North Bridge Road is becoming more happening, with numerous new cafes and restaurants.
A Muslim-friendly French fusion restaurant?
In an area surrounded by famous Nasi Padang eateries, The White Label purports to serve classical French cuisine, as well as French-meets-local fusion.
The concept was started from the premise that there is a lack of French food for the Muslim community in Singapore.
Looking at the crowd during meal times, the new restaurant appears to be rather popular among the Muslim community already.
To replicate the atmosphere of a typical French cafe found in Paris, the founders customised and imported many of the furniture and lighting.
This includes almost every item from the cutlery, plates, tables to chairs.
If you are undecided what to order, the recommended dishes include the TWL Vol-Au-Vent ($14), Squid Ink Spaghetti ($26), Short Ribs Bourguignon ($32), Herb Crusted Lamb Rack ($38), and Creme Brulee A L Pandan ($10).
Prices are above the average cafe in the vicinity. But well, this is “French food”.
The one starter that stood out was the TWL Truffle Fries ($16). That is like PS.Cafe’s pricing already. Still, I saw many plates delivered out of the kitchen.
I decided to go for a Truffle Mushroom Chowder ($12) instead. The soup elegantly presented, though I wished portion was larger. Hungry man here.
Never thought I would say this about any dish, but the soup was quite drowning in truffle oil, almost feeling they need to give your money’s worth.
They could halve the amount, and I think it would still taste decent with smelling that ‘pungent’.
I ordered the TWL Prawn Pappardelle ($26) as I was advised to order dishes with “TWL” in front – these are the signatures. All righty.
The dish came with reasonably-good portion of chunky grilled tiger prawns, with the pappardelle cooked in a lobster bisque reduction.
The base had a nice thick consistency with wonderful-rich bisque flavour.
There was something about the texture of the pasta – I was comparing to the authentic Italian restaurants around, and though it could be chewier for a better bite. But overall, a tasty plate.
The other recommended was the Squid Ink Spaghetti ($26) which is cooked similarly to the traditional Malay dish of Sotong Masak Hitam.
Dessert time. Wait, wait, wait… not Ondeh Ondeh Cake, but Ondeh Ondeh GATEAU ($9).
”But isn’t this just Ondeh Ondeh Cake with ice cream?”. (A “gateau” is French-derived for a rich cake, typically one containing layers of cream or fruit.) Anyway…
This was fluffy and moist, moderately to the sweet side for me, but at least wasn’t way over.
If you are looking forward to brunch, The White Label intends to introduce the menu on Saturdays mid-February onwards (Hours will also be adjusted then.)
Interesting to know: To give customers the feeling of relaxation as well as to give them a sense of dining in France, the music selection was carefully selected over 3 months by one of the founders.
The White Label
734 North Bridge Road, Singapore 198702
Tel: +65 8202 2358
Opening Hours: 11:30am – 10pm (Sun – Thurs), 11:30 am – 11:00pm (Fri – Sat)
Other Related Entries
The Fabulous Baker Boy (Aliwal Street)
MILK (Arab Street)
Nirvana Dessert Cafe (Arab Street)
The Bravery (Amoy Street)
100Labs (Sultan Gate)
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