Julien Royer does mum proud with Claudine

NEW RESTAURANT

Claudine 39C Harding Road Singapore 249541 Tel: 6265-2966 Open for lunch and dinner Tues to Sun: 11.45am to 2pm; 6pm to 9.30pm

"EVEN bad men love their mamas," hisses Russell Crowe in 3:10 to Yuma, as his killer cowboy character shoves the unfilial Peter Fonda off a cliff for calling his own mother the rude equivalent of a woman who likes men too much.

Julien Royer is no outlaw. But he sure loves his mama. And his two grandmothers. So much so that his three restaurants - Odette, Louise (in Hong Kong) and now Claudine - are a tribute to them.

Imagine if he keeps this up, his budding restaurant empire may well be limited by the number of maternal relatives he has to name them after.

But for now, three's company and Claudine is perhaps the most personal connection to his roots yet - a nod to his rustic past, gilded with the Michelin-starred glamour of his present.

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Flowers his mother would pick in the countryside for free and hang to dry are reinterpreted as wall art by The Humid House - the pricey master manipulator of straw in Singapore. The soaring former chapel that Claudine sits in is no rural farmhouse in Auvergne, but a straight-to-magazine depiction of angels dabbling in interior design.

The decor is a demure peaches and cream, with a dramatic burgundy ceiling and an Italian snake lamp winding its way across - like a white cobra poised to fall on your lap at any moment to eat your face.

Taking up the mantle in the kitchen is not Royer but another Julien, surnamed Mercier, who probably works under the risk of being shoved into a bincho-burning oven should he do anything to sully the good name of his boss's mama.

So you can expect a cooking standard that is similar in DNA to that of the three Michelin-starred Odette, but brought down to earth in flavours and to a certain extent, pricing, if you choose the right thing. Go with a couple of snacks, split a starter, main course and dessert between two people and you can walk away at a shade under S$100 a person before taxes and drinks. The food is rich so sharing is a good thing, but the menu is huge and if you start eyeing oysters, cocktails and more, then say a little prayer for that thing you call a wallet.

It's hard to resist the oysters, though, especially the tres chic Gillardeau (S$58 for six) which are dependably plump and instantly gratifying. But we also like the runner-up Boudeuse by David Herve (S$48 for six) which are like the short people of the oyster world - small but assertive with a longer finish.

Meanwhile, the actual menu, as the name implies, is inspired by Royer's mum's recipes, but elevated by the fine dining service and his own high-end spin. While Odette is all about the bells and whistles, Claudine is grounded in reality and simplicity, a sincere introduction to a food culture that is alternately familiar yet new to us.

The choice is wide, so there's a bit of random pointing and hoping you make the right choice. Sardine toast (S$22) works out well - little squares of crunchy toast topped with aioli-kissed sardines that are just fishy and salty enough without being overpowering.

And even though we're warned about the hot and oozy filling of Saint-Nectaire croquettes (S$22), we get warm, soft and malleable nuggets of melted cheese in deep-fried batter topped with a little dollop of vin jaune jelly. The latter has an unusual aniseed-like flavour that's an acquired taste.

All ambivalence towards the starters disappears when we sample Claudine's onion soup (S$22) -  a recipe which has been filtered through her son's deconstructing mind, emerging as a delicate, intense beef bouillon poured over a composition of Cevennes onion (simmered till tender but still with a good bite) and squares of crunchy Comte cheese toast. It's built so that you get to savour every component individually at first, before they fuse into an even better whole. 

Of course, trust the guy who perfected the smoked organic egg to come up with another treat for oozy egg yolk lovers. Organic egg forestiere (S$28) is a perfect soft-cooked egg deep-fried in panko crumbs, nestled on a bed of greens and mushrooms and showered with aged parmesan shavings. A liberal dousing in truffle vinaigrette takes some of the richness off - tart with a sweet finish.

We come away from the evening as fans of two classics - choux farci (S$68) and vol-au-vent (S$58). It's overkill to have both, so pick one. Choux farci is to the European palate what bak chor mee is to ours - an instant reminder of home, a heartwarming memory of mother/favourite hawker.

A whole cabbage is cooked for a long time in a sturdy pot - it's shown to you and then returned artfully sliced to reveal tender leaves layered with chopped cabbage and carrots, fluffy foie gras and tender pork sausage meat. Crunchy croutons and an intense, salty-syrupy jus reduction finish it off. It's said to be an Autumn dish designed to warm bellies on a cold day. Here, it's turned into elegant fare with luxe ingredients, but the warm tummy feeling remains.

Vol-au-vent is heavy-going but well worth the heft for its layers of wispy puff pastry that can barely hold its stuffing of creamy port wine mushroom sauce, morels, sweetbreads and cockscomb.

Much as we love this, we are perturbed at the use of cockscomb - it's not some crunchy field mushroom that we think, but exactly as it says. It's hard to believe it dates back to an Escoffier recipe - and equally hard to believe that we can eat chicken backsides and feet without flinching, yet freak out at chewing the scalp of a rooster. We can't do it, but compensate by demolishing the rest.

Claudine is also about table showmanship. There's steak tartare (S$52), freshly prepared in front of you with a combination of chopped beef, mustard, capers and other condiments to your liking, and served simply with fries.

Or you can end with baked Alaska (S$28), which erupts in a blue flame before subsiding to reveal a thin crisp meringue crust wrapped around ice cream layered with dacquoise cookies, pear and chestnut for a lighter-than-expected finish.

Much of Claudine's appeal lies in its hype, but its substance - a fine dining bistro is an oxymoron but that's what this is - is what will bring you back. Royer may love his mama, but we kind of like her too.

Rating: 7.5

WHAT OUR RATINGS MEAN

     10: The ultimate dining experience9-9.5: Sublime8-8.5: Excellent7-7.5: Good to very good6-6.5: Promising5-5.5: Average

Our review policy: The Business Times pays for all meals at restaurants reviewed on this page. Unless specified, the writer does not accept hosted meals prior to the review's publication.