Buko Nero

C says:

Back to Buko Nero again on Friday night after a break for their vacation. Unfortunately Tracey very apologetically told us that we couldn’t take photos of the food, because she realised some people had been marketing photos, together with the restaurant, for a profit without the restaurant’s consent.

Anyway the menu was:

Amuse Bouche: Beef ravioli with tomato and basil sauce
Rock Melon and Rucola Salad with Citrus dressing
Chickpea and Crabmeat Soup
Orange, Peach and Coriander (?!!) Sherbet
A’s main: Beef tenderloin with chanterelle mushrooms and parsley sauce
C’s main: Rucola tagliatelle with braised duck ragu
Milk chocolate cake with coconut and Gula Melaka coulis

Again, the amuse bouche was more or less like the one we had on our last visit. Interestingly, we noticed that different tables had different amuse bouches. The tables of two had the some one that we did, whereas larger tables had something else that, from my eavesdropping, sounded like it had egg white and capers.

Salad and soup were as you would imagine them. A definite miss this time was the sherbet. I mean, coriander?! This is purely personal I guess, because coriander (cilantro to Americans) really isn’t my cup of tea. I’m trying my best to acquire a taste for it, but until then, that sherbet was definitely not something I’d have again. The coriander scented the entire sherbet to the exclusion of the other flavours, especially the peach, but I would imagine that someone who liked coriander would find it quite a delight because it was very fragrant. Just not for me.

The main course and dessert fared much better. The rucola tagliatelle was home-made, and was green because it was flavoured with rocket leaves. It was tossed together with more rocket, and an amazing braised duck ragu. The duck was tender and flavourful, and came with an incredible sauce that still didn’t overpower the pasta. Wonderful.

Dessert was really sweet but amazing all the same. The cake was moist, and had a hint of coconut, and the gula melaka coulis was like a pumped-up caramel that gave a nice Asian twist to the cake.

December looks to be hit and miss, because they’re closed for quite a number of private functions. We’ll try our best to have one more visit before 2006 draws to a close.

A says:

Buko Nero has set such a high standard for itself, that anything less than spectacular is a bit disappointing. While the food was once again good, nothing (except for the dessert) blew me away. Maybe I was thrown off by the coriander in the sherbet.