[CLOSED] Immanuel French Kitchen (Salute Coffeeshop)

The pork belly is so tender and it is drizzled with the full flavoured sauce. This is a well balanced dish with the potato foam and onsen egg on the side.

[Bukit Merah] Located in the Salute Coffeeshop, Immanuel French Kitchen needs no further introduction as their Pork Belly ($16.90) dish is such a popular hit that people are willing to travel that far just to have a piece of that melts-in-your-mouth goodness. The pork belly is cooked in kakuni style and served with duxelle mushroom, onsen egg (eggporn alert!) and a velvety smooth potato foam. Croutons, bacon bits and spring onion garnish were added for that additional texture and flavour. When served, break the egg, mix it well before taking each element of the dish and piling them up on a spoon and directing them into your mouth. Warning: this is a highly addictive pork belly dish that will bring you to flavour-town.

I tried this about a year ago, and it's great to see that the standard has not dropped. The pork belly itself is melt-in-your-mouth tender. It isn't too fatty, so it'll still appeal to most people out there. It is also incredibly well-marinated and chock-full of flavour. The accompanying potato foam was smooth and creamy. While this may not appeal to all, I actually really liked the sprinkling of bacon bits, spring onions and croutons- it added a nice crunchy texture to the dish. Sautéed mushrooms were also really well-done. There was also a runny onsen egg, which is always a welcome addition and always makes a dish more impressive. While each item is impressive on its own, the flavours came well together to make for quite the excellent meal. It is a little pricey though, coming in at $16.90, but I would say it's worth a try!

Immanuel French Kitchen is no stranger to the new age hawker scene. Located in the Salut Coffeeshop, expect to enjoy decent French fare at affordable prices. Tuck into their signature Kakuni Style Pork Belly ($16.90), boasting incredible flavour and melt-in-your-mouth tenderness, and served with duxelle mushroom, onsen egg and potato foam (though you might want to request for the ‘bacon’ bits to be served on the side). For something more classic, opt for the crispy Duck Leg Confit ($15.90) sitting on silky mash, braised savoy cabbage and jus. If you're sharing, complete your French experience with some escargot ($12.90) and foie gras ($16.50) coated with black miso! Don't expect to have the best French meal of your life, but this certainly hits the spot when cravings set in.

French Duck Leg Confit ($15.90) - This was divine! The duck was so moist. Goes well with the mash. Not a fan of peas & corn, looks & tastes cheap.

Ever since my first time at Immanuel French Kitchen, I trusted in their quality and their excellence at preparing their food. It's been a while since I went back but I had the chance to finally try the famous pork belly. The main event, the pork belly, was really good; it was just nice in terms of tenderness, and it isn't too fatty. The pork didn't have any porky smell or taste either; it was really the star of the show. The side dishes were also good, with the mushrooms having a great texture and flavor, and the potato foam being soft, compact, and creamy. The only thing is that the excessive bacon bits made the dish taste a bit cheap as those bits just don't match up in quality compared to the other ingredients. That kinda dampened the 'style' and class of this dish. For 16 bucks this was also slightly pricey. I would rather have the duck confit.

Heartiness (portion): 4/5
Tastiness (product): 4/5
Worthiness (price): 3.5/5

19/06/15