3-hour-long dining extravaganza at Le Crododile

(Belated) A night out at Le Crocodile filled with delectable lactose-filled goodness.

Valentines Day is undeniably one of those holidays that incite the deepest fears among men, not because they are incapable of delivering solidly convincing romantic expression, but because wallets (among other things) shrivel upon paying for the now-standard "vday dinner menu". Meanwhile, restauranteurs rejoice after waiting all year for this occasion to make a killing.

Word around town is that Hawksworth delivered the biggest "rip-off" with a $158/pp menu. Miku, a close second at $125/pp.

My jaws dropped when Vic took us to Le Crocodile for a multi-course dinner at Le Crocodile. "$98?! That's too rip-off, lets go home!". "This is to make up for the crappy food and snooty waiters we tolerated in Paris", he said. I obliged.

We arrived at 8:30pm for the "second seating" of the night.

8:45pm-- First up, a creamy mushroom truffle tart, not officially on the menu. I promptly popped my lactase pills (Asian problems), upon good judgement. The tart was a balanced blend of creamy delight, aromatic truffle, and tiny mushroom bits. I devoured it in a few seconds. 5/5

9:00pm--no sign of any food being brought out from the kitchen. "they must be behind schedule". We joked around about our bosses and coworkers in the meantime.

9:15pm --A sigh of relief when we saw foie gras creme brulee and duck proscuitto. THYME TO EAT! oh wait. Too much lactose. I donated my foie gras to Vic, to his delight. A small taste of it rendered a savoury rich buttery-smooth meaty flavour. After he finished both foie gras, I asked for his comments, to which he said "it was pretty good". The duck proscuitto was served on a crispy baguette with a generous portion of marmalade. I was 3-bites-deep into the proscuitto when I realised the flavourful marmalade was made of onions, my mortal enemy. The onion flavour was slightly over-powering.  3/5

9:30pm --My stomach was growling "FEED ME DAMNIT", but no sign of the next dish. We joked around about the latest Donald Trump news.

 9:45pm--A warm plate of asparagus and prawn salad topped with an egg was finally delivered. I appreciated the effort to serve cooked vegetables as I was never one to enjoy cold salads. The mildly savoury flavour of the prawns and asparagus paired well with the arugula and balsamic reduction. Didn't care too much for the egg and feta cheese as they seemed out of place. 4.5/5

10:00pm --Still waiting for the real deal. We were quickly running out of people to joke around about.

10:15pm--Finally! A beautifully plated dish of scallop (big thing on top), sable fish, and pasta swimming in buttery sawce. Scallop was cooked medium-rare and grilled lightly on the outside. The natural sweet flavours of the scallop speaks for itself. Sable fish was moist, with a smoky grill taste, and crumbled softly under my fork. The thick butter sauce was too rich for my liking so I had to skip out on most of the pasta. 4/5

His lambchop and tenderloin looked scrumptious from a distance. He commented "it was pretty good".

10:30pm-- We observed, uncomfortably, an older Asian couple at a nearby table exhibiting extreme PDA with a case of Roman Hands.

10:45pm: A mini scoop of passion fruit sorbet was served.  It was smooth and tasted like passionfruit... bubbletea.... which reminded me that I have never tasted real passion fruit. A welcome palette cleanser nontheless. 5/5

11:00pm: The finishing move: trio of desserts (Strawberry souffle, black forest truffle cake, and rasberry coconut cream tart). Souffle--as expected, light and airy. Black forest cake--not overly sweet, not too dense, rich nevertheless with chocolate truffles. Tart--surprisingly refreshing choice of sweet coconut cream paired with a sour fruit. 5/5

Overall:

Food: 4/5 --Overall a well thought out menu.
Ambience: 4/5 Old fashioned, simple, bistro style decor.
Service: 3/5 The whole meal took nearly 3 hours, with 30 mins of waiting between each course. Otherwise, service was attentive.
Value for Money: 4/5 Not terribly overpriced considering the amount of food and the occasion.