Absinthe

Taken from the Absinthe Facebook Page 

Absinthe
72 Boat Quay
For reservations: 62229068
Lunch: $40-50 (set)
Dinner: $80-150 (ala carte, set, with wine)
French
Calls itself "casual" but clearly french chic!
Slightly slow but beyond excellent service

   I have many food memories I want to write about, and will clearly never have enough time. But, I suppose that in itself is a blessing - that the world is richer than I could ever remember. I think it is mildly amusing that all my food memories so far are of French restaurants - it gives the impression that I only eat french food! Perhaps, it is all a coincidence, or perhaps, it's the french way of eating - slow and simmering that just seeps into your skin, your memories, your words.

   R surprised me by booking Absinthe for our lunch, since we per our tradition usually eat Korean or Japanese food. It was raining, and I had to run back to office to grab a giant umbrella, as the two of us tottered down the street, bridge, sidewalk to Absinthe. This beautiful mint green restaurant with an alfresco area that made you want to call it a day, and dream sweet absinthe dreams by the river.

   We had the set lunch and as usual, I ordered the foie gras. I think Absinthe's foie gras is one of the best ones I've had. My main course was the fish (can't remember which type), which was really fresh. It was wonderful - the christmas spirit still lingering in the air, the warm red brick walls, the small fragments of light from the tiny windows that seemed to made reality just that softer for the moment, the bread and the homemade butter, R's laughter.

   Honestly, I never thought that R and I would get along that well. R is very posh and crisp. I don't ever recall seeing her undignified. But, if she was golden, it was her heart that was gold. Her inner child is just like my inner child, and while we don't really know the intricacies of each other's life and hardly know each other's histories - we know that life is most beautiful when you believe in all the simple wonders of the world (including unicorns).

  I had came to Absinthe before to celebrate a close friend's birthday. It was us four girls and they gave us a secret green room on the 3rd floor. The secret room had an Ipod dock for us to play inappropriate music in a French restaurant. We ate a 5/7 set course for dinner, became so full that we prayed that fine dining would truly be tiny dining, and finished a bottle of champagne with lots of giggles.

    Absinthe, the green fairy that Hemmingway called "brain-warming, idea-changing liquid alchemy". The rain still went on outside and we marvelled that we could be in any place in the world right now. Or so it seemed.  Thanks for being the magic that propels the world to spin.