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2013-06-07
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For more food reviews, please go to http://thehungrybunnie.blogspot.comI've long heard rave reviews about OSO Ristorante. Way before the revitalisation of the Bukit Pasoh/Keong Saik area, OSO was the reason foodies flocked to that area. They were one of the earlier purveyors of refined Italian haute cuisine. But having dined at the restaurant recently, I cannot quite understand diners gushing about this place. FYI, the food wasn't awful. In fact, it was quite good. It was just not great. For all
I've long heard rave reviews about OSO Ristorante. Way before the revitalisation of the Bukit Pasoh/Keong Saik area, OSO was the reason foodies flocked to that area. They were one of the earlier purveyors of refined Italian haute cuisine. But having dined at the restaurant recently, I cannot quite understand diners gushing about this place. FYI, the food wasn't awful. In fact, it was quite good. It was just not great. For all of the hype, I'd expected perfection. There were just about as many misses as there were hits.
Service though, was almost faultless. They were impeccably professional, yet warm and spontaneous at the same time.
From the very affordable weekday set lunch at $32, we had:
1) Classic Mixed Vegetables Soup with Basil-Beetroot Pesto: very pretty pink broth choc-full of diced vegetables. The beetroot lent a sharpness to the delicate sweetness of the vegetables while basil provided a peppery lift.
2) Recomposed Endive with Smoked Salmon and mixed vegetables dressed Scapece style could have passed off as a meal on its own. That said, this was decent. A layer of fried oats gave the crust some crunch while the inside was juicy and flavoursome.
3) Roasted Whole Portobello Mushroom was scrumptious. The well-baked mushroom caps were lipsmackingly juicy while the beef bolognese was hearty and full-bodied.
From the ala carte menu, we had:
1) Pan-Fried Eggs Tagemino ($22) with black truffle paste and mixed cheese fondue. A highly rated starter, this was a little bit of a let down. I couldn't taste the cheese in this, and the egg was disappointingly uneven. The outer edges were overcooked and rubbery, whereas the center portion was left undercooked, with bits of the clear membrane still intact
2) Cioppino ($12), an Italian-American fish stew, was more like a thick prawn/lobster bisque than a watery bouillabaisse, which is what the classic cioppino should have been like. This was too heavy and rich.
3) Veal Ravioli ($24) in a velvety cheese and mushroom cream sauce was teetering on the brink of cloying. This needed copious lashings of pepper to get through. The veal mince filling, while hearty, was also a little dry.
4) Black Truffle Tartufo Risotto ($26) with mascarpone was AWESOME. The al dente grains had a decisive bite to them, and each was coated evenly with starry dots of heavenly black truffle paste. Mascarpone lent a mild creamy sweetness to the starch of the canaroli rice. If I were to come back to OSO, this would be the reason why
5) 70% Hot Dark Chocolate Tart Crostata ($14) with vanilla ice-cream was, in spite of the rave reviews, another too-heavy dish. I would have preferred the chocolate tart to be a little bittersweet to balance out the rich buttery tart and sweet vanilla ice-cream
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