It was my birthday and my wife was kinda out of idea where to bring me, so she ask me to choose a place myself. I was keen on trying a few place and this was one of them.
 
The place was pretty spacious and dim-lighted, quite a nice place to bring a date, the floor manager is polite and attentive. He explained the concept of the restaurant to first-timers and also recommend a few of the signature dishes.
 
We took most of his recommendation since this is our first time here
 
Steak Tartare (3/5)
This is my first time trying a steak tartare, it was raw beef with a quail egg york in it. It was pretty chewy due to the raw beef, there is a tad of spice that keep bothering me although I didnt knew what it was. The overall taste and texture wasnt too bad thou.
 
Baby Spinach salad (3.5/5)
My wife like this dish the best, it was ok for me, nothing too fanciful and quite well balanced.
 
Baked bone marrow (4/5)
I pretty like this dish, the presentation to the taste of this dish. Spreading the bone marrow on the bread was delicious, even my wife who isnt an adventurous person was able to enjoy 1 whole piece of bread.
*suggest to have more people eating this dish as it may get a little greasy.
 
Cracking sucking pig (3/5)
The skin of the sucking pig wasnt cracking enough, the seasoning of the meat was more toward a plain side, the plus point would be that it doesnt have much fats under the skin. The dipping sauce, I find it a bit disappointing. And for 68 for a 6-7 pieces of meat, I personally think it quite exorbit.
 
Tomato based with mushroom spaghetti (4/5)
Although this dish was not on the menu, it was specially order for my 18mths old boy and in the end this was the best dish I enjoy from start till end. I'm a fan of spaghetti, but definitely not tomato based but the chef definitely change my mind toward tomato based spaghetti. Simple yet delicious. Maybe they would want to include it in the menu. 

I took my wife for our Valentine's dinner to this restaurant.

The reservation system on their website does a good job and the turn around time for a response was fast. The offered timings show a reliable and thought through reservation system.

When we arrived the restaurant was packed and our table was one of the last two available. Nevertheless or may be because of that we enjoyed the atmosphere. I am a 100 kg Ang Mo but never felt cramped or uncomfortable. There chairs are very descent and have a bit of an armchair feeling without giving one an uncomfortable tummy crunch. Nice touch.

The waiters were attentive and polite. As this was our first visit they gave us a short overview of the restaurant concept as well as their recommendations. Service remained enjoyable throughout. I like their way of being available without stalking the table.

Now to the food. We had the following dishes and are happy to provide our (obviously) subjective assessment:






Dish


Notes




Patatas Bravas SGD 8.-


Baked potato with slices of chorizo and great Madeira sauce, good portion, must have again.




Eel and foie gras SGD 26.-


Small portion, attempt at Spanish-Japanese fusion, taste of foie gras lost in the sesame sauce, avoid next time




Baby Spinach Salad SGD 18.-


Quite tasty, portion a bit small for the price but ok, may be again.




Baked Bone Marrow SGD 26.-


The star of the dishes, great varied taste, very acceptable portion, must have again




Crackling Suckling Pig SGD 68.-


Nicely baked skin, very soft interior, fat layers delightful to savour in the mouth, juicy without being oily BUT totally overpriced for portion provided. Should not be more than SGD 32 max, avoid ordering again as overcharged.




Chocolate Fondant SGD 16.-


Positive experience, chocolate cake not to sweet yet not dry either, sauce in the interior nicely combines with cake, nothing earth shattering but neither will rounding of the meal with this dish give rise to regrets




Still Water SGD 10.-


Didn't know that when I ordered but then again not an issue




Huber Riesling Ice Wine SGD 16.-


As for the suckling pig: Quality very decent, quantity not acceptable, avoid next time unless they double the amount while keeping the price.




Mojito SGD 16.-


Dissapointing, almost no alcohol and to little liquid for too much ice, avoid next time






The total bill came to SGD 258.

While not all dishes were value for money none of them was a total miss as far as taste is concerned.

Since the ambience and service in this restaurant is good and so is much of the food I will definitely return.

That said, I think that at the disgruntled chef it is even more important than at other places to know which dishes are worth their price tag and which are not. I hope to discover more of the type of patatas bravas and the baked bone marrow.

The three of us had a four small plates, two set lunches (small plate + big plate) and one additional big plate. We had two (well three if you count the camembert) desserts after. No drinks. A massive and long lunch.

Baked bone marrow. Very good. The taste and texture is finely balanced, when having the lovely buttery marrow, oxtail and persillade with the sourdough toast. Recommend.

Grilled eel and foie gras. Not my favourite, as this was a little too rich for me. My friend did not concur - she loved it. The foie gras, rolled within a layer of grilled eel and then sandwiched by two slices of pear, was an interesting medley of flavour.

Lamb proscuitto. Good stuff, but a little sparse (but it's a small plate anyway). The flavour of the proscuitto contrasted well with the crunch of the hazelnut dressing and the slight bitterness of the spinach leaves.

Coca of spanish sardines. The sardines, marinated veg and olive dressing were perched on sourdough toast. The salty taste of the sardines worked well with the crispy toast - as you'd probably imagine. Recommend.

Pan fried seabass. Not particularly outstanding, but I wanted some fish so yes we ordered it. Lol.

Pot roast of chicken leg. Lovely. The chicken leg was tender and came off the bone easily. Coupled with the sour hints of the Madeira sauce and this is a winner. Recommend.

King prawn fideua. Never tried fideua before, so I cannot make any meaningful comparisons. But I did enjoy this paella-like dish as the seafood was fresh and went well with the vermicelli.

Baked camembert fondue. Gosh I love fondue. That is all.

Roquefort magnum. If you like blue cheese (or strong cheese for that matter), you'd probably love it. I didn't, so I didn't. But even then, it tastes really good. I just couldn't have too much of it. I'd say order it for the novelty and share it.

Sticky toffee pudding. A very good rendition. Order it if you like sticky toffee pudding. :P

Service. Service was attentive, and since one of in our party used to work here, very jovial and lighthearted.

I can see myself coming back with a bunch of friends, ordering up lots of food and cocktails, and racking up a huge bill.