Showing posts with label italian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label italian. Show all posts

Saturday, February 12, 2022

IO Italian Osteria @ HillV2

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Nearest MRT would be Hillview MRT and it takes about 8 minutes to walk to HillV2. Plenty of dining options at HillV2, and my boss recommends us to try IO Italian Osteria.

Reservation is recommended as the place gets pretty crowded during lunch.




My boss said the must-try here, is the truffle bread. Indeed, as most tables seemed to have chosen this starter.

Traditional Roman Schiaciata @$10

oozing with melted truffle cheese

I thought the bread tasted like foccacia and I'm not wrong. So apparently these two breads are similar but schiacciata does not require a lengthy process. Crispy bread and toasty truffle cheese, makes it a popular choice.

Angus beef carpaccio, parmigiano shavings @16

Our next appetiser is the beef carpaccio and the version here, tasted light and healthy. Lovely with wine, but we didn't have any.

I was curious about old Italian style baked eggs, so we ordered one. Little did I know, it came with truffle cheese as well. Talk about cheesy overload!

'Al Coccio' Old Italian Style Baked Eggs @$14

Served piping hot, and I think it makes a good brunch dish. Just don't order too many cheesy items at one go.

piping hot, cheesy, truffly, eggy

And for 2 pax, I don't recommend ordering more than 2 appetisers.

We shared one main course; Octopus pasta in marinara sauce. The staff recommends penne for this.

Octopus Penne Pasta in Marinara sauce

Plenty of octopus chunks in there. Savoury and flavourful. We were pretty stuffed at this point.

But, I needed to try the dessert. Ordered their pistachio tiramisu to try.

Pistachio Tiramisu @$14

Latte @$6

If you like milky latte, then you'll like the one from IO Italian Osteria.

Thank you boss for the treat!


IO Italian Osteria

Address: 4 Hillview Rise, 02 - 01, Singapore 667979

Websitehttps://io-osteria.com/

Contact: 6710 7150

Business Hours: 

Mon-Fri: 11:30am–10pm

Sat-Sun: 10am–10pm

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Rosso Vino @ Robertson Quay

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For this year's Christmas Gathering, Ivan suggested Rosso Vino for Italian fare plus, reasonably priced wine. We readily agreed and reservations were made immediately.

Our dinner was at 730pm on a weekday and the place was not too busy yet. There are alfresco dining area if you prefer but for us, we like the comfortable air-conditioned indoor seats.


interior


Festive Specials

Have to wait a bit for the rest of the party to arrive, so started with a Rose IGP (Negramaro) from Puglia.

Rose IGP (Negramaro), Puglia 2020 @$14

When the rest arrived, we made it a point for each person in the party to order one dish of their choice. Mine was the Gnocchi alla Sorentina. Reason is, I wanted to try the different gnocchi in Singapore. Thus far, the best one was at Club Street but unfortunately, can't recall the name of the restaurant. Next was from Gattopardo (but the gnocchi was only an accompaniment on a meat dish).


Appetiser

Started with Buffalo Mozarella cheese with Parma ham. And here, I was wondering why there's so little greens on this plate. Because there is another meatless option called Burrata fresca di Andria. Keke!

Buffala e Prosciutto @$22

let's start


Next appetiser was fried calamari. Thin batter and still tender. Fried to a nice golden hue. Good with the tartar sauce.

Fritto di Calamari @$17


Main Course(s)

Since we are celebrating the festivities, we picked 2 items from the Festive Chef's Special menu; pizza and the cod fish dish.

Gourmet Pizza al Vitello Tonnato

Didn't read the menu before I sank my teeth into the pizza and the dominant flavour turned out to be tuna! Now I know why. Because there's tuna sauce!

veal slice, white pizza with mozzarella cheese, tuna sauce

It's interesting to have veal as pizza topping. The dough has a nice chew to it. White-based pizza is usually not my first choice.

Tracy requested for a simple tomato based spaghetti and it came before the fish dish was served. We had a quick bite each for the spaghetti and it was lovely.

Spaghetti in tomato sauce

wholesome


The cod fish was served to our table only after we enquired about our missing orders. 

Filetto di Merluzzo Su Purea di Patate e Crema di Aragosta

Loved all the seasonal vegetables in there and the mashed potatoes were so yummy! Fish as expected, was smooth and had a good mouthfeel to it. My favourite dish for the night.

Baked Black Cod Fish on mashed potatoes and Lobster Bisque

But where's my gnocchi? I was ready to give it up but we enquired from the staff again and it arrived almost together with our dessert. Served piping hot, the cheese pull was incredible!

Gnocchi alla Sorentina

look at that cheese pull

The gnocchi texture was good, despite being baked. Everyone in the group enjoyed all the tomato-based pasta dishes. Lovely.


Dessert

The group went all out and ordered 3 desserts when everyone was already feeling full. But that's us.

Tiramisu @$16

Torta agli Arumi di Sicilia @$14

Tiramisu was ok, and I preferred the Traditional Italian Cream Pie more. The homemade citrus jam was good. 

hello chocolate gelato


But my absolute favourite dessert that night, was the Affogato. Simple espresso coffee that's strong with a nice aroma (not burnt!) and topped with vanilla ice-cream that melts faster than you can say Affogato. Hahaa! Thank you guys for not wanting to share this. All mine!

Affogato @$9

My table was attended to by Cyan and Eva. Both are friendly and doesn't mind the intermittent orders for wine top-ups or that random pasta. Plus, one of them is quite proficient in helping guests to take group photos, with multiple shots from various angles.

We also had the friendly owner/manager dropping by to say hello and to offer us limoncello to end our meal. Grazie!

limoncello

Overall, Rosso Vino is a good choice for dinner and for a good time with family/friends. I spied other diners having penne pasta, so next time it is.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


Rosso Vino

Address: 15 Merbau Rd, Singapore 239032

Website: https://www.rossovinosingapore.com/

Contact:  6733 7735

Business Hours:

Mon - Sat: 3pm to 12am

Sun: 11.30am to 12am




Friday, December 17, 2021

[Tasting] Omakase Seasonal Lunch Course @ Monte Risaia

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Been wanting to try exquisite omakase using premium and seasonal ingredients? 

Monte Risaia offers Omakase Seasonal Lunch Course for just $79++ per pax. Definitely good value for a lovely 5-course omakase treat! 

The place is cosy and tends to get very busy hence, recommend to make your reservations to avoid disappointment. Do come early around 12pm for lunch.





As in omakase, the item served would depend on season and availability on your day of visit. Below are a list of what I tried recently in Dec 2021.

Staff would check with the guests for their dietary restrictions, before commencement of the meal.

Omakase Seasonal Lunch (5-course)



Engawa (flounder fin) fillet, wrapped with Japanese eggplant and topped with Mozzarella cheese and Italian anchovy butter sauce


The first dish was delightful and comforting. There were layers of soft, smooth texture of the engawa, sweetness from the onions, juicyness from the eggplant (initially I thought it tasted like bittergourd!), topped with salty-creamy mozzarella and plenty of that wonderful tasting, anchovies butter sauce/broth. Just give me some bread to mop up the deliciousness.

Speaking of which, Monte Risaia do have its own housemade foccacia that one could order separately. Oooh, I fancy this because of its cake-like bread texture, plus it goes really well with the anchovies butter sauce.

housemade foccacia (not part of omakase)

The first course was so tasty that one couldn't help but to keep on eating. The plate was polished off pretty quickly.


Next course, was lobster bisque. Now, what I didn't expect, was it to be served inside a parchment paper. So interesting!

Lobster Bisque with Japanese Scallop and Minced Shrimp

hi there


lovely Japanese Lobster Bisque


The flavours of the Japanese Lobster Bisque was pronounced, and each bite had plenty of those sweet scallops and shrimps. Nice.


Next, was the Triple Dashi pasta dish. Lovely shiso fragrance from this dish. Sauce was a good balance of tangy and sweetness. Had enjoyed the previous version of this signature dish back in 2019, and am  loving this version too!

Triple Dashi


A meat dish was served for the next course. We had duck. 

The texture of the Irish duck was expectedly good; firm but not tough. Must try with the plum crystal sauce. Basically horseradish, plum and there is a surprise element in it. A good kind of 'crystal' surprise that adds to overall enjoyment of the dish.

Irish Olive Fed Duck served with Grilled Endive paired with Balsamic Reduction and Plum Crystal Sauce


Almost too quickly, we have reached the last course; dessert. Okinawa black sugar gelato with fresh fruits such as blueberry, raspberry and gooseberry. Berry good.

Fresh Fruits with Okinawa Black Sugar Gelato

The portion was good for the omakase lunch. Do come early to enjoy all the 5 dishes in the Omakase Seasonal Lunch Course at a comfortable pace.

Kudos and thank you to Chef Taizo, Chef Kent and team as all the dishes in the Omakase Seasonal Lunch Course were superbly tasty and comforting. Pronounced flavours that hits all the right spots.  Special mention of Alby, for being such a delightful presence.

Thank you Jennifer (Jennifer Yeo Consultancy) for the invite, and Monte Risaia for hosting the lunch.


Monte Risaia

Address: 59 Duxton Rd, Singapore 089523

Contact: 6970 0067

Reservation: https://www.chope.co/singapore-restaurants/restaurant/monte-risaia

Business Hours:

Mon to Sat : 12–2:30pm, 5–10:30pm

Closed on Sundays.


Sunday, November 28, 2021

Florian Italian Restaurant & Bar @ Naumi Hotel

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Was staying at Naumi over the weekend, hence decided to try out Florian, located on the first floor of Naumi Hotel. How convenient! Plus, hotel guests enjoy 10% off the total bill.

Loved the space at Florian. Its alfresco seats looked so comfy but I'd still prefer dining indoors, with airconditioning.

indoor

outdoor

menu

online menu

Most of their food items are on its online menu except for the full wine list. For dinner, I opted for '60 days dry-aged ribeye' steak, medium rare with a glass of Baby Amarone. Not often, does one get to see amarone option with per glass option.

Montresor Urban Park Rosso(Baby Amarone), 2018 and 60-day Dry Aged Ribeye (200g)


Montresor Urban Park Rosso(Baby Amarone), 2018 @$18++

Loved the taste of the baby amarone. Less sweet than its sibling, but just as appealing with ripe red fruit taste.

60-day Dry Aged Ribeye (200g) @$29++

The ribeye were more of a medium than medium rare, and served without sauce. Loved the asparagus and baby potatoes. Natural tasting and enjoyable with the wine. Portion was alright and that left some room for dessert.

The pasta here is also quite good. I tried their signature Collatura di Alici which is essentially, pasta aglio olio style with essence of anchovies, parsley and lemon.

Collatura di Alici @$22++

The two staff that I met at Florian; PY and Shermaine, recommended the King Prawn pasta. I spied other guests having it, and it looked good. Perhaps, next time.


Traditional Tiramisu @$15++

sweet finale

Loved the plating of the tiramisu and its portion. Sweetness was just nice. There were only 3 items to choose from for dessert, and naturally, it was just between tiramisu and panna cotta. Hmm, I don't think I'll order lava cake from a restaurant if I could help it. Just not my thing.

The cocktails were delicious too. Managed to try Verdant and Grey's Orchard. 

Verdant @$19++

Verdant, is my kind of drink. Made of gin, elderflower liquer, lime, honey and cucumber. Can't go wrong with gin and elderflower. But the taste that intrigued me was the saltiness in the cup. I was wondering if salt was added but was later informed that the saltiness came from the cucumber.

Verdant, side view

Grey's Orchard has orange juice in it, hence it reminded me of brunch. The earl grey flavour was too mild to be detected. 

Grey's Orchard @$21++

Grey's Orchard - bourbon, earl grey, orange


Thanks to PY, I found out that there are seasonal appetisers and one could enquire for it. For example, the amberjack carpaccio.

Amberjack Carpaccio @$28++


Wow, after having a plate of this, I'd be returning for more. For sashimi and truffle lovers.

There is a rooftop bar at Level 10 of Naumi Hotel and staff at Florian does a good job recommending it to guests.

Unwind with a couple more drinks, pool view and our cityscape's night lights.


Peach Bellini


night view


It was fun checking out the place, and nice getting to know Shermaine, PY and friendly Chef (sorry, didn't get your name though).


Florian Italian Restaurant & Bar

Address: Naumi Hotel, 41 Seah Street, 188396
Contact: 9863 6361


 
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