Don’t Rush Out During Phase 2, Eat Excellent Lasagna & Pot-Free ‘Fondue’ At Home

We’ve dined at the restaurant a couple of times before and enjoyed the hearty, rustic French plates cooked by chef Balaji Vijayachandran, who used to work at Daniel Boulud's DB Bistro & Oyster Bar in MBS for four years. Especially the indulgent Mont D’or cheese, baked with wine till molten and dreamy. As with many other F&B outlets forced to pivot during the pandemic, So France launched a website during the Circuit Breaker selling both hot bistro food (bistro plates aren't available via delivery for now during Phase 2 as the eatery is currently open for dine-in), as well as frozen ready-to-eat meals that can be easily warmed up, plus cheeses, cold cuts, canned stuff, pastries and wines. Same-day delivery is free upon order with a minimum spend of $120 — quite reasonable if you’re going to stock up on frozen dishes, snacks or wines for a few meals.

We don't know about you, but we’re going to continue dining at home for now even though restaurants are open from today (19 June) during Phase 2 of Singapore's post-CB measures. At least until we can be assured of the continued downward trend of Covid-19 cases — and that people aren’t going to be Covidiots and throng public spaces like it’s 2019. Until then, we’re not ready to be unmasked in an enclosed space with unmasked strangers. And until then, we’d order a box of wonderful things to eat from So France when we wanna treat ourselves. Pro tip: dad will love this for Father’s Day.

Here’s our list of must-buy items:

The irony that a place called So France serves superb lasagna isn't lost on us. The layered Italian pasta dish comes in a foil tray and is sold frozen. All it needs is a 12 minute pop in the oven after it’s defrosted and it emerges like a beautiful tray bake with bubbling cheese and gleaming red sauce seeping out from beneath its crackly crust.

The ragu slathered on the pasta sheets is intensely savoury, the tomatoes and minced beef slow-simmered till sweet and mellow with just a hint of tang to cut the richness of the umami mozzarella and parmesan cheese topping. Far too easy to eat — our generously-portioned tray for two was gone in minutes. We plan to stock up on a few more of these to stash in the freezer for days when we're too lazy to cook.

Apparently, we bought the last of the amazing Mont d'Or ($36; see main pic), a soft-ripened cheese crafted from raw cow’s milk and named after Mont d’Or in the Jura region of Franche Comté. It’s only made from August 15 to March 15, so the next batch will probably be available closer to October. That being said, this smaller, more affordable raw cow’s milk Camembert from Normandy also works well as a baked cheese.

Remove the wooden box. Then simply use a knife to mark an X on its waxed surface, drizzle some dry white wine all over to moisten (be generous, let some of it seep into the cheese and flood the top slightly — you could even stick in some cloves of garlic) and bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes at 180°C. The reward for your patience: lava-like lusciousness, the oozy, milky cheese spiked with intoxicating notes of wine. It’s like a self-contained mini fondue with no pot to wash up. We like to pair it with crusty baguette — which the bistro also sells. Get this over the tooth-shatteringly hard croutons, and also order some cured meats (see below).

A cured, slightly chewy sausage best enjoyed sliced thinly. Well-seasoned, not at all gamey, tender and pleasantly salty with mild pops of heat from the pepper.

If you don’t have wine at home and don’t wish to buy a bottle, get this budget-friendly mini tube of white to drizzle over your Camembert before baking it. You won’t need all of it for the cheese, but you can always sip on the leftovers.

Made in house by So France’s chefs. You can taste the decadence of the herb- and fat-soaked duck confit in this silky, unctuous paste. So delicious and rich, we got heartburn after bingeing on half a packet with some bread in one sitting. Worth it.

We’ve never really appreciated this little pastry that originated in Bordeaux. But So France’s house-baked version — delivered to us still warm, delightfully crusty and slightly charred at the edges, yet custardy and rummy in the middle — is irresistible.

Not cheap, but these are some gourmet canned sardines. This particular brand and vintage (yes, these French sardines boast vintages like wine, lol) offers plump, unerringly fresh fish with no hint of pong. Instead, it's infused with fruity olive oil and a creamy, mellow richness. Drizzle the tasty fish-infused oil onto toasted bread before draping the silvery chunks on top.

The sardines are packed in tins printed with beautiful artwork.

Like Nutella? Well, this is only a hundred times better. Imagine a mound of fine dark French chocolate and freshly roasted hazelnuts pulverised into a bittersweet, lemak, intensely chocolately spread. It’s slightly runny and easily slathered over ice cream, cake and croissants. Speaking of which…

Get some croissants. They don’t look like much, but are buttery, crunchy, flaky and pillowy in all the right places. Freezes well, too.

Visit https://www.so-france.sg/epicerie/ to order online. So France is at Duo Galleria, 7 Fraser St, S189356. Tel: 6909-6449.

Photos: Florence Fong/So France