Valentino has been a perennial favourite with many A-listers, movie stars and corporate honchos in Singapore. I'd been here 3 years back and decided to revisit the place for my husband's birthday this year. The family-run restaurant is housed in a quiet lane in Bukit Timah and on entering the place, you get the feeling of entering an Italian home. We were greeted by Papa Gienpero and shown to our table which was booked 10 days in advance. The rustic ambience, dim lighting coupled with banter and laughter of diners puts you at ease. The dining room is really small and tables are placed very close to each other. It all adds up to create the trattoria look I guess. A hook is thoughtfully attached to the table where ladies can hang their bags.
We had brought along a bottle of the highly rated Casanavo De Neri Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto 2000. The restaurant has a decent wine list but as is the case with premium wines, you pay a ransom for them in Singapore. Valentino charges SGD 45 corkage and after having a sceptical look at the label (perhaps checking if the bottle was a cheap wine from Fairprice?) , our assigned waiter promptly decanted the bottle and placed it on the wooden drinks trolley which accompanies each table.
Now we turned our attention to the food. We started off with the minestrone soup and traditional Bormio salad. The soup was good but it was the salad which stood out. In keeping with the price ($24.90), it is a large portion and came with a chunky layer of ricotta cheese, diced apples and toasted pine nuts. It is seasoned with a mix of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and we polished it off to the last morsel. Absolutely delicious !
My better half ordered stuffed ravioli with porcini mushrooms sprinkled with truffle oil. Whilst the dish was good, we've had better in Singapore. I opted for the fresh lobster in creamy tomato sauce. The menu lists it at $42.90 subject to size and availability. The waiter informed us that day's catch was bigger and thus priced at $ 58.90. When the dish came, I was disappointed since it was a quite a small lobster really with little meat. I wonder how small then their regular menu-listed lobster is! I had not asked for a pasta accompaniment and by itself, the portion was insufficient for a main course if one had not had any starters. I do not recommend the lobster and will stick to a safer pasta dish next time.
For desserts, there is a lot to choose from. The waiter brings around a dessert trolley laden with freshly baked pastries, tarts and other goodies. These are prepared by Valentino's sister Perla and she has her own stand-alone pastry shop right next to Valentino. Her best-seller is the Chantilly cake of which Iam not a fan. Too creamy for my liking. We ordered a portion each of the Pistachio Cake and Cream Caramel. The Pistachio Cake had a smooth texture as the nuts were finely ground. We liked the crusty aftertaste. As for the Cream Caramel, it was pretty good but again, not the best I've had. Whilst the sweetness was just right, it was a bit hard in my opinion.
Overall, Valentino is a decent restaurant but highly over-rated with all the hype and hoopla surrounding it. Whilst the ambience and service standards are good, the culinary fare is disappointing given the accolades and high rating some epicureans have awarded the restaurant. The food was not upto my expectations and given the tab you run here, I think there is better food to be enjoyed in Singapore. Being unable to recall the full details of my previous visit, I can only say the food standards have dropped. For now it seems Valentino and family are riding the wave of reputation and goodwill they raised in the past. For my next hearty Italian meal in a family-run setting, I'll be returning to my favourite in Singapore - Pasta Brava.
No comments:
Post a Comment