SINGAPORE – In the face of rising costs and soaring food prices, one new restaurant looks set to offer hearty French classics that do not break the bank. 

Think $17++ for half a rotisserie chicken, mesclun salad, housemade sriracha sauce and pickles; $37++ for a coq au vin (French chicken stew), the most expensive item on the a la carte menu; and from $25++ for a daily two-course menu. 

All this from the 70-seat French brasserie The Plump Frenchman by lifestyle company Zouk Group. The eatery makes its debut on June 16 at integrated development Guoco Midtown ll in Bugis. 

It is helmed by a familiar face in Singapore’s dining scene – Germany-born chef Lorenz Hoja, 44, who has been the group’s chief culinary officer for the past 1½ years. 

Trained in French cuisine, Hoja spent more than a decade with the Joel Robuchon Group across London, Paris and Singapore. 

Here, he was the executive chef and part of the opening team at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon and Joel Robuchon Restaurant at Resorts World Sentosa in 2011. Under Hoja, the L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon received two Michelin stars in 2016 and 2017.

After leaving Singapore in 2017, he worked in restaurants in Hong Kong and Paris. He returned to Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa from 2019 to 2021 as the cluster executive chef, then ventured to other properties in Switzerland.  

Prior to The Plump Frenchman’s opening, The Straits Times gets a taste of several dishes on its menu. These include a la carte highlights such as Salade Nicoise ($24++), a generous portion of crisp lettuce with eggs, tuna, beans and potatoes; and Chipirons ($16++), tender chorizo-stuffed baby squid with parsley, garlic and olive oil. A blackboard menu of rotating specials will include dishes such as La Soupe A l’Oignon (18++), a rich French onion soup topped with crispy croutons and melted cheese.

Set menus ($25++ to $47++) feature options like Beteraves, a salad of beetroot, feta cheese, pickles and dill; Saumon en Papillotte (add $10++), salmon cooked in parchment paper; and a one-person portion of roast chicken, with mashed potatoes and mesclun salad.

Desserts – scooped and served tableside – include Tiramisu Citron ($11), a lemon-soaked spin on the classic tiramisu, drizzled with olive oil; and Mousse Au Chocolat ($14), a rich chocolate mousse. 

A wall of wine bottles, which Hoja calls a “wine shrine”, offers labels priced from $14++ a gl...