Every foodie knows that a good meal starts with great ingredients. On a small island like Singapore they can be both hard to find, as well as ridiculously expensive. But every once in a while, on my quest for amazing food, I stumble upon a hidden gem. This time, that gem is Le Quartier.
Le Quartier is a French supermarket hidden inside PasarBella @ Grandstand, Turf City. Upon first glance, it looks like any other supermarket. But if you look a little closer, it’s a treasure trove of great French food from mains, snacks, spreads, cheese, wines and soups at affordable prices.
With their intention to introduce the general public to French cuisine at an affordable price Le Quartier keeps standards high and prices low, with specially sourced French wines generally ranging from $25-$40, and a wide variety of cheeses and other French favourites.
Le Quartier has free cheese and wine tasting weekly where they also share a recipe which allows you to make delicious French meals with nothing more than the food that is available at the store itself. They also offer pre-prepared frozen meals if you love French cuisine but are short on time.
A few things really caught my eye in Le Quartier. Firstly, Jamban de Bayome – a style of of game similar to Parma ham that is very nice and not overly dry. It leaves a nice sweet taste in the back of your mouth. At only $10 for 100gm, it’s a steal.
The second, exclusively made meat spreads such as pork or duck rilletes and chicken liver mousse by a French chef can be bought for around $15 a jar. It’s so good that all it needs is a piece of bread or a cracker to be spread on. They have a variety of different kinds but my favorite was the pork.
My favourite item of the lot were the canned Parmentier Sardines which only cost between $5.50 to $7.90. The sardines are fantastic. Prepared in olive oil with a bit of herbs, they’re very fresh and meaty. Often times I find that with any canned meats they are either very soggy or or very dry. These sardines were a perfect balance of both. So good you can eat them straight out of the tin.
Le Quartier has two outlets in Singapore at the moment – PasarBella @ Grandstand, Turf City and 78 Serangoon Garden Way. With Bastille Day just around the corner, Le Quartier is the one-stop-shop to celebrate and indulge in all things French.