Oosters Belgian Brasserie
Rating: ***1/2
Add: 25 Church St, #01-04 Capital Square Three
Tel: 6438 3210
Price: Around S$30/pax with beer

Visited on 4 May 06 with Chup and Ochin.

These past few days I have been craving for Belgian mussels! Something like the mussels dinner which I had during my Switzerland trip back in Oct 2005. We had this wonderful mussels dinner at a restaurant called Le Pirate at Lausanne (Switzerland). The mussels came in black pots together with pomme frites that melt in your mouth!

So 7 months on, and I am dying to have something like that again. I could only located one restaurant having the closest description to Le Pirate. That is "Oosters". Singapore's first (and possible only) authentic Belgian Brasserie.

Order the mussels we did.
Come in black pot they did.

However the mussels are huge in size! Not the bite size kind we had at Lausanne. I must say the taste is great. It's just the hugeness of the mussels. Too big for my taste. Too 'juicy'...

A quote from Oosters' menu:

Why Belgian? you may ask. The small country nestled in the
heart of Europe boasts some of the continent's best cuisine. The locals brag
that their food has the "the finesse of the French and the generosity of the
Germans" and the beers ... well a country that produces over 400 beers must be
doing something right.

Belgian mussel pots, fries and mayonnaise are word renown, as
are their beatiful dark and golden ales, several of which we have imported
specially for our guests at Oosters. So raise your glass of Leffe Blonde to your
Moules Mariniere and taost to Belgium!

Overall, I enjoyed it nevertheless. Actually there was another sentence in the menu:

"All mussels are served with frites (chips), mayonnaise and dipping sauces just like in Belgium and are perfectly accompanied by an ice cold glass of Stella Artois"

Now could somebody tell me, does the sentence mean it comes with the beer??

This is what we had:
1. Leffe Blonde Beer S$8.50 (happy hour price)
2. Stella Artois Beer S$7 (happy hour price)
3. Goat Cheese Salad S$14
4. Pots of mussels (traditional 1 kg pot) Moules au Vin Blanc (white wine, celery & carrots) S$37
5. Seafood Croquettes S$12 (YUMMY!!!)

Happy hour lasts till 9 pm.

The 1 kg mussels serving is comfortable to be shared by 3. Alternative for 1-2 persons would be 500g serving at S$21.

The mussels can be served in other gravy such as:
a. Moules Mariniere - Celery, carrots, onion and garlic.
b. Moules Tom Yam - The classic Thai spicy soup, with lemongrass
c. Moules Pedas - A spicy tomato sauce

Clears instructions on how to consume the mussels are given :)

The Belgians eat them by the kg. You can too (or
share) but for most, a half portion of 500g will be sufficient. Put your
discarded mussel shells in the lid of your casserole dish. Keep the shell of the
first mussel you eat. You should use this shell as a pincher to pluck the rest
of your mussels. So please, No Knives and Forks!

*Please do not eat any mussels that have not
opened after being cooked.

For a Thursday night, the business was roaring! The place was fully packed. Mostly with expats who are there for the beer. Far cry from a restaurant just accross the alley "Savoir" which was literally EMPTY.

photo credit: Oosters Photo Gallery