I visited Forlino with fairly high expectations, having heard good things about the restaurant from various people. It did not disappoint.

As with its sister restaurant Il Lido, the view at Forlino is lovely. This is definitely a place to pak tor, especially if you're seated at one of the tables by the window.

The food was of a generally high standard. Even the home made foccacia was tasty enough to be eaten on its own, without butter/olive oil. My only comments are that the culatello ham (that's high-class parma ham, apparently) was a little salty on its own, with only a few slices of fruit to go with it. But I guess that's where the foccacia comes in. Also, the venison stew was tasty, but reminded me of airline food. Not necessarily in a bad way- as in, it was little chunks of meat and some veggies served in a brown gravy. Definitely tasty, and something I would be terribly pleased to be served on a flight, but this really was the comparison that came to my mind at the restaurant.

No surprises here, my favourite dish was a dessert, the pear with ice cream. It's pretty common to have alcohol-soaked fruit these days, but what I liked about Forlino's version was that the alcohol didn't drown out the taste the pear itself, which was yummy.

Service was very attentive. You can tell that extra effort has been made to train the staff, and they are all very polite and efficient.

Much has been written and said about Forlino and it has, for a long while, been on the list of "must try" restaurants (together with Blu -after Hungry Goh's review). I had to wine and dine a client and given the liberty to choose the dining spot and so I took the opportunity to book a table at Forlino.

And I am thankful I did. The fantastic view afforded great fodder pre-dining conversation and the service was very attentive and unintrusive. The decor is sexy, bordering decadent, with the interesting addition of a warm bluish-grey doors against the dark wood brown panelling. The feel is sensual yet powerful - I like. A bit classic meets Versaille. I am sure it'd all look even sexier in the night as the restaurant, at lunchtime, was flushed with natural light.

Onto the food - we all had the set lunch which I thought was pretty value for money at $45 which comes with an amuse bouche, appetizer/soup, a main dish (comes with choice of pasta) and coffee & petit fours. The warm bread (topped with a light sprinkling of sea salt) that preceded the meal was especially delicious and I really had to keep from having seconds. Both the warm dark salad and cannelloni which I had were definitely competent, but really nothing to shout about. To be honest I wasn't completely floored by the food - and it could very well have been the choice of dishes for the set lunch. For one I would still very much wish to return and try the veal ravioli with truffles and quite a few items off their dessert menu.

Forlino fabulous? Not quite - yet. However I'd still return to explore their ala carte menu and for business dining.

well when you got all Italian family cooking up for you what you expect? a bit costy, but a good meal

Head Chef Osvaldo uprooted his family and his one Michellin star restaurant from Piedmont, Italy to head the kitchen in Forlino, right beside the merlion. The chance fell upon me to pay a visit when we are celebrating our good friend's birthday.

If you really want a good view of the Merlion and the Marina Bay, skip the private dining room, just take a seat in the common dining area. The private dining rooms have full view of the Marina Bay and the still constructing Integrated Resorts. The Merlion and the Esplanade are pretty much blocked. You have to imagine the full expense of the view when all constructions are done. What a sight to behold .......... hold this thought and wait for 2 years.

The private room have warm lights and the service is good as the service staff is always at your side to wait on you. They noticed that I was having a camera and was trying to capture everything in sight and they actually accommodated me by turning the intensity of the light in the room and ask if it's good enough for my photography onslaught.

On a request from the birthday girl, the service manager brought us to the meat room (not the inside but only the outside peering in) where the imported hams were stored and sliced. The meat room is at the waiting room where the ceiling to floor windows allow a view of the Fullerton hotel and the sharpest chicane of the F1 route at Anderson bridge.

We ordered a list of food in the menu but I'll only comment on those that I've tried and would recommend.

The complimentaries

.......... focacia bread before the meal

............. duck pate

............... little sweet bites after the main meal, together with desert.

Appetizer :

1) Piatto di Salumi e Formaggi dalla Nostra Cantina - Home Cured Meat & Cheese Platter (S$25) : This is an appetizer with servings of their best cuts in the restaurant coupled with some cheese. The salty pork lard among the cuts is tasty.

Mains :

2) Stufato di Capriolo al Barolo con Crostone di Polenta - Aged Venison Braised in “Barolo” Wine (S$42) : This taste like a lamb stew that I had somewhere, but of course the meat is different and this venison is definitely much tender.

3) Gnocchi di Patate al Sugo di Salsiccia Fatta in Casa - Potato Gnocchi with Homemade Pork Sausage (S$32) : The potato gnocchi that looked like marshmellows, is a tangy carbo-food. I got a feeling that not all people will appreciate the gnocchi if you only like your marshmellows sweet ........ I liked it though ....... that's why it's in here. The gravy and sausage is tasty. In this case, I was rewarded for being adventurous. How many of you would ike savoury marshmellows?

Deserts :

4) Crostatina di Lamponi Gratinata allo Zabaglione di Moscato d’Asti - Raspberry Tarte with “Moscato d’Asti” Wine Zabaglione (S$18) : The raspberry provides the fruitiness to compliment the sweetness of the tart. Good stuff. Luckily not many ask to share this ......... I had almost all the goodness of this tart to myself!

5) Cialde con Gelato al Miele e Salsa ai Frutti di Bosco - Summer Berries with Honey Ice-cream and Crispy Pancake (S$18) : The summer berries is a mixed of sour berries and have the scoop of sweet honey ice cream a compliment. I stole some bites of this from my wife. Overall, it's more sour than sweet which is what she likes.

For photos and more details, see :
http://4-the-love-of-food.blogspot.com/2008/10/forlino-michelin-star-food-experience.html

It's been a month plus since our second one arrived and the wife has been itching to get some time out, especially on Saturday nights. So I decided that perhaps she should re-join the restaurant circuit starting at Forlina. It was to be my first time there as well.

I called on Friday night and got one of the last tables for two. The Italian-accented lady on the other end was kind enough to tell me which lifts to take and that the restaurant is a bit of a walk etc

Well, her 'directions' proved true and it WAS a bit of a winding walk to Forlina. The decor at the entrance and up the stairs looked like we were in some English manor with stag heads on walls BUT the restaurant decor was the predictable minimalist yadayada (this cookie cutter restaurant look is a pet peeve of mine).

We were greeted with enthusiasm by the staff and shown to our table...we got a window seat (mini yay). The side chair for me wife's bag got the 'I'm impressed' from the wife (her bar is low given her confinement maybe). The table, however, was big so no chance of a romantic couple holding hands/canoodling etc from across the table.

We ordered the fare that has been getting the rave reviews and sat back with some expectations.

The meal was kicked off with a chef's complimentary dish - deep fried anchovy with cherry tomatoes. I know, sounds off BUT it was yums. No overpowering fishy smell whatsoever. The famous pizza bread was served up along with it. My wife finished it and was eyeing my portion as well. I was okay with mine. But nice touch though.

For starters the wife had the scallops and I opted for the bone marrow risotto.

Scallops - wow! Light sauce so bulk of the work was done by the scallops themselves. My wife looked visibly annoyed cutting me a piece.

My bone marrow risotto was quite good but...I've had better. At Prive. So wife won the appetisers round.

For mains, coz we are rabbit-averse (I had 7 pet rabbits growing up so...) the staff suggested we try momma's famous breaded lamb chops. So we decided we'll go with the recommendation.

I'm not a big lamb fan (Blue Basil is one of the few places where the lamb shank has impressed me) so as much as I had ordered it, I was feeling like I'm gonna regret ordering it. My wife, on the other hand, loves lamb.

Our breaded lamb chops arrived. My wife's face lit up with a mega watt smile as soon as the first piece cleared her lips. She was mighty impressed. I took a deep breath and tried mine. Maybe I just don't 'get' lamb...maybe I liked Mary had a little lamb too much as a child...the lamb was ooookay to me and I know I invite Momma Forlina's wrath by saying this - I struggled to finish even two of the three chops ('No Momma, NOT the rolling pin!).

So the main round, again, went to the wife. She decided to retire a champion by staying clear of desserts. But still it was no walkover. I checked the desserts and picked a raspberry tart with Moscato sauce (fans of the Italian wine would know it to be a sweet treat). And it did not disappoint. In fact, it was the highlight of my dinner. Fabulous stuff. I'd go back just for that.

The coffee (super strong with warm milk (cultured people these Italians) was good. The wife had peppermint tea which was a tea bag derivative so no big shakes.

The people watching factor is high at Forlina...corporate and richie types. The table next to us was a couple on a date and we chatted in-between courses. Was an older girl (30-something) taking out a younger guy (late 20-something) and she was educating him about wine, Italian food etc. She was hot so I'd pay attention as well. Heh. They said they weren't bowled over by their starters - some ham thing and some salad - but she gave the thumbs up to the pasta with duck ragout and foie gras and her date approved of the veal. (Mental note to myself.)

The view is not bad (will look fab when all the construction is done)...if the winds outside were a little colder we could get the Sydney Harbour feel.

The bill came up to $260...and we didn't even drink a drop of booze so I figured I'm only gonna do this again on the company tab.

Wife went home super satisfied with the meal. That's worth the price of entry as new/once again dads would tell ya.