Summer Hill

Finally, I get to write about my experience at Summer Hill, as it was one of my most anticipated meals, given the numerous reels and posts about the place from other content creators. I am not really into French food, but I do not really mind it, so I made a booking twice at Summer Hill only to change it due to my schedule. When I finally visited them, it was in late February this year

Located in Claymore Connect, Summer Hill is a quaint and cosy restaurant with a limited number of seats. The entrance was cute and welcoming, like a country house in France

We had to walk through this small tunnel filled with fairy lights to transport ourselves to the French countryside. Inside, the space is idyllic and laid back, with the cute tiled tables giving the vibe of a garden party in a French countryside mansion

The restaurant quickly filled up while we took our seats, and I really loved the plates we were given, which nicely depict the peaceful French countryside. We were also given a small map with colour codes for each dish to show where they originated from and the ingredients used to create the dish

The staff will come around and explain the story behind each region and dish, and also the main concept of Summer Hill. We started off with cold dishes, and the first up was the salad from Piedmont, which is made of potatoes, ham and cream. Removing the fancy name, it was a hearty version of potato salad made in French style with cream, Aioli sauce and egg, which gives it a creamy yet tangy flavour

The next dishes did not really come in order, and we were served the Quiche Lorraine from Lorraine, White Clams with cream and wine from Normandie and Tourain soup from Sud Quest. I am a person who really likes a good quiche, and this was a quite rich quiche with ham, Gruyere cheese and cream. The cream filling was smooth and cheesy, but I felt that the ham flavour was not balanced out evenly throughout the quiche. The clams were rich and sweet, and the wine managed to bring out the natural umami flavours, which cut through the cream soup for a savoury, delicious flavour. The Sud Quest was a tomato soup with duck confit, garlic, onions and duck fat croutons. This was one of my favourite dishes as the tomato soup was thick and tangy with a savoury fat from the duck. This was the kind of soup to have while you are feeling down. I had 3 helpings of the soup and 2 helpings of the clams

Next, we had the Farcous from Averyon, a herb and green pancake with creme fraiche and tomatoes. The grilled mackerel from Grenoble was a huge fillet cooked with capers, lemon and brown butter, while the last in this group of photos was the Provence beer stew with olives, dried orange peel and red wine, which was eaten by my nephew. The grilled mackerel has a nice charred fragrance and taste, but the meat was quite dry, while the pancake was quite flat in terms of flavours, and I did not really taste much herbs. The beef stew was tender and flavourful, according to my nephew

The last batch of items served was the Toulouse grilled chicken, the Languedoc grilled pork spareribs with herb oil and tomato onion relish. Both the meat dishes were quite a disappointment as I found the meat all quite dry and tough to bite. While the flavours were on point, it would be perfect if they were more tender. One thing that did stand out was the lightly cooked long beans, which were quite addictive to eat, and the juices provided the moisture to eat the dry chicken

Last but not least for dessert was the Genoa sponge cake with chantilly cream and their version of ice-kachang dessert, where you can customise the toppings on your iced dessert via the bar counter in the middle of the restaurant. The cake was soft and very sweet, so the chantilly cream helped to balance out the sweetness. At this point, most diners were very full, and some opted out of the desserts, but for me, I think they completed the meal

Overall, there were certain dishes I absolutely loved, and some dishes were just ok and nothing too spectacular. The experience of having the trolley come by each table and serving different dishes was quite new and refreshing, and I really liked having the staff explain the concept and background of each dish before we dug into it. I will probably visit again once I see a menu I like

Address: 442 Orchard Rd, #02-17 Claymore Connect, Singapore 238879

Opening hours: 11.30 am to 2.30 pm and 6 pm to 10.30 pm Tues to Fri, 11.30 am to 3.30 pm and 6.20 pm to 10.30 pm ( Sat ), 11.30 am to 3.30 pm ( Sun)