I came to Tanglin Mall with the intention of going to Chilli's but they told me I had to wait for 25 minutes for a table for 2 (on a Sunday night!). Being hungry, I decided to go to Oomphatico's instead. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Firstly I fell in love with the pseudo-European posh decor of the place, and its comfortable seats. But knowing that nice decor means nothing when the food is bad, I decided to reserve my judgement for later.

The seafood chowder soup was thick and filled with ingredients, including prawns and mussels. I was pleasantly surprised that the portion of soup was quite large - instead of a wide, shallow bowl it was a deep bowl that didn't look that big at first, but its size was deceptive as it was actually quite deep. The main courses were equally deceptive.

Having went on a vacation to Italy at the end of last year, I discovered a new dish which was previously unknown to me - risotto. Since that delicious trip to Italy, I have not found a place in Singapore that could replicate the taste of the risotto I ate there until I came to Oomphatico's. I ordered the risotto with duck confit and found that not only did the risotto match those that I ate in Italy, and duck was tender and delicious. My companion also ate the Duck confit dish, but without risotto (we just love duck) and it was equally tasty. Again, I felt that the portions were filling although they didn't look so at first glance.

Although we were already quite full, we had already ordered dessert, so we gamely went on (there's always more room for dessert). Furthering my Italian fantasy, the tiramisu was delightful, soft and creamy. I wished there was more of it though, as I loved it so much. The creme brulee came with chestnut ice cream, which was tastier than expected given that I don't like chestnut. The creme brulee itself was ok, although I'm not a fan of the brown layer of coffee (?) at the bottom, and I personally prefer custard that is lighter in consistency. However, the whole blended into a generally appealing taste.

Service-wise, it was ok, anyway I'm not that fussy about service. I don't need the staff to kowtow to me. The only thing I insist upon is that my ice water is refilled often, which was the case here, so I'm happy.

I would definitely come here again as I think they are going in the right direction with the food and the portions and it's quite good value for the steep prices.