Osvaldo Take 3

I'm not sure how come I've given Osvaldo a second and third chance in such a short span of time since my first visit, but I suppose it's because I had friends who were interested to know what Forlino should have tasted like. The menu hasn't changed at all since I first went there, but that was fine since it meant I had the chance to try other things. It was pretty empty when we walked in at 7.30pm, but got really crowded around 9.00pm. Case in point of software transfer where we're learning from the Italians to eat later!

I was eating with a friend who knows his food well and is fairly fussy about good food. Maybe that was why we had pretty good service - my first in all three visits.

For starters, we shared 2 things: First, we ordered a daily special that wasn't on the menu - a baked Tomino cheese wrapped with Parma Ham ($30), served with a salad.
This was really nice. The cheese and ham weren't too salty (as I initially feared), and the cheese was melty without being too rubbery.

We also had a serve of the beef carpaccio ($25). Osvaldo Forlino told us that apparently AVA regulations don't allow Italian (or any European, for that matter) beef to be imported to Singapore, so he had to use Australian beef (I forgot the cut he mentioned), which was chilled and sliced.

We shared a half-bottle of Chianti Classico ($60).

I was craving pasta, and ordered the piemonte agnolotti with veal ($23), which I've had previously. I really like it, but it had me craving truffles similar to what is served at Otto. The pasta, which is made freshly, is very supple. It was as good as I remembered.

My friend had the rabbit. His first reaction was "why is the bunny so small??" It was tender, and tasty though. He said the potatoes were good.

We were both still hungry (and greedy), and as a result we ordered a serve of spaghetti with fresh porcini mushrooms ($30) to share. This was a special for the day, and not on the printed menu. It was a winner! The sauce was creamy-ish without being too rich (I think they used butter), with a slight garlic and parsely taste and really good rich mushroom flavour. I can't remember the last time I had fresh porcini (must have been in Melbourne) but this was really outstanding. The spaghetti was cooked al dente - I had trouble figuring out if it was fresh or dry (my suspicion is the latter), but it was that good!

We shared a tiramisu ($13)since we were both so full - I had a cafe latte too. This was ordinary. Decent, but nothing to rave about.

Towards the end of the evening, the waitress brought around a bottle of honey wine with shot glasses for us to have a taste. This was apparently made by the boss' daughter (she didn't say which boss) in Italy by adding yeast to honey and allowing it to ferment for 6-8 months. It's not available anywhere else in Singapore. It was very pleasant.
After my first 2 tries, I felt that Osvaldo deserved another go despite certain disappointments, and I was right. I think the pastas are the real winners for me. The other food they serve (ie. starters, meat/seafood mains and desserts) is pretty good too, but other Italian restaurants in Singapore do them equally well.

We received really good service that night - I was pleasantly surprised to note that the waitress who had basically shown us a really black face on my 2nd try gave me a beaming smile this time round. Maybe she was having a bad day the last time. Or maybe - just maybe - it was the attire of my friend who was dressed to look every bit the successful young chap that he is.

Osvaldo Ristorante Italiano
32 Maxwell Road#01-03
Maxwell Chambers
Tel: 6224 0978
Mon-Sat: 11.30am-2.30pm, 6.30pm-10.30pm(Closed on Sundays)

Caffe Beviamo is situated in this island on the second floor of Tanglin Mall, and my family has been going there for late breakfasts for the past few years. They used to have a proper breakfast menu with different options where you could order exactly what you wanted, but have revised the menu about 2 years ago to make it more streamlined.

Their coffees are really good.

I like the chickpea puree, which comes with olives and crusty bread. The puree comes with a good dousing of olive oil, and is well-balanced by the tartness of the olives.

The roast beef sandwich ($14) with ciabatta is the husband's favourite, which he orders every time we eat there. It's consistently good, tasty beef with a generous serving of relish, cheese and salad.

A better shot of the fillings

They also have a great sticky date pudding!

A couple of things to bear in mind though:

1. It can be hard to get a seat on weekend mornings; and

2. The service is not very consistent - I have encountered rather grumpy and slow staff (both qualities are not always mutually exclusive) which have made me wonder why such people want to go into the service indusry, and why cafe owners hire them.

Caffe Beviamo

163 Tanglin Road #02-K1 Tanglin Mall
Tel: 6738 7906

Open for breakfast (not sure what time but we've been there at 9.30am on a Saturday and they were open) until 9pm

There's also a branch at the top floor of Paragon Shopping Centre that we haven't tried.

Ootoya

A lot has been said about Ootoya - some people love it, and others find it's not worth the hype. I happen to fall into the first camp. I've only tried the grilled fish set with a bit of natto, but my first visit was good enough to make me a convert.

Now, I'm not even a fish fan, but for some strange reason, felt compelled to try the atka mackerel set ($17) which comes with rice, a side dish of veggies, miso soup and pickles. This comes with freshly-grated daikon, which went really well with the soya sauce. The fish was excellent. Fresh, nicely cooked, succulent and tasty.

My dining companion had the sea bream set (also $17). This, again, was fresh, cooked just right, and went very well with the vinegar dip and daikon.

We also ordered a side dish of natto for $4 to re-live the Japanese breakfast experience.

Definitely worth a return trip.

181 Orchard Road #08-12, Orchard Central
Tel: 6884 8901

Open: 12.00 - 9.30pm

Rong Guang BBQ Seafood

This is a place we usually think about going to if we have lots of time to kill. First, looking for a parking lot is challenging, and second, there's always a long queue. Rong Guang BBQ has another branch at the junction of Holland and Clementi Roads (just next to Pine Grove), but for some reason it's never appealed to me. I've always enjoyed the Alexandra Village outlet in the hawker centre a lot more.

Hot steaming rice is the stuff dreams are made of

Grilled squid with sambal. Pretty good, but not as good as....

The sambal stingray is something I can dream about eating everyday. The stingray is ordinary, but the sambal is out of this world. It's just the right mix of sweetness and spice. It's not too oily, and I could go on dousing my rice with it without the need for fish.

The total bill, including a serve of veg, came up to about $24, which we felt was good value.

If you're still hungry, make sure you try the durian milkshake at the fruit juice stall to the right of Rong Guang. It's absolutely heavenly : )

Alexandra Village Food Centre
Blk 120 Bukit Merah Lane 1

#01-07 to 09
Tel: 9278 7579

Closed Tuesdays

Ding Ding Xiang, Beijing

The past few weeks have been crazy, work-wise. I had to be to China for all the working days in between Christmas and New Year, Which meant working the weekend before (over Christmas) and after (over New Year). I ended up having a free night to myself to look for a place to eat in Beijing, and really wanted something yummy to make myself feel better about all the work I had to do. If I had been with someone else, I would have headed to Da Dong to tackle a (half) roast duck, but it would have almost impossible to finish on my own, plus I would have been tempted to order all the other yummy things.

I would normally have gone to the Place if I was with colleagues, but decided (in freezing temperatures of minus 10 dec C) to walk on by to Soho Shangdu next door to Ding Ding Xiang, which is a steamboat chain with shops all over Beijing. The last time I ate at Ding Ding Xiang was in late-Sept 2008 in Tianjin after a majorly stressful event. We had a vegetarian with us then, so I was most impressed that each person gets their own hotpot, with a range of soup bases to choose from.

The Beijing outlet was a more posh one than the Tianjin branch. It was fairly quiet, since it was about 9pm.
Hotpot must-haves 1: sesame sauce, spring onions and coriander leaves.

Hotpot must-haves 2: Beer - either Yanjing or Qingdao

A pretty good mix of carbohydates, fibre and protein. I picked a pork soup base, which was rich and sweet. It was heavenly : )

Locations all around Beijing and Tianjin. For more info, you can refer to their website at: http://www.dingdingxiang.com.cn/, which is not entirely reliable. However, they have branches at Soho Shangdu (along Guanghua Road in Chaoyang, near Shimao's The Place, and also on the 6th fllor of Shin Kong Place, Chaoyang District, No. 87 Jianguo Road (Jian Guo Lu), within walking distance from Dawanglu Subway station along the No. 1 Line.

Mum-in-law's Hakka Yong Tau Fu

The Teochew MIL learnt how to make this from her Hakka MIL. Take about 2 parts fish meat and 1 part pork, salted fish and egg whites, mash it up, fill various things with it and steam it. Very simple! Haha!

Apparently the real Hakkas eat the noodles with minced beef...the non-Hakkas (ie. me) prefer it with pork.

Amazing how spring onions and coriander leaves can make a difference to the appearance of the food

Dessert: ice cream and fruit cake (again, made by the MIL....not seen since our wedding!)

Christmas Dinner 2009

I've had no time to post these pictures (and many others), since I've been really busy with work these past few weeks. It wasn't fun at all being glued to my email all throughout the long Christmas and New Year weekends (with a work trip in between), and things haven't slowed down one bit although it feels better that everyone else is equally busy now that the new work year has started.

Christmas dinner this year was at the in-laws' place. I've been quite frank previously regarding my immense admiration for my mother-in-law's dedication towards good food, and I think she's managed to set the highest standard for the most amazing home-cooked Christmas dinner ever.

Check out the spread, minus the bread, pumpkin soup and potatoes

Home-made honey baked ham with cloves

Home-roasted turkey

Grilled Black Angus Striploin

Side dishes: Corn on the cob and chestnuts

Roasted potatoes

This was DIVINE downright good beef. No need for any sauces or condiments.

The turkey was wonderfully moist

The ham was moist, sweet and yummy.

Our poison for the night: a vintage champ supplied by my mum

Panna cotta made by the sister-in-law

Never too full for dessert, especially when it's good!

Happy new year one and all : )

Torture - it's a dog's life

Can see, cannot eat. Happy New Year!