Ve Handojo thought he was underdressed for a fine dining invitation until he discovered the fun of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Singapour.

A dinner invitation to a restaurant that carries a name as big as Joël Robuchon sounds quite intimidating to me, a humble Batik lover from Jakarta – a city where a waiter in one of its most expensive restaurants still can’t tell the difference between red and white wine. L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Singapour finds its home in Resorts World Sentosa. I find a fine dining set next to a theme park where Shrek and the Mummies live together in harmony quite peculiar as well. But, excited and confused at the same time, I put on my Batik Tulis shirt, and opened the door.

The setting has two restaurants. One is Joël Robuchon Restaurant, and the other is the one that I was invited to. I sat in a dimmed lounge coloured black and burgundy and stuffed with comfortable sofas as I waited for the other guests to arrive. It was quite cold and gloomy, but the restaurant manager came to say hello in a very casual manner, offering me a pre-dinner cocktail. My cucumber martini was properly mixed, a smooth operator with an exotic tang.

The clean and happy “workshop”

“All the staff looked very happy indeed. Apparently, multiple Michelin star winner Joël Robuchon is no Gordon Ramsay.”

After all the invitees arrived, the restaurant manager escorted us to the bar. Yes, the bar. It was in the other room, still colored in black and burgundy but with a livelier soundscape coming from the open kitchen – “the workshop” or l’atelier. The bar where we sat was facing the vibrant area where the chefs worked to prepare our meals. Whatever you see in Hell’s Kitchen was not happening here as all the staff looked very happy indeed. Apparently, multiple Michelin star winner Joël Robuchon is no Gordon Ramsay. There was no circus in the kitchen. The chefs did their job diligently without any drama or acrobatic movements. What was pumping out was a joyful mood to celebrate good, healthy and tasty food. The chefs delivered our dishes directly and explained each of them in detail with a smile. My amuse bouche was foie gras custard with port wine and parmesan foam. The flavours were strong, like a multiple slap to wake up my taste buds. I love those slaps so much I wanted more. My appetite was raised even more by a triplet of King Crab in thin layers of turnip with sweet and sour sauce.

The main course was free-range quail filled with foie gras. It was a simple idea with a brilliant taste. The softness of the foie gras was met with the delicacy of the finely cooked quail, and accompanied with the very soft and smooth mashed potato. The dessert was a simple sorbet that cleansed my palate very well, thus the dinner was wrapped beautifully.

Next door, the Joël Robuchon Restaurant was more formal and rather uptight; a typical place to please your future in-laws. L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon was, however, a place for a fun date, happy and noisy, or even if you just want to treat yourself with good food. Nobody’s going to judge a lone diner sitting in a bar setting.

The concept resulted in an unforgettable dining experience. Who said fine dining should always be uptight and intimidating? In L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, good food and good life are celebrated with good humour, cheer and a smile.

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Singapour
Resorts World Sentosa
www.rwsentosa.com

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