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2014-08-08
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Dear Chef Jean-Philippe Patruno & team at Una 1 Rochester Restaurant,Thank you for making our company event a memorable success. We were very pleased with the outstanding food, and the impeccable, professional service demonstrated by your staff.Ambience at Una 1 Rochester Restaurant is lovely. The abundance of greenery and well thought out spaces create a feeling of calm relaxation during the day, and a more intimate setting at night.The spacious outdoor alfresco dining area is beautiful with it
Thank you for making our company event a memorable success. We were very pleased with the outstanding food, and the impeccable, professional service demonstrated by your staff.
Ambience at Una 1 Rochester Restaurant is lovely. The abundance of greenery and well thought out spaces create a feeling of calm relaxation during the day, and a more intimate setting at night.
The spacious outdoor alfresco dining area is beautiful with its high chairs and fountain waterfalls, and the indoor dining area exudes a casual elegance and sophistication with well chosen, comfortable furniture and art pieces. We also felt the choice of Bossa Nova piped music at Una 1 Rochester Restaurant was appropriate for its setting.
Thank you for letting us have the exclusive use of the Private Dining Area on the 2nd floor, as well as the accompanying Private Bar, Private Banquet / Tapas Area, Bridal Changing Room, and Projector & Screen at no extra charge. The equipment (Projector, Screen, Audio/Video, Sound System) were in great working order, and we also liked that the lights could be brightened or dimmed upon request. The view of greenery from the upper level is serene, and I noticed you actually have Rambutan trees growing in your premises!
I must commend your team of service staff at Una 1 Rochester Restaurant for their outstanding, professional and efficient service rendered during our company event. In particular, you and Ivee for your openess in accomodating requests and working through last minute changes. And Peter for handling on-the-spot guests requests to change meals, as well as your kitchen for preparing food efficiently and quickly, such that none of our guests waited more than 10 minutes for their meals.
I was particularly impressed that when we requested a change of tables for our certificate display, your staff actually sourced a table, cut up a roll of cloth for the table top, and found skirting to dress the table, all within 15 minutes. Aside from a minor hiccup in the beginning of meal service where the canapes and amuse bouche took quite long to be served, the rest of the night went exceedingly well.
What initially led us to consider Una 1 Rochester Restaurant was the fact that you could provide Halal certified meals. Although Una 1 Rochester Restaurant serves Western style fine dining, in particular cuisine from the South of Latitude 30° - Spain, Italy, and France, your partnership with a Halal certified kitchen to prepare Halal / Muslim meals that is presented in a similar manner to your actual dishes, tastes almost the same, and is even served with Halal certified cutlery, is fantastic.In fact, feedback from our guests is that Una 1 Rochester Restaurant is probably the first high-end, premium fine dining restaurant that is able to served Halal certified Western meals, that they've encountered! Our Muslim guests said the quality and taste of the Halal meals is extremely good, and are pleased that your staff took the trouble to provide Halal cutlery, at no additional charge. They were surprised that you also provide for / organise Muslim Weddings!
We had originally agreed to a 5-course set menu (2 x Canapes, Amuse Bouche, Appetizer, Mains, 2 x Desserts - Per Person), at a fixed price of SGD $130 per person (without GST & Service Charge), although we ordered additional dishes at the last minute (for a total of SGD $180 per person, with House Wine / Beer + GST + Service Charge). Thanks for giving us the free flow of water, soft drinks, and fruit juices throughout the night!
The Pimentos De Padron (SGD $16 Ala-Carte Tapas Portion, SGD $10 Set Menu Canape Portion) featured perfectly grilled Spanish Padron peppers. Most Padron peppers have a mild taste, only 5% are spicy due to the amount of water and sunlight they receive when grown, but fortunately, all the ones we had that evening were mild. I like how your staff describe it as "a lucky draw", as there is no way to tell the difference just by looking at them!
The Octopus, Ratte Potatoes, Smoked Paprika (SGD $29 Ala-Carte Tapas Portion) were well received. The octopus was plump and fresh, with a meaty bite and clean taste. The potatoes had a slight sweetness and a slight earthy taste, which paired well with the octopus.
Your signature appetizer of Scallops A La Plancha, Veal Cheeks, Iberico Ham Crisp (SGD $28) was very highly recommended, and I now understand why. Everyone was raving about how perfectly done the scallops were, plump, juicy, and just firm enough in texture. The veal was fork tender, coming apart easily when bit, while the black Iberian ham crisp lent a salty, savoury crunch to this surf and turf dish. The bed of mashed potato was smooth and creamy, absorbing the flavours of the veal and scallops.
The mains of Wagyu Sirloin, Pequilo Peppers, Roquefort (SGD $50) has wagyu beef that was done to our liking, I had mine medium rare. The beef is very tender and flavourful, and the roquefort cheese added a burst of sharp tangy taste to each mouthful. The spinach and Spanish pequilo peppers added a vibrant colour on the plate, and a slight sweetness to the overall dish.
The dessert of Panna Cotta, Popcorn (SGD $14) went down well with our guests, especially the crisp, crunchy popcorn-like bits on the top. The panna cotta itself was smooth, creamy, and sweet, and the passionfruit puree within gave it a tropical, fruity sweet taste.The off-menu / special request dessert item of Chocolate Ganache In Chocolate Soil didn't fare as well, as many of our guests thought it overly sweet. The texture was nice though, being thick, rich, and creamy, but the overpowering sweetness made it hard to finish.
Overall, we had a fantastic evening at Una 1 Rochester Restaurant, and the bosses are likely to strongly consider this as a venue for future events our company may hold. I personally will be visiting again to try the brunch menu! Thanks once again for all the assistance, it's much appreciated!Best Regards,
Ivan Teh RunningMan.
Full Una 1 Rochester Restaurant review here: http://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.sg/2014/08/una-1-rochester-restaurant.html
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