In a city that knows French food intimately, The Plump Frenchman wins not by reinvention but by doing the classics properly — with butter, confidence, and a knowing wink to Singapore tastes.
Singapore has always had a soft spot for French cuisine. The city runs the full spectrum of French dining — from the hushed temples with their forest of wine glasses to the bistros where butter is treated as a constitutional right — which means that any newcomer has its work cut out.
So when The Plump Frenchman, Zouk Group’s pretend-Parisian brasserie, sidles up and offers to show Singapore a good time, the only reasonable response is to raise a skeptical eyebrow and ask: “All right then. What have you got?”
Quite a lot, as it turns out.
Located at one corner of Guoco Midtown, The Plump Frenchman comes flourished with all the expected brasserie tropes — warm wood, dainty tableware, a friendly convivial hum, and a faint suggestion in the air that someone, somewhere, has over-ordered French fries. That someone happened to be me.
Here Chef Lorenz Hoja presides over a menu that understands the difference between homage and pastiche. Surprise, surprise — he’s German. That he is not French matters little; Chef Hoja spent over a decade with Joël Robuchon honing his French culinary techniques as well as directed restaurants in hotels across Europe, so he can tell the difference between madeleine and mousseline. And I dare you to call him plump to his face.
Not that The Plump Frenchman is named for him. Instead it’s more like a promise; the sort of place where you settle in, loosen the waistband, and prepare for the comforting inevitability of a very good and filling Gallic lunch.
Take his Terrine de Campagne. This house-made meatloaf comes so classically French it’s likely to have been compressed by the weight of its own self importance. And deservedly so; it’s unctuous and flavourful, yet somehow, impossibly delicate. The delightful tanginess of the accompanying house-cured pickles slide through that meaty richness like a hot knife through Bordier butter. It’s gone in no time.
The L’Andouille De Boeuf takes the classic British bangers and mash and, dare I say, makes it even better; who can say no to a juicy, meaty beef snag nestled in the most velvety, butter-infused mash this side of town? Oui, merci.
Then there’s the bistro’s calling card — spit roasted chook. Your poulet comes either whole, Poulet Entier, or half, Demi Poulet; they are flavourful, but otherwise unremarkable. What stands out here are the accompaniments; a zingy house-made sriracha, and a mesclun so surprisingly well dressed it practically preens on your plate.
“I know, sriracha isn’t French,” Chef Hoja admits. “But Singaporeans demand their chilli.”
Especially when it comes to Rice à la Française, its riff on Hainanese chicken rice. Think crisp roasted chicken, fragrant pilaf and prawns, lashed with creamed uni. It is cheeky. It is unnecessary. It is, annoyingly, rather clever and quite a bit of fun in a cuisine that tends to take itself all too seriously.
French restaurants in Singapore often teeter between unattainable grandiosity and cheerful shabbiness. The Plump Frenchman finds the middle ground. The food here doesn’t demand reverence; it simply reminds Singapore why French fare remains irresistible, and merely requires that you arrive hungry and willing to be pleased. Not every dish will change your life. But almost every dish will make your day, sending you home happily still licking the butter off your lips.
Chef Hoja has said his mission is “real food for real people”. Fine. Mission accomplished.
[Photo credits: The Plump Frenchman]
The Plump Frenchman
Address 20 Tan Quee Lan St, #01-20 Guoco Midtown II, Singapore 188107 (Google Maps link)
Opening Hours 11.30am to 2.30pm and 5.30pm to 11pm daily
Website theplumpfrenchman.com
Instagram @tpf_sg
Facebook theplumpfrenchman
Reservations book here
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