Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Word of the Week: Bistro

In my own bistro one day, there would be a stalk of fresh rosemary in the bottled water on the table. 

A traditional bistro in its European origins is a small restaurant that serves moderately priced simple meals in a modest setting. Bistros are defined mostly by the type of foods they serve. Home-cooked food with menus developed around simple recipes that would keep over time. 

Today's bistros are chic in deco and architecture and normally high in prices. 

I'm thinking it would be fun to try to run your own bistro and share the kind of food you'd like to share with others!

2 comments:

  1. That would be awesome.
    The bistros sprouting up in Singapore are way too atas and overpriced. Translating your definition above to local parlance would be a Zi Char joint.

    What I see now is that the name Bistro is just used as a marketing name to connote a value for money laid back restaurant to lure customers but turns out to be an overpriced cafe/restaurant even those in the boondocks.

    Guess it's trendy in this economic time to brand a little restaurant as Bistro so that it is a little better than zi char and can charge higher price for the perceived higher european value.

    I am sure yours will be a breath of fresh rosemary given your passion for food and art of cooking.

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  2. Hi Alvin! Many thanks for such a lovely note. Yes, bistros these days are way overpriced and have departed from the traditional definition.

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