We arrived at The Black Sheep Cafe at 7pm on a quiet rainy evening and had the entire place to ourselves for the first half of our meal before the tables started filling up.
This Indian-owned/run cafe supposedly serves one of the best duck confit in Singapore, or so says Epicure Asia: http://epicureasia.com/food/top-10/duck-confit. Unfortunately, I found the dish did not live up to its hype. It was far from a lousy rendition but a little overcooked, with the duck skin charred in many places and the meat a tad dry in some.
But the lamb shank, oh the lamb shank, was a different story. It was fall-off-the-bone tender, with a red wine reduction that was flavourful yet not overpowering, and accompanied by mashed potatoes that had real potato bits in them – bearing testament to the fact that these potatoes did not come from a box.
Sadly, the passionfruit soufflé that ended our meal neither impressed nor went well with the coffee ice cream pairing.
So, I won’t be back for the duck confit or the soufflé, but I will return for the lamb shank and maybe to try the crispy pork cheeks.
As an aside, I’ve come across several comments on the internet along the lines of the cafe being so nice for not charging GST! Some tax 101 – it is only compulsory for businesses to charge GST when their annual turnover are more than a million SGD, so it is really not that uncommon for eating places not to do so. That said, I do very much appreciate the fact that service charge is not included in the bill, given that the waiters provide the basic services of taking orders, pouring water and bringing the bill.
As a final point: Take note that the menu at The Black Sheep Cafe is quite limited so don’t go expecting too much variety, but do consider a visit if you would like a taste of decent, affordable French food.
The Black Sheep Cafe
www.theblacksheepcafe.net
35 Mayo Street
Open Mon – Sat 12-3pm and 6-11pm
tofufuto 