso coffee, mascarpone cheese with Marsala wine and Cognac. I actually did not have high expectations of desserts in a bistro place serving a lot of mains, but in fact this dessert was rather nicely done! The sponge cake was light and the coffee taste strong enough to perk you up after all the carbs. It was a delightful end to a big meal.

Great place for some group dining if you and your friends/colleague are in the area, and would like some decent pizzas. Would suggest you check out Groupon or their Facebook Page for deals before heading down though, for the food/drinks price tag might become quite hefty if not careful. 
Now this might just be quite last minute, but LIKE their Facebook Page now and stand a chance to win set dinner for 2 worth $80. Pizza Giveaway contest ends this Thursday, so hurry!

Bistroquet
460 Alexandra Road #02-20 PSA Building (ARC), Singapore 119963
+65 62732774
Daily: 12:00 - 21:00


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