Burlamacco Restaurant

Hello everyone!

Today I'm gonna talk about this understated restaurant. My friends and I chose this restaurant to celebrate a birthday and my friend told them beforehand that we're celebrating a birthday (more about this later). So upon arriving, I was kinda shocked to see that we were the only other table! Maybe cos its in the CBD and it was a weekday. I certainly hope it has more people during other times!

We placed our orders with very friendly and helpful wait staff and were presented with mini baguettes as seen below. 

Given olive oil & balsamic vinegar as a dip. Didnt try the bread though but my 2 friends finished it! So I assume it should be quite good :)

The decor! Quite homely this part. There's a comfy sofa to the left when you enter as well

Brodo d'aragosta e granchio

Lobster bisque with crab meat

$18

This one was not a bad rendition, it was kinda sweet for me but very rich in terms of flavours. 3.6/5

Battuta di tonno e avocado

Chopped red tuna & ripe avocado

$22

This was highly recommended by the waiter and my friend J really loved it. I dont usually order this because I find that the avocado and tuna flavours kinda cross each other out so you cant really tell what you're eating. So I'm sorry but no comments on this one as I will give a biased opinion cos I already do not like the dish, nothing to do with the restaurant and the chef! 

Fegato d' anatra arrosto

Duck foie gras, caramelized onion & aged balsamic

$28

This foie was not bad, but I would have liked a bit more seasoning? The piece is actually bigger than it seems here haha. 3.5/5

Risotto al nero di seppia

Traditional florentine black squid ink risotto

$26

I have tried many many squid ink risottos in Singapore and I have to say this comes out as tops! Even though there's only squid in this risotto, you WILL NOT get sick of it cos the sauce is just SO DAMN GOOD. Its of the right consistency and has the right amount of squid ink taste in it so you know you're eating squid ink but its not overly salty! Wonderful stuff. I let my friends try it and they loved it too! I totally didnt mind that I only had squid as accompaniment. Loved this! Would surely go back for this. Must try if you're squid ink lover! 4.9/5

Merluzzo con patate e olive verdi 

Roasted cod fish with potato & green olives

$36

J had this and I thought the portion was kinda small for the price but then again cod is always expensive. It was done nicely and she liked it! 4.2/5

Linguine all'aragosta

Linguine with lobster in spicy "arrabbiata" sauce

$28

V had this and we all tried it. It was served piping hot with lots of smoke haha so it was certainly a signal for us to dig in!! I thought the sauce was a little watery, so didnt really coat the linguine well. Its spicy level is mild (I dont take spicy stuff) and well this was recommended to us but I dont think its that special! The sauce is flavourful though. 4/5

Crostata di cioccolato con gelato alla vaniglia

Chocolate tart with vanilla ice cream

$14

This was what came out for us! Okay so in the end the restaurant didnt manage to get a bday cake for us even though they said they would and then they told us to order something from the menu and they'll put a happy bday thing on it for us which was what they did as seen above. We thought it would be with compliments, but no, they charged us for it. 

Anyhow, the choc tart was super good! We loved the thick yummy rich sinful ganache with the tart shell that was a little, just a little thin for me but I loved it nonetheless cos it was buttery crisp and good. All of us wanted to order somemore (okay 2 more) but we finished this and were too stuffed! The ice cream goes well with the tart, well it has been a timeless pair. Good to end off the meal if you dont mind something chocolatey! 4.5/5

Service: everyone was really friendly and funny, even the chef! 

Ambience: you've seen the pics! Tables arent that close either so its good

Overall: rather good food with good service, what more do you want!

Burlamacco Restaurant

77A Amoy Street

6220 1763

info@burlamacco.com.sg

Mon-Fri 11.30-2.30pm, 6.30-10.30pm

Sat 6.30-10.30pm

Closed Sunday

Rather New Restaurant: Buona Terra

Hi everyone!

This restaurant is situated in the same grounds as Ki-sho which I blogged about previously and details on how to get to this place is also in that previous blogpost. It is housed in a pretty colonial house but this Italian restaurant is to the left of the "main" building, almost as if it were an annex. 

The layout of the restaurant is one I have not seen before, its just long and well rather small overall? Look at the pic below, its width only fits this table in the foreground and the table in the background + a walkway in btwn. So the entire restaurant is literally 2 rows of tables with a walkway in between! But then again, this can give a nice cosy feel because you know that the attention of the servers will never be too divided, and that there is sufficient personal space for each table.

I must first apologise for the lousy quality photos!! The lighting there isn't v good unfortunately :/ so I had to edit them a bit but the editing made them grainy.

The boy ordered their spring seasonal set menu (which changes with the season as what the name says), while I ordered ala carte! The 6 course spring set costs $128++. Will tell y'all which is a dish under the set menu or ala carte. They also have a degustation menu. Sorry if some of the descriptions are short! I cant really remember how the tastes of the boy's dishes are.

Our server was really nice! I told him I wanted to try 2 kinds of pasta but I dont want to order both. He said he'll arrange small portions of both for me so that I can try them! Great great option! I was so happy :)

2 type of complimentary bread

First you are served breadsticks - squid ink (seems to be a fad nowadays), sesame and plain. The squid ink one doesnt really taste of squid ink, just slightly salty. Sesame one was rather fragrant.

The bread in the bread basket in the foreground consists of a extremely soft fluffy hot bread roll, focaccia (think it was onion?) and not sure if there's another one. The bread roll was so soft and fluffy! The bread basket came out piping hot, definitely a good start to the meal!

Complimentary amuse bouche

Parmesan creme brulee

Rather innovative! Savory creme brulee. Its not too sweet and its quite a small mouthful so it doesnt get too jialat cheese wise cos the cheese taste is quite concentrated! 3.5/5

Beetroot carpaccio with goat cheese, orange & hazelnuts

$18

Rather generous portion and you must be a beetroot lover to like this dish!!! The goat cheese and hazelnuts provide a good alternative taste to the beetroot, it was nice to eat them together! 3.7/5

Zucchini flower with King Crab & Broad Beans cream

Set menu

This was filled with fresh flavours, very light start to this set menu! 3.5/5

Crispy Slow cooked veal tongue with Spring Vegetables
Set menu

The boy said the veal tongue was really good, soft and tasty while the skin was crispy. One of the more outstanding dishes for him he said. 4.4/5

Tagliolini with Red Prawns & Leek Cream
Set menu

This dish reminds us of a Chinese noodle dish cos of the flavours! Tasted a little like there was wok hei haha. Smokey kind of flavour and even the texture of the noodles was kinda soft. 3.3/5

Homemade Tagliolini Pasta w Crab meat, Lemon & Italian Oscietra Caviar

Ala carte

($34 on the menu but with my "tasting" portion, I'm not sure how much they charged me in the end!)

Similarly the pasta was a little soft here but flavours were lighter with hints of lemon. Caviar really doesnt do much in terms of taste. Generous w the amt of crab meat. But I think to eat a whole portion of this would be rather monotonous 3.3/5

Crispy "Orbetello" Seabass Fillet w Crispy White Polenta and Sweet & Sour Onion
Set

The sea bass skin was really crispy though a tad salty. The meat was very nicely cooked, still v soft and nice. Not sure abt the polenta & onions tho cos didnt try them! 3.7/5

Smoked Wagyu Beef Steak with Asparagus and Black Truffle
Set

The boy said this was a little tough :/

Squid ink Risotto with Tomato Confit & Sauteed Squid
Ala carte
(Usual price $28, not sure how much they charged for this tasting portion)

I think its a nice refreshing change that the chef included tomatoes in this dish!! I've eaten squid ink risotto/pasta at so many places and have never had it with tomatoes and I think it provides a nice alternative sourish twang to the dish that I personally like. Felt that the squid ink sauce didnt really pack a punch tho, squid ink taste could be a little stronger! 3.7/5

Strawberry Salad with Vanilla Panna Cotta, Pistachios & Ricotta Cream
Set

I liked this dish!!! Sour and sweet at the same time, great light refreshing end to a meal :) 4.2/5

Mixed Berry Tartelette with Vanilla Ice Cream
$16
Ala carte

The boy told them he was celebrating my bday for me when he booked the restaurant then we thought they'd give us a cake or something. Then the staff asked me whether we wanted to order dessert and so I chose this Berry Tartelette and it came with a candle + the words happy birthday! They gave this to us with compliments. I guess this is a nice alternative to what restaurants usually do! Ie they just give you a cake w/o any choice of what you want (I'm not complaining, its alr v good they're giving it complimentary) but I guess this way at least the guest gets to choose what he/she wants. Not sure if the guests says no to dessert though haha.

The tart shell was not bad, super generous with the berries though! The ice cream melted super quickly haha and there were crushed nut bits below the ice cream! Would have preferred a slightly thicker tart shell cos you're basically eating berries only but still not bad overall! 3.7/5

This is the 2 rows of tables

Petit Fours

Some complimentary petit fours to end the meal! :) Tried the almond cookie which was nice! Cant really rmb how the rest taste!

Service was good, friendly, rather prompt though lacking sometimes. I really like how they allowed me to have tasting portions of the pasta! Was really happy about this :) 

I feel that this restaurant is like an unpolished gem that needs some improvements in the quality of the food and then it'll shine :) Its situated in a beautiful colonial house and has a rather nice ambience! 

Buona Terra

29 Scotts Road

Mon-Sat: 6.30-10.30pm

Closed on Sunday & on selective Public Holidays (contact them to find out)

67330209

reservation@buonaterra.com.sg

Website (has their menus - ala carte & set)

New: Trattoria Nonna Lina

Read about a new Italian (omg how many Italian restaurants do we have in our tiny Singapore??!) restaurant along Craig Road with an opening promotion of 20% off ala carte mains during lunch hours that ends on Nat day so I was like "HEY let's go down cos the promo ends tmr!" to my friend YH. So off we went! Its few doors down from Miz Japanese Restaurant and the sign is quite seenable, else just look out for Miz Jap Restaurant, its along that row!

Just FYI, the restaurant recently had its grand opening on 10 Aug!

First page of the menu is a short intro about the chef & his background + his food written by the chef himself & I think its really cute that family pics are added :)

Besides the mains in the menu, you can ask the chef for the specialties of the day (which I think would be easier if they wrote it down somewhere or have the waitress tell you when you're seated). That day the special pastas available were tagliolini, parpadelle, and gnocchi. Then you choose your pasta & discuss the sauce w the chef! So mine was squid ink sauce w the tagliolini in the end :) oh and there was sting-ray as well which was off the menu! The chef was super cute, he was like "not sambal sting ray!" 

They have desserts too! But on offer (at the time when I visited) are - tiramisu, ricotta cake w choc chips, gelato (if I'm not wrong), lava cake (if I'm not wrong!), combi of Italian pastries (according to the lady that day, there are 3 pastries, one's hazelnut and then lemon and sth else which I forgot but you can ask! This was $11) and some more but I cant rmb sorry!

Yellow interiors which explains the yellowish tinge in my pics!

Bruschette 

I liked the balsamic and the olive oil. The tomatoes were slightly sour and sweet. Overall, a rather nice bruschetta! :) This was w compliments frm the chef!

Homemade Tagliolini with Seafood Squid ink 

$28 (if I'm not wrong! Or $27)

This one had a thick sauce that had hints of saltiness and just a different kind of taste from the usual squid ink I've had and I think that was what made me finish the whole plate! It could have done w more ingredients though but I'm not complaining though I'm not usually a carb kinda girl but the sauce was good for me. Its not extremely flavourful mind you, but, I dont know how to put it in words, it just did it for me. Try it if you're a squid ink fan. Am warning you, your lips, teeth, tongue, mouth will turn black!! Better check mirrors aft eating this! There was squid, crabmeat inside and that's abt it! But I was still happy w it! :) 4.5/5

Penne with Crabmeat in Light Creamy Tomato Sauce

$23

YH had this! Personally I do not like penne 'cos I dont think it let's me slurrrrrp my noodles which I like to do haha. So no comments abt the pasta. The sauce was more creamy than tomato-y to me. Quite generous w crabmeat I'd say! But more of an average-ish dish to me! 3.6/5

Grilled Sting Ray

flavoured w truffle oil and lemon juice

$27 (or $28 haha)

The truffle oil was barely discernible for me but YH said she could smell it q strongly so I'm not sure abt that! Couldnt taste it while eating the sting ray tho! It was undoubtedly fresh and grilled nicely with a very soft flesh. But it was kinda monotonous aft awhile as it didnt have much flavour and that's where the lemon on the top comes in. Good for sharing! 3.7/5

The chef is very friendly and so are the wait staff but I think it'd be better if the waitress knew what the catch of the day is, what the combi of Italian pastries consist of etc so that she doesnt need to ask the chef to talk to us (what if he was busy cooking?) or someone else to tell us. The restaurant was v quiet on a weekday lunch and I think its prolly cos it just opened? Its a decent place for Italian and hopefully it'll stay open w so many Italian restaurants nearby!

Trattoria Nonna Lina

4 Craig Road

62220930

Opens daily from 11-2.30pm and 6-10pm

Website

Update 26/9/12: I took down pics of the menu as requested by the restaurant as they said that their menu changes regularly!

Zafferano - Semi Buffet Lunch in the CBD

When you arrive at Ocean Financial Centre, at the lift lobby you'll see that there's a lady at this booth/valet-like thing which has the sign Zafferano! Then you tell her whether you have reservations or you'd like a table for how many then she'd tap you in through the "gates" (you need an access card) then the level for Zafferano will already be pressed for you, like magic haha, don't be swa ku (muddleheaded) like us and think that the lift wont go to the right level! Its level 43 anyway, in case you're scared haha.

So when you reach, the wait staff will show you to your seat and present you w the lunch menu + explain it to you! Basically, you choose whether you want the appetiser buffet OR minestrone soup (srsly who would choose minestrone soup??), then you choose from a selection of main courses (the lady told me they change it weekly or biweekly) then there's a dessert buffet! All for $33++. (July/Aug promo) If you're lucky, you get a table w amazing views. OR you can choose to dine outside! Which has even better views imo. Anyhow, the interior is very well-lit by natural light and you just feel cheerful + happy eating there. Its mostly the working crowd so there's some sorta atas feel to it.

Assortment of bread served when we were seated - focaccia, tomato bread and white bread. Think they're studded w olives? Werent warm at all :/

From where we sat

Olive oil for Zafferano! I love how its more viscous vs normal olive oils and more fragrant! This features VERY prominently in the antipasti buffet cos almost everything contains it!

Antipasti buffet: 

Smoked salmon w grapefuit

Salad leaves on the left

Cucumber + special tomato on the right

The tomato is FRIKKIN sweet! I ate lots of it, must try if you're a tomato fan!

(L-R 1st row then 2nd): Roasted eggplant, potatoes?, not sure, beet!, broccoli, carrots

Artichokes, chicken salad

Gorgonzola Mousse

This was not bad

Seafood salad w celery

Mmmmmm I took many many helpings of this!! Fresh seafood w crunchy celery, I was a happy girl. Tho just prawns and squids (if I'm not wrong) this was a light and fresh salad that I'd be happy to have more servings of!

Gazpacho was thicker in texture than I'd like but not bad just that it wasnt cold enough for me

Octopus, potatoes + long bean salad

Anchovies

Not bad

Grilled eggplants

Grilled capsicum

Yellow stuff = olive oil haha

My plate :)

Spoon thing - Crab salad (q average!)

Caprese salad

Cold cuts + olives

Main: Astic
Homemade tagliolini, Boston lobster & cherry tomato (supplement $14)

The boy and I both thought this was not worth the $14 supplement as it wasn't as flavourful as my pasta below. The pasta was almost like aglio olio style but had some hints of flavouring from a seafood/tomato base but it was barely discernible. Lobster was fresh no doubt but that was about it. 3.5/5

Main: Tagliatelle
Homemade tagliatelle with seafood and cherry tomatoes

We both loved the sauce that coated this pasta, brimming w flavour and fragrance! This had clams, squid and prawns if I'm not wrong and yknow what I did? I took the seafood from the antipasti buffet and added it into this ;) hehe. Of course I mixed it up w the yummy sauce so I had a ingredient-packed lunch that was super good!! Finished everything down to the v last bite. At first I was like omg the portion is so small but turns out it was just nice! 4.6/5

Psst: saw someone ordering the beef tenderloin w foie gras and the piece of foie gras given is q big D:

Raspberry cheesecake + choc cake in background

Cheese counter and nuts!!

I loved the cheese in the middle, made from goat's milk

Fruits platter

But this was before it was refilled!

Choc + mint mousse & biscotti

Didnt try this so not sure how it tastes like!

Fruits - watermelon + honeydew (and later I tried the rock melon): ALL FRIKKIN SWEET. I took numerous servings #thickskin but nevermind. I had to have my fill of sweet fruits yknow. Oh the pineapple was sweet too!

Choc cake: probably the only decent cake that day, tho this was nth special either

Raspberry cheesecake: average? Not strong raspbery taste/creamcheese taste

Banana cake:  too dry + coarse for me!

Strawberry panna cotta: this was not bad! Barely taste the panna cotta cos was overpowered by the strawberry coulis on top that was v sour!

Nuts: werent fresh anymore :(

Jelly (think it was champagne jelly?) but this was light and not bad!


The view from outside:

Outdoor seating area

Service-wise it was slightly lacking in some parts like we had to keep asking for our water to be refilled but service in terms of clearing, serving, helpfulness + friendliness - all good and fast!

Ambience - think night time would be q special but lunch has its advantages too!! Lots of pretty natural light :) and not to mention the lunch buffet!

Well I say for $33 its arguably okay for the ambience + quality of food, especially if you order a good main! Cos the desserts well, honestly I'd just go back again for the fruits haha cos they were so yummeh! Perhaps they could put some rock melon next to the parma ham in the antipasti buffet? Mm antipasti buffet was good, selection was not bad too. This promo price will end in Aug so do go if you have the chance!

Zafferano

Lvl 43 Ocean Financial Centre

Website (their menus are online! And can reserve there too)