Fondly hailed as the Holland Village of the East, Siglap is a treasure trove of quirky restaurants, quaint cafés and quality desserts. Liquid Kitchen had been phased out of the picture by a new kid on the block, Perle Noire, since last December. Do not be fooled by its French name because Perle Noire is no haute French restaurant that only serves pretty, little dishes. Chef and Director Jonathan Tan whips up a comprehensive menu that hints of Swiss, German, French, Italian and Australian fare.

• The Vibe
  Taken literally to mean ‘black pearl' in French, the restaurant is surprisingly not decked out in black. Instead, the interior reflects more of an avant-garde feel rather than old-school French charm in its choice of tableware, wall photography and lighting. Of special mention were the unusual side plates, which look like miniature UFOs with a protruding wing, and the almost-cerulean aquariums further in that complement the restaurant's repute for live seafood.

• The Food
  Perle Noire's heavily fusioned menu features dishes from all over the world. I decided to go global and pick something Swiss, New Zealand, Chinese and German for a good feel of Chef Jonathan Tan's repertoire. The meal thus began with a Fodue De Fromage ($19.95), a cheese fondue showcasing molten gruyere and emmenthal in garlic, shallots, nutmeg and dry white wine, and served with baguette. It is strangely therapeutic to see the cheese bubbling atop a candle flame and then smothering the bite-sized baguette pieces on a skewer in the bubbling ‘cauldron'. The cheese fondue makes for great comfort food with its tart, fragrant taste.

  One must not miss the restaurant's specialty – live mussels. Diners can choose to have their oysters done in 5 different sauces: beer, bacon cream, chilli sambal, spicy wine or tomato salsa. I had New Zealand Green-Lipped Mussels ($18.95) done in spicy wine, so as to witnesss the freshness of the mussels through a mildly flavoured sauce. The spiced concoction worked wonders with impossibly fresh mussels; it was wondrous enough to make me down half a dozen mussels in one breath. If you want the mussels any fresher, you may have to swallow them raw from the aquarium.

  Enticed by their live mussels, I had great expectations for live fish in Perle Noire. The restaurant offers snapper, seabass and grouper (garoupa), which can be done in, again, 5 ways: deep-fried, grilled, oven-baked, pan-fried or steamed. Try the oven-baked grouper ($32.95) in all of its fresh, firm glory. The fish was moist with lovely juices and very easy to flake off from the spine with your cutlery. Indeed, it was as good as the mussels, although steaming could possibly have yielded even better fish than baking it in an oven.

  Have a Yorkshire Pork Rack ($28.95) to satiate that omnipresent red meat craving. A chef's recommendation, the pork rack arrived in a gorgeous golden-brown skin laid atop a bed of mashed sweet potatoes and sautéed vegetables. The meat was conveniently cut into serving sizes by the kitchen so that diners can savour the tender meat of Perle Noire's pride of 100% grain-fed Australian English white female hog easily. Go easy on the accompanying sherry prune juice because it is a tad too sweet and  the meat is fine on its own. Too much of this dish, however, and you will feel all oily and sickened. Rather, just stick to the live seafood off the menu and you will leave Perle Noire with no complaints.

• The Service
  The staff is polite and their prompt initiative to replace my extinguished fondue flame and cutting up the pork rack is commendable. Manager Apple Tan, wife to Chef Jonathan, makes it a point to gather customer feedback and ensure a diner's utmost comfort in the restaurant with her warm disposition.

SD Food Advisor's Take on Perle Noire Oysters & Grill Bar
The restaurant's strength certainly lies in their fresh selection of seafood. I cannot say the same for the rest of the menu, though – it is undoubtedly hard to juggle so many cuisines under one roof. A trip all the way to Siglap is certainly worth it if you are an oysters-and-mussels aficionado, especially on Wednesdays and Thursdays when Perle Noire conducts their Oyster Nite ($9 for half dozen Canadian/US live oysters; 10% off other oysters) and Live Seafood Nite (15% off all live mussels, fish and lobsters) respectively.