Located on the second floor of 1-Flowerhill in Sentosa, Camille is a French-Japanese restaurant that oozes romance – it’s named after the impressionist painter Claude Monet’s lover by the same name after all. Needless to say, it makes for an ideal date spot for a quiet evening away from prying eyes, or even a cosy and intimate wedding location. The 100-year-old building mixes old-world charm with classy, contemporary elements, and come dusk, the space becomes enveloped by a soft, warm glow.
Dinner is a languid affair here, and the restaurant does a good job of priming you for the mains with an elegant bread service to start. We’ll run the risk of saying this was our favourite course, what with the soft kombu parker rolls tearing apart oh-so nicely, and luscious, velvety kombu and miso butter to pair.
Chefs Lamley Chua and Loh Wai Lun combine French cooking techniques with subtle Japanese flavours, with ample dishes that include tableside service for an added visual element to the experience. The A5 Hokkaido beef and tuna akami tartare ($42) is the perfect example of this. Think of it as a French-Japanese ‘lohei’ if you will – an array of condiments like wasabi and crispy puffed rice are delicately prepared right in front of your eyes before hand-chopped and cold-smoked beef and tuna and are tossed into the mix. Seafood lovers should opt for the Marseille seafood stewed papilotte style ($45), which comes with a bounty of mussels, scallops and prawns swimming in a fragrant lobster and yuzu bisque. This is brought to the table wrapped in film and then cut open for you to get a first whiff of the aroma before it’s portioned out.
Popular mains on the menu include the ‘Robbins Island’ full-blood wagyu flat iron ($62) which promises bold, deep flavours, and is best enjoyed with a touch of yuzu kosho to counter the rich and fatty MBS 7 cut. Alternatively, the roasted duck breast ($46) is a well-balanced option that substitutes the regular beef jus for a brighter ume shiso jus, preventing the dish from becoming cloying.
Round off your dinner with an artful presentation of a deconstructed Black Forest cake ($28). It’s almost a pity to call this a dish, because it’s really closer to a performance. As if watching a painter craft a masterpiece in real time, you’ll get to see Chef Wai Lun work on the marble slab before him as the ‘black forest’ slowly comes into shape. Imagine chocolate chocolate clouds, edible chocolate soil, mushroom meringue, and vibrant hues of magenta from the red cherry components working together to create a dish that’s as pleasing to the eye as it is to the palate.