Thursday, June 21, 2007

Buko Nero

C says:

It’s been almost 4 months since our last visit – how time flies! We managed to secure a reservation for tonight but only at 8.45 pm, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I ate so much all day (thanks for the yummy lunch, Y and W!), that if dinner had been earlier I would’ve been way too full to enjoy it. At least by 9 pm, and after a pre-emptive Spinning class (which probably didn’t even burn off the soup…), I was once again raring to go.

The menu for the night was:

Amuse bouche: Crostini with seared steak topped with half a grape
Starter: Zucchini “tonnato”
Additional starter: Veal carpaccio with parmesan, pear and truffle vinaigrette
Soup: Watercress and crab meat
Sherbet: Strawberry and lime
A’s main: Beef tenderloin wrapped with eggplant, topped with green peppercorns in red wine sauce
C’s main: Home-made tagliatelle with porcini mushroom and cod
Dessert: Chocolate cake with caramel coulis

Joy, the crostini was like the awesome one that we had on one of our first few visits, and our reactions were the same – oohing and ahhing noises as we munched into it, trying to savour all the flavours. The grape was a surprisingly good pairing with the steak.

The zucchini tonnato was 3 ribbons of zucchini, sliced ridiculously thin, served with a thin tuna-flavoured sauce. If that sounds strange, just imagine the flavour of tuna mayonnaise, but in a cream sauce consistency. Since it’s a special occasion (*ahem*), we decided to order the starter special of the day as well – the veal carpaccio. Again, the veal was sliced really thinly, and topped with slices of pear, shaved parmesan, and a creamy mayo-like dressing. While the dish tasted more interesting if you ate all the ingredients together, we actually preferred it without the pear, but that’s because we like-a the meat.

The soup wasn’t bad, but wasn’t one of Chef Oscar’s yummier soups. The sherbet was great though, even for a non-sherbet person like myself – nice and fruity and not too sour.

The mains this time were stellar. The tagliatelle was very good – perfectly cooked, very tasty sauce and plenty of flaky cod fish pieces. But what blew both of us away was the beef this time. It was incredible – again done to a perfect medium rare, and ridiculously sweet and tender. I swear you could have cut it with a fork, and it wasn’t bland and tasteless like some fillets tend to be. The beef was wrapped with a thin sliver of eggplant, and served with mashed potatoes and a lovely red wine sauce. Wow.

A simple warm chocolate cake was a perfect end to a fabulous meal. In a way, I think the 4 month absence helped us appreciate the food more. During the period where we were eating there quite frequently (almost once a month), we started getting a bit spoilt and jaded, so the absence has definitely reminded us why we like Buko Nero so much.

A says:

The beef dishes RAWKED. Best steak I’ve had in a while. And for once, the sherbet wasn’t some weird flavour. All in all, one of the best meals we’ve had there.

Buko Nero
126 Tanjong Pagar Road
Singapore 088534
Tel: 6324-6225
Dinner: 6.30pm to 9.30pm (Tuesday to Saturday)
Lunch: Noon to 2pm (Friday and Saturday)
Closed Sunday and Monday

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

No photos?

Anonymous said...

Ben just told me that you've posted before that Buko Nero doesn't allow photos.

He doesn't know why he stores this sort of useless information in his crowded brain.

Anonymous said...

Random question/comment - why are the labels at the right side random not alphabetical?

Anonymous said...

For avoidance of doubt, I meant why not listed in alphabetical order.

atetoomuch said...

Way to go, Ben. Founts of useless information should not be underestimated. Re: the arrangement of labels, spike's ah ee, good point. We'll look into it.

atetoomuch said...

Ah, done. It was sorted by frequency earlier; now alphabetical.