Dolce Vita, Singapore - Review

Note: I don't usually do restaurant reviews, I tend to leave that to the professionals and stick to posting recipes suitable for the normal person to cook at home. But this was an opportunity I just had to take.

Less than 24 hours ago, Pete and I got back from an 8 day trip to Singapore to celebrate Pete's 30th birthday.

One of his New Years resolutions this year was to eat at a Michelin starred restaurant. Sadly there are no Michelin starred restaurants in Singapore but there are a number of starred chefs who have set up restaurants there which was good enough for us!

At our hotel was a restaurant called Dolce Vita. The chef, Marco Pedrelli, was taught to cook by his Italian mother and grandmother in Cesena, Italy then went to work in numerous Michelin starred restaurants throughout Europe before earning his own Michelin star.

Needless to say the guy knows how to cook, so we booked a table at Dolce Vita at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Singapore. We had assumed Marco Pedrelli had put his name to the restaurant and designed the menu but didn't actually cook in it. We were quite wrong - we found out a few days later he was actually cooking there and therefore most likely made (or at least supervised to cooking of) our dinner that Saturday night.

So to kickstart the evening, we had a chat with the sommelier and decided that since it was Pete's birthday, the occasion called for bubbles so we ordered a nice glass of real French champagne each which was served with olive ciabatta bread and butter that was churned in-house. Divine!

Next, out came the complimentary aperitif - a poached chicken roulade.



Whilst we were eating our chicken roulade, the laser light show at the Marina Bay Sands kicked off.



Next out was something I would happily call one of the best things I've ever eaten. Ever. Almost as good as my Mum's chocolate rum slice. (And that's a pretty big call!)

It was grilled and chilled asparagus, aged Iberico de Bellota ham, buffalo mozzarella and morel ragout. I can't even get close to describing how amazing this was. Cold, refreshing, salty, creamy. Just gorgeous!



For his entree, Pete ordered seared scallops with a creamed lobster and leek sauce.



Pete and I both ordered the same thing for our main meal - Tris di pasta. Starting from the left: braised oxtail-foie gras cannelloni with creamed spinach and parmesan ; homemade crab ravioli (made with squid ink) in a champagne sauce ; and tortellini of wild forest mushrooms and ricotta with a pine nut and olive oil dressing.



Now, I'm afraid Pete and I were a little too eager when our desserts reached us. We'd eaten half of them before we remembered to take a photo of them! Oops.

So this is half a torta di mele - a slow baked golden apple on puff pastry, calvados ice-cream and Tahitian vanilla sauce.



And this is half a tarte di cioccolato e caramel - chocolate salted caramel tarte with fresh raspberries and gold leaf.



Overall, it was an amazing dinner. The service was flawless, the food was impeccable and Pete had a wonderful birthday. If anyone is heading to Singapore soon then I'd highly recommend Dolce Vita.

Eating Melbourne 2010

I was in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago and practically ate and shopped the entire time. It was great! I don't have any photos of what I ate (my camera is slowly dying and part of me was a bit embarrassed to be snapping pics in trendy restaurants) but I thought I'd share my experiences anyway.

Fifteen Melbourne (115-117 Collins Street, Melbourne)
The place has a really trendy feel to it. The restaurant has an open kitchen so I spent most of the night peering over Pete's shoulder to watch the kitchen staff at work. Tobie Puttock was actually working that night which was a tad exciting.

The service was flawless which was very impressive, however the food was pretty mediocre. My primi (entree) was orecchiette with butternut pumpkin, amaretti crumble, sage and pecorino toscano. It was bland. And there was no crumble. It was pasta with small chunks of pumpkin in a "blended pumpkin and water" sauce with a few sage leaves. My main was a perfectly cooked piece of barramundi with chickpeas cooked in tomatoes with basil. The chickpeas were nice, although a bit bland (I don't think Fifteen believes in "seasoning") and there was sand through it. Really uncool. However, dessert was nice - a Granny Smith apple creme brulee with clove ice-cream and almond biscotti. The brulee let out a good crack as I broke through the top of it and the clove ice-cream is probably one of the best things I've eaten in a long time. The biscotti was crap though - so hard that neither Pete nor I could actually bite through it.

All in all, I probably wouldn't recommend it - there are much better restaurants in Melbourne!

Gingerboy (27-29 Crossley Street, Melbourne)
My absolute favourite restaurant in Melbourne, it specialises in Hong Kong hawker style food. The dining room is funky, the bar is full of amazing looking cocktails and there's a real vibe about the place which is right in the heart of Chinatown.

For starters (which we shared), we ate prawn and ginger dumplings with red vinegar dressing and braised duck spring rolls with spiced plum and hoi sin sauce. Divine! Our shared mains were red duck leg curry with shallots, Thai basil and coconut cream and wok fried satay chicken and prawns with spring onions in a pancake, served with jasmine rice. It was just gorgeous and incredibly satisfying (since I'd been fantasizing about the red duck curry since I went to Melbourne last year!)

I would recommend Gingerboy to anyone and everyone! Go! Seriously!

Punch Lane Restaurant and Wine Bar (43 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne)
Punch Lane is one of Pete's favourite places to eat in Melbourne. Although this time we went on a Saturday night and the dining room was actually very, very noisy - we could barely hear each other and had to shout much of our conversation. Apart from the noise level, we had a lovely evening - the food is beautiful, very simple but clean and full of flavour.

Our shared entrees were tiger prawns wrapped in panchetta with a lemon mayonnaise and manchego, potato and thyme croquettes with tomato chilli jam. My main meal was a special and not something straight from the menu - it was a risotto with baby peas, mint and goats cheese which was really, really beautiful. Dessert was a spiced carrot pudding with orange jelly and vanilla mascarpone.

I'd definitely recommend Punch Lane - I can't emphasize enough how well-cooked the meals are, even though they may sound quite simple. But perhaps go on a week night when the place is a little quieter!


Also of note in Melbourne:

AIX Creperie (24 Centre Place, Melbourne) This tiny little out-of-the-way place was an awesome find (thanks to Melbourne bloggers who raved about it!!!) I wanted to eat half of the menu! I ended up with the BLT crepe.

Haigh's Chocolates - my favourite cream-filled chocolates are lime, rose, violet and mint.

Koko Black - get the Belgian truffles. I get shivers just thinking about it!

And as silly as it sounds, the burger ordered from room service at the Mantra on Russell was really tasty! It was huge but it was so good and I ate the entire thing (which I probably shouldn't have done, because it really was HUGE!!!) It had a big meaty beef pattie, plenty of salad, egg, relish, cheese all stuffed into two sliced of toasted Turkish bread with a side of chips. Late night bliss!

Our trip to Melbourne was a good chance to get away (even though Pete had to work for a couple of days) and it was good to see more of the city. We may be moving over next year due to work so that will be really exciting. And if we don't move, then I'll just have to go back across next time Pete gets sent for work. :)