Hearty Italian

[This was at Otto Ristorante outside Maxwell Chambers.] A superb dish that I forgot to photograph until I was almost done. The sage and truffle emulsion was amazing and packed a punch of umami. 👊🏼 The filling of minced veal was pretty tasty (a bit heavy on the salt but the buttery sauce helped to balance it) but what’s impressive was the perfectly al dente ravioli!! I don’t know how they manage with such thin sheets of pasta. The quality control here seems great as well - I was told that the chef wasn’t satisfied with his first attempt at my dish and redid it.

The must-have every time I visit Cicheti. This time it didn't come with grilled pear, but the star really was that tender ball of mozzarella and cream. I liked how Cicheti deviated from the usual way of serving burrata (ie with prosciutto, vine tomatoes and rocket). Though I sometimes miss the vine tomatoes, I felt that the myriad of flavours and textures from the toasted pistachios, pesto and onion marmalade in Cicheti's version tasted better. Also, there was nothing better than a magic carpet ride on the smoky grilled crostini for my fave cheese.

The classic seafood pizza done really well, as usual. This one had prawns, squid and scallops on a red base. The seafood was very fresh and its natural sweetness and brininess flavoured the pizza perfectly. I was also really impressed by the perfect doneness of the various seafood. Everything was tender and succulent. 😋😋

Just thinking about this makes my mouth water. The simple, tomato-based sauce really shone. It was flavourful, perfectly herbed and had just the right tartness. The minced lamb was well-seasoned, still oozing meat juices, and had none of that sandy mouthfeel that some minces do. The smooth pliant sheets of papardelle were the perfect vessel for slurping up every last morsel.

The Bismark is topped simply with cheese, ham, mushrooms and an egg, but it was a party of flavours in my mouth. 🎇 I loved the abundant pools of fior de latte (buffalo mozzarella), which when swirled with the runny yolk, yielded a luxurious, creamy, fragrant, amazing mess. The mushrooms were also delish, their earthy fragrance lifting the richness of the cheese and egg. I wish I knew how Cicheti prepared these shrooms. 😋 Not to forget, the signature pizza crust which was light and slightly chewy. So good!

Free The Robot is such a pretty little cafe with plenty of daylight and a really laid back, homely vibe. The chilled vanilla infused with espresso is nutty and smooth and great for those who enjoy coffee but don't want too much of it. The signature contains coconut oil and tastes really refreshing. You won't go wrong with either beverage! On to my main: my pasta ($12) came with a rich velvety cream sauce and the chicken meatballs were sooo tender and flavourful. Definitely coming back for more!

Amazing beef tenderloin - perfectly seared on the outside (a little crisp even!!) and very very juicy and tender inside. I also really enjoyed the Barolo red wine sauce. This is also available on the executive set lunch menu (add $14).

Marche at JEM has quite an affordable lunch menu. Each main is ~$10 and you can add $6.50 for a soup, a homemade drink (lemonade or lemon tea), and a coffee or cup of ice cream. I had this pizza as my main today (a Tuesday; the other choice of main was a beef crepe). It was huge, and the prawns were very tasty. The add-ons also made this an extremely filling lunch.

Squid was a little rubbery, but the seafood was generous and fresh. The squid ink-tomato sauce was really tasty!

What a cute birthday surprise the restaurant gave me! This was served with biscotti, which was quite mediocre as it was not hard enough. But the creme brûlée was nice with a crisp caramelised sugar top and silky smooth creme beneath 🍮

My choice of dessert for the set lunch. This was a dense chocolate cake (warm) with banana ice cream, topped with chewy marshmallow bits, cookie crumble and chocolate. The ice-cream had a really intense and natural banana flavour, which made it a great substitute for real bananas. I'm still not sure what the white stuff sitting atop the cake is.

For my main, I picked the sea bass with a garlic broth and mee sua. As the name suggests, this dish had some heavy Asian influences! The seabass was wonderfully seared - loved the crisp and salty skin! The garlic broth was thicker than expected, more like a creamy sauce. The deep fried mee sua was great for soaking up this tasty tasty broth.