Sunday, November 22, 2009

Valentino

C says:

Because we had our traditional Ember dinner on the day before our anniversary, that left us with an opening for dinner on the day itself. We decided to go to another tried and tested old faithful – Valentino’s. They’ve changed their menu a little since our last visit, but don’t fret – they have added more dishes to the menu, but it doesn't appear that they’ve removed any.

Alas, there was no burrata to be had tonight, but that gave us the opportunity to try another of their appetisers – the Bresaola. This used to feature regularly in their daily specials, but it has now been ‘promoted’ to permanent status on their revised menu. Bresaola is a cured and air-dried beef that has been aged for 3 months. It is traditionally produced in the Valtellina region of Italy, but Valentino’s mother, Mama Alma, has miraculously succeeded in curing her own version of bresaola right here in Singapore! This is despite the vast disparity in temperatures and humidity levels between Singapore and a valley in the Italian Alps.


This was served similar to a beef carpaccio – sliced paper thin on a bed of rocket, topped with shaved parmesan and drizzled with olive oil. Unlike carpaccio, which is essentially raw beef, the bresaola is partially cooked as a result of the curing and aging process. The result is a deep red meat with a mellow beefiness. Plus you can’t really go wrong with a combination of beef, rocket and parmesan. Very good, and kudos to Mama Alma for achieving the almost impossible.


They had a ravioli with salmon mousse as their special tonight, served in a pink sauce. The ravioli was good, but the pink sauce really completed the dish. It’s similar to the sauce that’s used in their famous lobster linguine.


Speaking of which, we had to order it again, and it was even better than before, because now they de-shell the lobster for you! It’s still presented with the head, but they’ve removed the tail meat, chopped it up and tossed it in with the pasta and sauce. This was satisfying as always.

When the dessert trolley came by, I noticed that they were out of the White Chocolate Chantilly cake. One of the waiters was nice enough to check Perla’s store next door, found one last mini cake available, and sliced it in half for me. Excellent service, and a far cry from the less than spectacular service at Osvaldo.

Once again, another lovely meal here. I think we’ll come again soon – there are some interesting new pizzas on the menu that we want to try, and next time I’ll definitely call ahead to reserve a burrata.

A says:

It’s been a while but I’m glad to be back. Especially after the bad experience we had at Osvaldo. This is still one of my favs.

Ristorante da Valentino
11 Jalan Bingka (off Rifle Range Road)
Tel: 6462-0555
Tuesday to Sunday: 12 pm to 2.30 pm, 6 pm to 10.30 pm
www.valentino.sg

1 comment:

m said...

Hello! valentino's my fave italian restaurant - your post makes me want to rush back there and eat the lobster pasta with pink sauce :)