L'Entrecote was first intro-ed to me by an ex colleague who knew I was so into steak. Having doubts, because I'm really very picky when it comes to food, I decided to give it a try on the same day I was told about it.

Stepping into L'Entrecote is like visiting a restaurant in Europe. With its semi-classy furnishing as well as the dim light setting screams perfect for 1:1 dates. Don't expect it to be a really formal setting or for it to be extremely quiet though. Some of the decor emits a rustic feel lending to a more cosy and homely feel. In addition, because there are so many solid places there, the gets moderately loud. Not to the extend that it is irritating, but enough to provide a bustling feel. Overall, I love the feel because it's not entirely too solemn and still manages to give a warm and cosy family feel.

The whole experience opens off with a free glass of wine (usually a light one e.g. rose or a fruit). This drink is complimentary and on the house. No kidding, talk about customer service, haha.

Ever had those occasions where you don't know what to eat? Well, L'Entrecote helps you narrow down your choices to not 3... not 2... *drum roll* 1 MAIN COURSE~! Yes, you've heard me right. There are a number of appetisers and sides, but there is only 1 standard main course - Entrecote Steak. It comes with their "special sauce" (will cover this in abit), a steak (approx 250g) and also free flow of their fries.The "special sauce" is what I believe to be really subjective. Honestly, because I never quite liked anything other than salt and pepper on my steak, I don't really like the sauce. It tastes of a mixture of black pepper sauce + something sour to bring about a refreshing taste. There is a lingering salty aftertaste which mixes rather well with the juices in the meat. The sauce is not exactly to my liking, but I do believe this to be more of a preference instead of the actual standard of their sauce. Next comes the meat, and please take note that the French cooks it on a different scale of doneness compared to SG steak places. As we all know, most SG places overcook the meat by 1 level (medium instead of medium-rare, etc). However in this restaurant, they WILL UNDERCOOK IT BY 1 LEVEL~! Which means you are gonna have a shock of your life (happened to the friends I brought) when they ordered medium-rare and it came out a little too "bloody" for comfy. The good news is you will not need to cut the steak to know the outcome, they all come in stripes, pre-cut for you. The fries are pretty normal, nothing fanciful like sea salt seasoning (Wendy's) or sweet potato fries (Triple O).

PS: There will be a special surprise where they will top up your steak with a few more extra pieces. It's supposed to be an add-on since they can't fit the whole steak onto your plate. However, in my most recent visit, they forgot to do that. Oh horror of horrors haha. It's just a marketing gimmick to make you feel like you're getting more than you paid for, but hey, it bumps up the entire experience by quite abit.

Majority of the sides are pretty standard, similar to most French restaurants. The desserts themselves do not really stand out as well. A good point to note is that they do have a decent collection of wines that you can have while there. As I'm no wine connoisseur I think I'll leave it to others to comment on the variety and quality of it.

Overall, the staff was quite attentive, a major boo boo that most establishments make. As for price, the steak is approx $30. Add another $10-20 depending on the amount of sides and desserts you plan to try. Definitely a place worth marking down to spend with a special someone.

A visit to this hawker store and their signature dish - Fruit Juice Mee Siam stands out as a must try. I mean come on, how many fruit juice mee siams do you find in SG?First and foremost, the taste, and everyone knows that the soup is the most important ingredient in any mee siam. There was a slight tangy feel that pops up the first moment you place the food in your mouth. A few of us suspected the "culprit" to be pineapple. This was definitely refreshing start since it brought about a tinge of sweetness yet acidic feel on top of the usual savoury mee siam taste. However, I stand neutral for having it because it's gonna be a love and hate situation. Because you are either gonna love it, or hate having pineapple flavour in your mee siam.

What was included in their supposed highlight dish was shredded chicken, prawns and a piece of crayfish on top of what you will regularly get in any standard mee siam. The prawn and crayfish were surprisingly rather fresh, big kudos to the owner. However, the only down side was that the chicken wasn't.

Situated in Hong Lim Food Centre, you would have guessed that the place was really packed on the day we visited it. So do note to patronise during off peak hours or you might need to wait for a seat. In addition, at $6, you get all the regular works + the crayfish (for the additional $2). I used to think that this is pricey for hawker food but well, inflation has caught up pretty fast.

Rounding it up, the novelty and overall experience of having fruit juice in your mee siam is something that's worth trying but to be honest, not a must. It's definitely not something I will take the effort to tell all my friends about, but something that I will recollect if the conversations lead to interesting food that we've tried.