French foods or French cuisine, has always had that luminary draw to is. There is always a halo of exquisite perfection, the exotic and the distinctly delicate preparation to their dishes. For me, French food is like a dining experience in the clouds, it is unlike the down to eating experiences that I have when I dine on let's say, Spanish or Italian food. The culture behind those other foods are more riotous, more colourful, a rich array of sound and music, loud voices and thunderous accents that accompany their flavourful food and exotic dishes.

Dining French means a calm and collected approach to dining. It means dressing up, looking the part because when you walk into a French fine dining restaurant, you are walking into a world of detail and luxury. You don't stride your way to the table, you sort of float as the waiter greets you with a napkin almost casually thrown over his arm, a bottle of champagne at the ready. You seat at your table and settle into the cushion, almost sinking into its fabric. The French approach their food in the same way that they approach their art, in the sense because it is the same two things to them. Painters are no different from chefs, because in the kitchen these luminaries of the world of gastronomy are master artists, sculptor and architects of some of the finest food the world has ever seen.

The French are also not timid, being well known to ingratiate the rest of the world into their food, but always making sure that it was still distinctly French, letting the diner know which culture stands out in the dish. They are also bold pioneers who took a look at the world and said – ‘we can eat everything that Mother Earth has to offer' – with dishes that included the snail, the frog and other more exotic animals. In Singapore, there is a surprising range of French restaurants all over the island and people have been enjoying their fares more years and years, some more than 20 years in the making. Some of the more popular names include restaurants like Vis-a-Vis located in Upper Bukit Timah Road, or Perle Noir, located in Siglap.

Others that have caught the attention of diners in the lion city are Aria Bistro located inside Singapore's thorny arts centre – the Esplanade, Sebastian's in Hillcrest Park and Club Street Brasseire, located in the self same road. Being true to their nature, the French have not planted their flag in a particular part of Singapore, infiltrating all corners and aspects of our local culture. That is good news for us because wherever we go, even if the mood just happens to hit us, there is an exquisite French foods restaurant or bistro within distance. Finding the best French foods for that perfect dinner is now no longer a problem; surprise a loved one or just satisfy a craving, all within the delicate and exquisite atmosphere of a French restaurant.