Oca Grassa @ Bukit Pasoh

Located at 6 Bukit Pasoh. If taking MRT, alight at Outram Park. Was there for Restaurant Week. Second restaurant, and also the last one for me.

"fat goose"

Wanted to try Oca Grassa because my friend had her florentine steak here and she enjoyed it. Since its restaurant week menu does offer beef, thought it was a good opportunity to visit and try its restaurant week set lunch at $25++.

view from my table

The only available timing for booking, was 2pm. Last seating for lunch. Didn't mind, because there was a concert to attend at 6pm, so it was just nice.

I was a party of one that day, since my bro had to cancel and no one else was interested. Too late to cancel the reservation too.

Arrived 10 minutes past 2pm, and was greeted by the staff upon stepping into the restaurant. Nice. Mr Andreano Carbotti (Operations Manager) happened to be around, and he suggested downstairs (ground floor) table. Ok, I admit. It was pretty awkward to dine alone, in a restaurant.

table for two, ground level

Restaurant Week Lunch menu

First up, appetiser of squid salad.

grilled squid, baby cos (lettuce), cucumber, tomato, pickled onions

The dressing was very light. Squid didn't taste much of grilled flavour though. Too mild.

homemade balsamic with olive oil, and warm bread

Liked the balsamic very much. A blob of tangy and sweet all at once. Andreano shared that their homemade balsamic had been boiled so that it is more concentrated and flavourful. Mixed it with the salad, and it felt like the flavours belonged together. Finished the greens soon after.

balsamic dressing

Since I was the only person at the ground floor area, chef and staff were very prompt in ensuring that the in-between-of-course interval was kept to a minimum. Like a minute or so. Still, I've managed to find stuffs to do, to amuse oneself.

staring at the ceiling lights in self-reflection

Had a brief conversation with Chef Edwin Lau (Group Executive Chef). He's very passionate about the beef that they serve at Oca Grassa. Curing and aging of the meats, preferences of locals, definition of 'good' beef etc. He's very willing to share the information.

Chef Edwin Lau

Meats that are undergoing the aging process, aren't pretty. The longer it aged, the darker the colour its outerparts will be. Eventually, all the dark crust need to be removed from the meat. These are known as wastage. Hence, the longer the meat is aged, the more costly it will be as the wastage percentage will increase. Aged beef has a more concentrated flavour and taste, and its meat texture tenderized.

beef aging differentiated, left to right shorter to longer timeframe

If one wants to reserve their own block of meat for florentine steak with preferred aging, they can do so at this restaurant.

Short prelude and gained some basics on beef aging and curing. Thanks Chef!

Back to the food, a beautiful plate of char-grilled striploin.

char-grilled cured aged angus striploin with garlic puree and balsamic dressing

The striploin was cured for a day and aged for two. The meat looked rare. The fats on the surface was rather chewy, so in this case, I'd prefer to have the fats trimmed away so that it's easier to eat. Thinly sliced, tender (but doesn't melt away), still moist yet requires one to chew quite a bit. Thought the beef tasted not like those 'metallic' beefy flavour, but rather, a very very slight hint leaning towards jamon iberico type of flavour.

The smooth mash with garlic puree in balsamic dressing was a delight to eat. Mopped it up with the beef! Personally, I'd like the beef to be more charred and its doneness up a notch.

Prosecco Belussi (@$12++)

For dessert, it was limoncello tart with pastry cream.

homemade limoncello tart

oozing out

The limoncello tart was rather sweet and the airy cream helped to lessen the sweetness a little. If not, the tart and slightly sourish raspberry will do the trick. Quite yummy and a nice end to lunch.

Service was polite and prompt.

Singapore Restaurant Week 25 Oct to 2 Nov 2014: Taratata Bistro @ Keong Saik Road

It's that time again. Yup, Singapore Restaurant Week. This time round, didn't have the opportunity to try more as I'd be in Seoul for the majority of those dates. Nevertheless, made a lunch reservation for 25 Oct at Taratata Bistro.

Located at 35A Keong Saik Road, which is about less than 10 minutes walk from Outram MRT station. Taratata Bistro is small and cosy. Place was busy with almost all tables occupied. Table for two are placed very near one another, about an elbow space apart. Am sure the convo with my bro is freely heard by the adjacent table as we have heard their stories as well.

pour le déjeuner

wall decor

Very simply, the Restaurant Week set menu comprises of two choices for appetisers and mains, so we took one of each. Add $10++ for a glass of wine, which we did.

complimentary bread

Sparkling or still water? As usual, iced tap water s'il vous plaît.

Brittany cider

First up, appetisers. One hot, one cold.

half dozen escargot baked in herb garlic butter

The escargot was amazingly tender. Enjoyable.

snail and bread

Presentation of the salad was good, with vibrant colours. Tasted refreshing with tangy and sweet alternates.

marinated salmon with lettuce and basil scented sundried tomatoes

Once the appetisers were done, the main course arrived quickly. Oh, and the elongated plates were huge! Keke.

poached stuffed chicken supreme with forest mushrooms sauce

pan-fried cod fish with green pea puree & seafood chowder fish sauce

Poached chicken has an earthy undertone flavoured by the forest mushrooms. Pleasant, and intriguing, as for some reason, I thought that the chicken had asian hints of soy sauce taste to it. Mashed potato was smooth, creamy and buttery.

The pan-fried cod fish was very firm. Green pea puree was sweetish and the seafood chowder sauce was wondrously umami'ish. Those tiny octopus tendrils were fun eats and contrasted in texture and taste against the cod.

Lastly, apple crumble for desserts. There was no other option for this, so everyone gets the same.

one huge apple crumble, served hot

Very soft, and very hot. Crumble was sweet, and apples slightly sourish. Managed to plough through the dessert and ended up feeling very full! Black coffee helped to cut through the sweetness. Two could've shared this. No kidding.

All in all, it was a good experience. Looking forward to the next Restaurant Week.

Spent $89 for two pax, inclusive of drinks and taxes.

Tburu Bar & Grill, Sushi Restaurant - Orchard Gateway@Emerald | Restaurant Week March 2015

Tburu is a month-old fine dining Japanese restaurant, located at Level 5 of Orchard Gateway@Emerald. Orchard Gateway@Emerald is where we find the Crate & Barrel shop. Took the lift to the fifth floor and you will see the entrance to the restaurant.

Tburu entrance

would you like to dine with me?

While Tburu may be new, its owners are veterans in the F&B scene. Having owned restaurants in Hong Kong, and in Singapore; One on the Bund (defunct) and the currennt KIKU Kappo Izakaya Restaurant at Duxton.

menu cover

Ordered a Kirin draft beer that was served in a rather unusual looking mug.

Kirin draft beer (@$11+)

Counter seat offers a clear view of what the chefs are preparing, plus you get to see seasonal items from Japan.

looking at ya, fishes from Kyushu

Chatted with the chef while waiting as I was rather curious about the odd looking fish that was staring at me. Learnt that the middle one is called Kawahagi 皮剥ぎ, or otherwise also known as leatherjacket fish. The skin can be grilled and good as beer food, while its flesh is for sashimi. Was told that Kawahagi's liver is fattiest in Autumn.

First course in the Restaurant Week set was the "Truffle Kanpachi Carpaccio". Sort of like Japanese fish, Italian styled.

Truffle Kanpachi Carpaccio

The dipping sauce was not needed since the fish slices had been adequately sprinkled with sea salt. Every mouthful was a delight. That burst of saltiness from the ikura and sea salt, plus the kanpachi flesh was firm and oily. Yums.

While waiting for the next course, a complimentary plate of crunchy Japanese cucumber キュウリ was brought out. The housemade miso has other ingredients mixed into it, was a tad dry and not overly salty. Can be eaten on its own.

housemade miso, toasted sesame and Japanese cucumber

Next was an ala-carte order of a grilled item.

can you guess what this it?

The smoke escapes and whiffs of rosemary floated passed and dissipated faster than you saying, "whoa".

grilled A4 wagyu oyster @$22+

The meat could do less time on the grill as it turned out to be rather chewy. Hints of rosemary was evident in the meat.

Next item was continuation of the Restaurant Week set menu; The Bincho-tan Charcoal Grill Platter.

roasted potato and garlic

kurobuta belly, mentaiko tori, yasai

The kurobuta belly was oily and that's how it should be. Nicely grilled till its edges are a slightly charred. Loved the smokiness of the meat. Mentaiko tori was so soft and succulent. Usually I won't order ginkgo for yakitori and I still won't.

For yakitori, was quite interested in the pork intestine and duck tongue. Perhaps, next time? Was informed by the maître'd that most grilled items in the menu is priced per stick for individual portion, and the lamb chop and iberico collar offers a bigger portion as it is meant for sharing.

For the last course, it was Tburu Makimono.

Tburu Makimono

salmon and eel makimono

Dainty morsels of balanced taste.

For RW dinner sets here, there is definitely space for something with more carbs. Was informed that the Dan Dan Somen was the top item ordered by regulars.

Tburu is a quiet, unhurried place with elegant settings.

Ristorante Takada @ Alexis Condominium 356 Alexandra Road | Singapore Restaurant Week March 2016

My bro's birthday month happens to coincide with restaurant week, so prowled through the list of participating restaurants and chose one with a dining star. Can't be too shabby when buying dinner, yeah? Haha! Bro said that he seldom eat Italian food when he's with his friends or colleagues, so this dutiful sister will try to enlighten him a bit. Hmm, on hindsight, seemed like I've been bringing him to try Italian cuisne for his 3 recent birthdays including this one. Oops. Will do something different, next year.

Alexis Condominium is located near Anchorpoint, and nearby landmark is a Shell petrol station. Nearest MRT is Queenstown. The info could be handy, since my taxi uncle did not know how to get there and we were lost for a while. Ristorante Takada is one of the restaurants that reaches it fully-booked status pretty fast, so by the time I grabbed a seat, the only available seatings were for the later slots at 8.30pm. So, it was a late, late dinner.

keep calm and drink water

Takada's Restaurant Week Mar 2016 dinner menu

For the birthday boy, an upgrade to Kagashima Wagyu Steak with Red Wine Sauce would be, quite necessary. For the accomplice, I went with the Iberico Pork with Balsamico sauce. The other table had cod fish and that looked great.

Happy Birthday 哥, wish you best of health and happiness!

Antipasto was bruschetta with tomato. Served with sweet vibrant red tomatoes on super crispy toast. Tasty snack. Next up, was a mushroom cappucino. A half-cup of hot frothy cup of mushroom soup with earthy flavours. This was followed by a serving of warm bread. Liked the feeling of warm bread and while it was dense, the insides were still soft and bouncy.

Mushroom Cappucino

warm bread

Next up, was the start of our 3-course dinner; The Mix Cold Appetiser dish. Fresh greens, a blob of creamy burrata hiding underneath a slice of parma ham, a slice of hamachi on the greens, sweet cherry tomato, drizzled with olive oil and a lone olive at the side. Mild flavours of savoury, creamy, and freshness from the earth and the sea. Lovely presentation, good taste.

Mix Cold Appetiser

look at the treasures

For carbs, we chose the Risotto Foie-gras with Raspberry Bubble and Tagliolini with Hokkaido Sea urchin Ikura. My bro said that foam tasted of raspberry but after that he mixed everything into the rice before I could get a taste. -_-'''

The risotto, exceeded my expectations. Foie-gras done excellently, with all its wobbly rich goodness and not too intense in flavour. The risotto grains were well-cooked and each grain felt so compact and full, as if it can't wait to burst out of its form. That sauce, was it balsamico sauce? Not sure, but everything works well together. Yums.

Risotto Foie-gras with Raspberry Foam

Tagliolini with Hokkaido Sea urchin Ikura

On the other hand, the tagliolini seemed like it was pushed out in a rush. Not as impressive as I thought it would be, but that could be because expectations were rather high since reviews always mentioned this dish, and it being one of Ristorante Takada's recommended dishes.

Tagliolini with sea urchin was a rather light dish of cold pasta. Somewhat refreshing but at this moment, the palate needed something stronger.

Next, would be the meats. Main highlights, if you'd like. The Iberico Pork and the much anticipated Kagoshima Wagyu Steak.

The Iberico pork looked like a roulade or a super thick slice of luncheon. Indeed, it was rich in porky flavours and the meat was firm.

low temperature cooked Iberico Pork with Balsamico sauce

The Kagoshima Wagyu A5. Taste it, at least once. Beautiful, in visual and in taste.

Kagoshima Grade A5 Wagyu Steak with red wine sauce, served with grilled broccolini and baby potato

medium doneness, juicy velvety texture

Had two slices of this highest grade beef, and it was simply delightful. Will be on the look out for more of this good beef, when I travel to Japan, later this year.

Winding down, it was time for the mixed desserts; tiramisu and chocolate cake. Good intense coffee flavour from the tiramisu. The chocolate cake has a dense texture and lovely richness. Great with coffee and good for us, coffee was included in this dinner menu.

Tiramisu and Chocolate Cake

Not only that, we had a pretty plate of petit fours. The tiny baby-sized green tea macarons were so cute! Gooseberries were tangy and sour, as usual. The chocolate coating only helped a bit since it wasn't very sweet. The cookies were well baked and had a lovely crunch.

baby matcha macarons, gooseberries coated with chocolate and cookies

cookies

Ristorante Takada's Restaurant Week Omakase Dinner Menu was indeed value for money. Overall, had an enjoyable experience dining there.

Also realized that, am not a stranger to the creations of Chef Takada. Dined in his restaurant, way back some four years ago, when he was at La Luna Rossa. When I said that to Maiko, she informed Chef Takada. Though we have not met before, he was friendly and interested to know about our dining experience at this restaurant.

Just before we left, he asked, "Do you remember the lady chef?" It took me quite a few seconds before I nodded and said, "Yes." She emerged from the kitchen and we exchanged greetings. Chef Chiaki Watanabe, formerly from Arossa. 久しぶりです! Happy to know that they have reunited once more in Ristorante Takada. No wonder, the food has a familiarity to it.

ごちそうさま, ありがとございます！