{Update: 7 August 2018}
Sadly, Chef Joel Robuchon has passed away. He died of cancer on 6 August 2018. He was 73. Still, his legacy lives on, not just in his eponymous restaurants, but in the spirits of many other chefs he had trained.
{Update: 22 July 2016} And the stars keep shining on for Joel. L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon Singapore has been awarded 2 Michelin stars, whilst restaurant Joel Robuchon has been awarded Singapore’s very first (and only) 3 Michelin stars by the 2016 Michelin Guide Singapore.
{Original Post} It all started one gloomy afternoon in London in 2012. I had plans to time travel back to the days of hairspray rock and leotards, courtesy of the hit musical, Rock of Ages. But before that, I had to satisfy the persistant, throbbing ache within myself that was threatening to consume me.
Luckily, I already had a date planned – after all, I had read countless, glowing reviews about him online, so I thought, let’s give him a try.
And so, fat wallet in hand, eyes wide in anticipation, I entered the Red and Black Room. Of Joel. De Robuchon, of course. What were you thinking?? I am happily married, thank you very much.
Needless to say, that experience in London was just a prelude to my many dalliances with Monsieur Robuchon. I’ve been satiated in Paris, Tokyo and back at home, here in Singapore, too. Always walking out with a smile on my face. The picture below is from my visit to the London outpost.
Lunch sets are my go-to favourite at L’Atelier De Joel Robuchon. The relatively reasonable lunch price, for the quality and the experience, plus the fact that the menu is tightly linked to the seasons, means that I get a fabulous new experience every time I visit.
But which is my favourite? Tokyo, of course! For a couple of reasons.
The food. Not just the seasonally-inspired menus but also the dedication to perfection and beauty in presentation of the food. I was seated in front of the dessert section, and saw how carefully the dessert chef picked up each tiny piece of decorative bauble with her tweezers and gently placed them on the dessert, with micro-precision!
Service is beyond amazing, but any fine dining restaurant in Japan is like that. Seeing as how it was lunch, and we had a trip to the Mori Art Museum after, we didn’t want to drink too much, but we still wanted to have the wine pairing, so they kindly “split” one wine pairing portion between the two of us. How flexible of them.
The price. Compared with the others, I think this is the most value for money at 4,800¥ ($60) for a 3-course. For example, Singapore is at $88 for a 3-course (Set Lunch on Sundays only) while London is at 59£ ($117) for a 3-course.
Read more about my Tokyo L’Atelier De Joel Robuchon experience.
London is my second favourite though. Because you will never forget your first time. Kidding. I like the fact that they have a nice terrace area upstairs, where you can enjoy your dessert and coffee alfresco, provided the weather keeps up its end of the bargain.
Just for the fun of it, here’s some pix from the meal at Paris.
And this is Singapore – loved the way they added a Christmassy vibe.
With all that Michelin talk buzzing in the foodie community here, it is worth noting that Joel Robuchon has the most number of Michelin stars to his name. Let’s see if his restaurants in Singapore join him in that honour too.