The humble mash at L'Atelier Singapour de Joel Robuchon

I have heard so much about it from my friends who were privileged enough to dine at his restaurant here or afar.

I had drooled whilst listening to them describe how silky smooth it tasted.

How it could be easily be mistaken for ice-cream.

Some likened it to tau huay - a local bean curd dessert that simply slides down the throat.

So when I read a review that they were having a lunch promo at the restaurant which cost $49 for a 3 course set, I proposed to the husband about making a trip to check them out.

I have heard about how you could only order sets at dinners and the degustation menu costs a whopping $530!!

Other sets ranged from $160 to $320. I always thought that it was an exorbitant price to pay for a dinner.

Anyway, we jumped at the opportunity to dine at this restaurant ... and I had to have the mash, at a fraction of the high prices.

Well, I ended up with the $68 menu as I thought the $49 set seemed a little boring (with an amuse bouche, a choice of appetizer, the rotisserie of the day and the dessert of the day). With the $68 menu, I was allowed an appetizer, 2 mains of my choice and a choice of dessert with the amuse bouche

The amuse bouche was a foie gras custard with truffle and parmesan foam. I thought the combination of flavours was unusual, but definitely a winning combination.

I had the quiche to start. It wasnt a normal quiche. The egg was custard-like on a bacon base which was truly divine in taste!!

For the mains I chose a shrimp with noodles which was quite ordinary, but my little D enjoyed it, especially when the noodles were deep fried to a crisp.

For my second main, I chose the roasted quail with stuffed foie gras. The serving was minute, but the taste was awesome! The quail was tender and perfectly cooked. (This dish had a $17 surcharge added)

And then the humble mash was served.


This is the dish that won Joel Robuchon his Michelin stars.

I have heard about how it takes a ratio of 1 lb of butter to 2 lbs of potatoes to make this divine silky mash.

It didnt taste as buttery as I expected it to be. But it was, oh! so good!! And it was a good thing my son hates mash. I ate his as well.

So the question is: Was the restaurant worth the hype?

Well, I would pay that $68 for a set meal. But not the $160 or $530 for dinner. It was good but not that awesome!!

Now, I will try to re-create that awesome mash at home!!