Friday, February 13, 2009

Buko Nero

C says:

We managed to get a booking at Buko Nero for dinner tonight, so for the second year running we had our pre-Valentine’s Day dinner here. I know all of you must be sick and tired of reading about our Buko Nero exploits so I do apologise, but these are really for our own record so that we remember what we had, what was noteworthy and what should be avoided in future. I promise to keep it short.

Amuse bouche: Frittata square with truffle and mayonnaise
Starter: Roma tomato with citrus dressing, olive tapenade and pecorino cheese
Soup: Green pea and Hokkaido sea scallop
Additional starter: Foie gras ravioli
Sorbet: Mandarin and lime
A’s main: Twice-cooked pork rack with honey and rosemary glaze
C’s main: Beef tenderloin wrapped with eggplant in red white reduction
Dessert: Milk chocolate cake with coconut and Gula Melaka coulis

The foie gras ravioli was one of the specials and despite it being a bit indulgent, we had it as an additional starter to share. I’m really glad we did cos it was the highlight of the meal. Even A, a consummate foie gras non-fan, was blown away by this. The filling was a bit like a foie gras mousse/pate, so it wasn't too rich. As with most of Buko Nero’s raviolis, it was made with wonton skin wrappers rather than traditional pasta sheets. As a result, the raviolis were very delicate and you could really taste the foie gras filling without it being overwhelmed by pasta. They were drizzled with truffle oil and served in a really flavourful jus/gravy.

The rest of the meal paled in comparison – particularly the soup, which is surprising because the soups here are usually quite good. Today it was a bit too powdery for me and the green pea didn’t really go with the scallop.

They’re closed to attend an Expo in Italy from 28 March to 14 April, then we’re away, so I anticipate it’ll be quite a number of months before our next visit.

A says:

This is one of the best meals I’ve had in Buko Nero in awhile. The ravioli especially rocked.

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

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