Vis-A-Vis

If you're looking for a quiet and pleasant place for French cuisine, I would say Vis-A-Vis would satisfy your requirements. The warm orange lightings and neatly furnished restaurant makes one feel very comfortable. On top of that, the restaurant is usually peaceful and is not very crowded. However, beware - this is not the place to go if you're on a budget.

Service Something I noticed and was surprised for some unknown reason - the waiters were all middle-aged men, minus the lady behind the bar in charge of the bill (whom I reckon is the boss/ co-owner).

Upon entering, it seems like there would always be someone attending to you, hence minimizing your waiting time. A waiter is assigned to the table and is always ready to take your order or answer any queries. While I have to give them credit for their effort in providing good service, it occasionally felt like the waiters were "doing too much". Having them looking over at your table all the time sometimes did make me feel a little uneasy.

Food and Price We ordered a Christmas special that was $86 (original: $78, but we changed the dessert for something else outside the set) and is fairly cheap, relative to the prices of their individual items. All in all, we ordered an additional Clam Chowder, Roasted Lamb, Roasted Prime Rib, Creme Brulee Ice Cream, Escargots and a bisque (but I forgot what was in it).

I especially liked the Clam Chowder. It was unexpected but a pleasant surprise. The soup tasted sweet and came in a large portion. Also, it did not have any clams in it. Where did the clams go? That's where it's different. On the side, they served a strip of bamboo clam flambed in whisky, topped with garlic and some spices. So now we have Clam Chowder, with the whole Clam! Perfect for clam-lovers. I'd say it was great.

The Escargots were part of the set and came in a bowl with some salad and half a potato. And the verdict? Disappointing. There were only 4 pieces of escargots (and I was expecting the usual 6...) that was garnished with some butter and garlic I believe, which made it rather tasty I admit. However, the potato used was that of a boiling potato rather than a baking potato, which is a whole world of difference. To me, it was rather shocking to know that a restaurant like this would serve potatoes that we usually use in making clear soup (and perhaps with some tomato and pork).

The Lamb (medium) was well-decorated and looked very appetizing. So was the Prime Rib. However, the gravy that came along with the Lamb had a smell that usually comes with the meat. Ironically, the meat did not have that smell. However it was rather soft and chewy. The Prime Rib (medium-rare) was not too bad, but just a little over-done. This could be because it was a really thin slice. The beef was sweet and tender, but had a little more fat than expected. So part of the slice of steak was wasted.

So, everything but dessert was done. Wasn't all satisfied, considering how much they cost, but the dessert was.. worse. We had a Creme Brulee Ice Cream. Firstly, it tasted from like coffee/ dark chocolate ice cream. It tasted nothing like caramel/ cream. Then, there were 3 balls of fritters that was stuffed with sweet potato, with some melted chocolate in it. Not exactly the best French dessert combination, plus the fact that I'm not a fan of sweet potato. On the other hand, my friend quite liked it for the slight bitterness and sweet potato with chocolate. So it couldn't be all that bad.

Along with the meal, we had a glass of red wine and rose wine. The whole meal came up to came up to $220 . The lamb was about $50. For your information, deserts are priced at $20 , soups are slightly below 20, main course above $40. Final verdict? It was alright, but I wouldn't go back again even though it tasted alright. But for this price, alright shouldn't be what you expect.