Otto (Again)

I had mentioned in earlier posts how cheated I felt at Forlino the previous week, and how happy I had been with Otto. I was at Otto again earlier this week for an old friend's birthday dinner. We all ordered the degustation menu ($88), and 2 of us had a glass of chianti as well (the birthday girl remained dry all evening...good on you babes!)

Unlike Forlino, the nice Italian waiter came over and took the time to go through the menu to explain what was on offer. He ran through the wine list with us and made a few recommendations. He even agreed to swop certain dishes on the degustation menu with other items on the a la carte menu. This is the sort of service I expect when you are paying this much for your grub.

The amuse bouche was portobello mushroom with parmesan. Pleasant, but nothing very exciting.

The friendly waiter with the selection of breads: onion, olive, walnut and sourdough.

Bread heaven. The olive oil they serve is not bad too.

First course: Wagyu beef carpaccio with parmesan cheese and mushroom salad. The rocket leaves (tucked under the beef) went well with the beef. It was pleasant, although ordinary.

Second course: Deep fried live prawn with japanese cucumber salad and chilled tomato soup. The prawns were fresh, and the tomato soup was very light and pleasant. Again, this was quite ordinary but it was a nice dish.

Course 3: Homemade squid ink tagliolini with dungeness crab and rosemary. The pasta had a great firm and chewy texture to it (the classy word to use would be al dente) but the crab was a bit dry. I was probably expecting the creamy Valentino version, so I was a bit disappointed. Overall I would still give this dish a pass.

Course 4: My friends both had the tenderloin (taken off the a la carte menu)....

...while I had the slow braised veal cheek with truffle mashed potatoes.

Now THIS is what I call a real truffles....in comparison with the (recycled) cardboard I ate at Forlino.

The veal was beautifully braised until it was melt-in-your-mouth tender.

Course 5: dessert. My friend had the cheese platter (off the a la carte menu)...

...while I had the warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. This was ordinary....

...but otherwise pleasant and enjoyable.

I have always been partial towards Otto, but there was one thing about the service that irked me. It was only after we finished our desserts that we remembered that coffee and tea were part of the set menu, and we had to call a waiter over to make our orders. I would have expected it to be an automatic question upon putting down our dessert plates. So that's a big minus. Food-wise, I didn't see Giacomo (the original chef). So maybe that explains why the food wasn't jump-over-the-moon exciting as it wa previously. But nonetheless, a pleasant and filling meal.