My favourite French Restuarant in Singapore is the Au Petit Salut which was helmed by Chef Patrick Heuberger (who has since left Au Petit Salut to start the very successful, Le Bistrot du Sommelier). I started going there some 10 years ago and had always found myself returning to it when I was at a loss of where to go when I have guests or gathering with friends. The original Au Petit Salut was a cosy friendly brasserie serving delicious bistro style French food at a very affordable price - especially for their set lunch menu. Its success led to the opening of its second restaurant with a finer dining atmosphere. For the longest time, my order would be a clockwork regularity of : Burgandy Snails, Braised Beef Cheeks and Profiteroles. I tried to be adventurous with other dishes but invariably, at least one of the above three dishes would find its way to my dining table.
I have always been a great champion for its Burgandy Snails. I take delight in convincing first time visitors to the restaurant into trying this very French starter. Most guests would require a little prodding as they hesitate over the thought of eating these slimy slugs. However, once they have dug in, they would start to ask for extra servings of baguette to mop up the delicious parsley butter.
I attended Chef Patrick's class quite a while back where he taught this dish. His recipe is quite different from the normal Baked Burgandy Snail recipes which I have come across on the internet. I won't be publishing his recipe here but I will only say that his Garlic Parsley Butter is much more complex. He incorporates tomatoes, bread and even parma ham. So flavour is amazing and it has more body than a simpler herbed butter.
I suspect that this may not be the same recipe as is served at the restuarant. This one feels a little more rustic.
My photographs do not do credit to the dish but after mopping up the last bit of parsley garlic butter with the 6th slice of baguette, my tummy felt warm and fuzzy... I will sleep well tonight.
For those who are interested to make this at home, this would be a good reference to start with.
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