Teo Soon Long Chan Teochew Seafood Restaurant (74p)

No. 55, Jalan Hang Katsuri (off Jonker st)
Tel: 06-2822353 (Melaka)

WADA rating: 47 + 27= 74 pts

QPI: 8+ ($20-$30 per pax for fresh seafood produce)

WFI: C (free corkage but BYOB and BYOG, limited space so if possible bring Riedel no-stem Tyrols)

A hidden gem in the heart of Melaka's chinatown! So fortunate to have Paul to bring us to this very obscurely located and charming "old world" restaurant. This has become one of my must visits if ever I come by Melaka. Do make reservations in advance because this restaurant is HOT! We arrived at 8 plus and it was packed full with guests streaming in all the way till we were finishing dinner at 9 plus. So to avoid disappointment, DO CALL!

Another point to note is that there is no menu. The protocol here is to take your pick from the day's array of fresh produce. Second point to note is to sit back, relax and wait for the elderly Towkay Tan's two sons (who have since taken charge over the kitchen) to serve up some "perspective".

What's Good

Fried Soft shell crab
Oaty, …extremely crispy and with the sweet sauce is perfect! So fragrant in the mouth. The best ever soft shell crab ..its fried but not oily. The batter reminds me of fried five spice crackers (Ngo Heong), its like highly crispy with oatis- like crunchiness.
Dish on left is the Lap Cheong and the golden popcorn chicken looking dish is the soft shell crab.

Homemade lap cheong with vegetables
The story (as told by Paul) is that the owner – Mr Tan went to china and saw the unhygienic conditions for which lap cheong is being made and decided to make his own. Admirable effort as the lap cheong tastes extremely fresh… as though it wasn’t preserved.

Yam Paste with ginko nuts and pumpkin
One of the best orh ni I have had so far, it’s a creamy paste of pure milky yammy goodness. What is special is the yam paste or should I say yam soup…cooked and pummeled to perfection. I don’t think they add any sugar syrup as the sweetness is quite natural without being cloying. Lovely with the ginko nuts and especially the half mushy pumpkin mash! What a way to end…I would love to try pairing this with a sauternes…just for the fun of it. FYI, they have a pre-packaged frozen version sold in NTUC!!! But they sell it under a different brand name....I think so as to not tarnish their brand name...and I would say nothing beats the original freshly made here.

Homemade Doufu
So simple…but yet this brings back memories for me. First of all , the plate is very retro…my paternal granny used to cook for me using such plates….*sobs*. ..this toufu serenades with grandmotherly love and a dedication to keeping food tasty yet simple. The fried minced meat with the spring onions and fried onions just gently lifts the aromas of the toufu to your senses. Its not clinically soft like those u get from the supermarket. Its soft because your granny slogged over the stoves slowly steaming this originally tough beancurd into tender loving softness.

Oyster Noodles
Yummy …this easily makes their no1. must-try dish list. Black gooey spiced infused sauce with threads of noodles floating around bits of oysters. There is good wok hei as well as that simple goodness that this place exihibits in so many of its dishes. Lovely pairing with the pinots.

Other dishes Tasted

Baked Salt Crab – The charcoal has been locked in this baked crab and every bite emits the black peppery smoky flavours. Not a crowd pleaser , this is an acquired taste. Very natural and simple in approach again.

Steamed Teochew Promfret – Super fresh and simple flavours that don’t overwhelm the quality of the promfret

Comments

Well-aged and charming describes aptly both the ambience of the place as well as the elderly owner. Age though seems not to have lessened the energy emanating from the elderly towkay and his restaurant, which is the embodiment of old-fashioned teochew cuisine at its finest.

The old man featured in the photo is the elderly towkay.

Pairings Done

2004 Michel Magnien Gevrey-Chambertin, VV
WADA rated 81+pts

Earth, mushrooms and bright cherries, red fruits. Orange peels and salted preserved vegetable water. Good example of a Gevrey but not spectacular. Good medium length.

2006 Kim Crawford Pinot noir
WADA rated 77pts

Cherry cola and ‘kiam chye’ water….reminded us of the salted vegetable duck soup we had at bibik neo. Straightforward and fun wine. At the start, very much new world but when we re-tasted later, the nose evolved into some mushrooms and earth so typical of bourgogne. However, this still very much had some imbalance….the tannins have a “scratching” effect on the throat. This is like a seemingly fun gal at a party that you should never get too closely-acquainted with because you know you will regret in the morning!

Pairing Suggestions

This place deserves some good pinots ... preferably aged with more earthy mushroomy undertones. I am also thinking aged bordeaux right bank blend - Merlot Cab would work too.

Braise (88p)

60 Palawan Beach Walk, Level 2
Tel: 6271-1929 http://www.braise.com.sg/

WADA rating: 61.5 + 26.5= 88 pts
QPI: 8+ ($110-$140 for a very satisfying 5 / 6 course set dinner, $30-$50 for a main, portions are sizeable)
WFI: B ($40 per bot, good stemware, almost sommelier-class staff)

Have heard a lot of good things from some frens and colleagues about this new place, which I think is the 2nd restaurant opened under the same management that also owns Ember restaurant at Keong Saik. Coincidentally, was invited by Elaine for John's suprise bdae bash which took place at the very cool rooftop chillout bar at Braise.












What's Hot

Roasted Fillet of Beef with Savoy Cabbage, Beef Cheeks and its Own Braising Sauce

The Beouf is superbo!!! I love it.. it looks pinkish raw from the top but its totally juicy and very much cooked in its own juices. What is really delicious are the e cooked shreds of beef buried undeneath the fillet. Mmm Mmm...its flaky and off dry but packs a punch like beef bak kwa cooked and dried in a extremely flavourful sauce. The cooked shreds provide wonderful balance to the slightly rarer and juicier fillet.…and... ooo! lala...wat a sauce it comes with.. essence of bovril!!! Its beefy but not in your face beefiness...this is a bull tamed by the matador. And if that isn't enough...the Savoy cabbage tossed in with the beef shreds brings a sweet edge to the dish. By itself, the savoy cabbage is a standalone dish to eat with rice!!!

Duck Confit

Oh man...just look at the presentation. Its like a world map! On the north, you have flaky duck shreds / pieces which has a chewy and harder texture almost similar to the beef shreds mentioned above. The same cooking style of braising a portion of the meat in its own juices until it has completely absorbed the full flavours and then heated to a duck bak kwa like state of euphoria! On the south is the main duck breast with a very delicious sweet salty savory light brown sauce. This is yummy…fatty but succulent.. However, Andre's (watch out for the review) serves a better version with crispier and more aromatic skin. But this is still darn good ! And I paired this withe the 02 Nicolas Potel Volnay....heavenly pairing...the robustness and complexity of the volnay seems to interlock with the layered flavours of the duck breast. Finally , to the west , we have sweet poached peaches (which DBF adores) mingled with a sweet casis like sauce (actually think its cranberry) and covered with wonderful crisp wafer-thin toasted bread slices. There are so many things happening and each country is sovereign in its own taste kingdom....but yet all of them come together very well... i enjoyed having the peaches with a slice of the duck breast dipped in both the light brown savory sauce plus the sweet casis sauce ...its an orgy of flavours that none can resist. Great dish!!!

Duck Parmentier with Mustard Emulsion
This is a cake made up of flavour densified duck meat. It is very similar in presentation style to the roasted beed, So yummy.. its exciting as well as a comfort food. The creamy buttery sauce gives this dish the versatility of both a red and white wine dish!!! The juicy salty duck meat cake definitely shouts for a pinot but yet the cream sauce beckons for a white burg chardonnay. So versatile dish. Sweet caramelised onion slices add another dimension of great flavours to an already tender and deliciously sexy duck. Another darn good dish! Some complains of saltiness and it could be for those salt-intolerant ...But I love it! This is an exciting dish with life with every biteful. This is a must try~!!!!

Scallops with Scaplini pasta

Very delicate flavours with littering of olives that tasted like chwee kueh toppings… slightly too much olive oil as commented by some.. but I m ok with it though.. its good oil…emulsifies the dish and brings together the scallop's sweet freshness with the aromtically expressive thin threads of pasta. There is almost like an orange peel tinge to it as well...there are layers of flavours hiding in this dish.

What's Not

The Lobster bisque is like a mini expresso but instead of coffee you get really thick flavours of a prawn noodle soup cooked entirely with an overdose of prawn heads! A little too bitter to swallow and imbalance....like how some wines are overoaked!

Other Dishes Tasted

Roast beef was very excellent though I only took a small pinch from Ming's plate. But from that small piece of beef, I could taste the tenderness and slow cooked goodness in the very juicy beef.
The Press Foie Gras with Sauternes and Camomile Jelly, which has the essence of foie gras essentially...but still lacks the complexity in texture that a full piece of "uncut" goose liver has.
Filled Zucchini Blossoms with Tasmanian Trout (which is what the Degustation menu indicated but this doesn't look like its the right dish though) is above average and met with my expectations.

Comments

One big gripe is that the serving pace is really slow… the timing for the food is just not acceptable unless you are planning to sit down for a four hour long dinner. The place was not even 3/4 full but they were having trouble coping with the "crowd". Besides the timing, the service is pretty up to mark. This is up there with the big boys….almost…at the fringe. Like 1st div champion.. going to the premier league soon.

Wine Pairings Done

2003 Clos Du Marqis, 2nd label of Leoville Lascases – a super 2nd growth, St Julien (RP90, WS90)
WADA rated 85pts
Beautiiful blueish purple telling of the heat in the vintage. Pefumed nose of violets and dark red cherries/ berries. Jam mix of blueberries and blackberries but not at all new world in style as the mid palate transitions to a very Bordeaux like mix of dark milk chocolate and bitter roots on the finish.

2002 Nicolas Potel, 1er Volnay Les Pitures (ST90)
WADA rated 83pts
Textbook style burgundian nose that is expressive with tones of sauerkraut, vegetal components and some ripe cherries. Mainly bright cherries with delicate teases of some earth and mushrooms. Good but not monumental finsh. A darn good effort from an excellent vintage and at a very reasonable price of $80 sold at the restaurant (the other bottles were all 3 digit prices). Glad we picked this one.

Wine Pairing Suggestions

For $40 corkage per bot, it is still pretty worth the while to BYOB to pair with such an excellent dining experience. There are also some good picks in their wine list which is extensive...go for the Nicolas Potels! I would bring all manner of wines here.. there are so many interesting pairings that this place can offer so let the wine connoiseur in you take over!

Life is Short, Drink Up!

This ad-hoc posting is a collection of various wines tasted tasted during the past months. As you would notice from the wines, I am a strong advocate of tasting all varietals from all regions no matter how big the brand name or limited the quantity. Wine is not just an alcoholic product...far from it ...I believe wine will become a record of the terroir and state of condition of Mother Earth through time. This is especially true given the rapid state of degeneration of the ecosphere. In time to come, all wines will taste overripe (what Parker likes) as temps soar...maybe we could get 2! harvests in a year. So here is WADA's bit to document earth's climatic history...

Welcome Blind Tasting @ Extraspace

Had just shifted into my new locker and incidentally William and gang were having their first ever blind session at the living room @ Extraspace.

2001 M Chapoutier La Bernardine, CDP (RP87)
WADA rated 85pts

Wow! This is the first time I have picked up such strong cracked white pepper. It smells of pig's organ soup too! Very burgundian on the palate with soft elegant cherries. Delightful and intriguing. This is impossible to guess.

2000 Domaine Meo Camuzet, Vosne Romanee (ST85)

WADA rated 81pts

A walk in a sparsely populated forest overgrown with wild mushrooms. Brambly. No doubt about it , this is a textbook burg with good nose and elegant body but loses itself nearing the end which reveals the weaknesses of this vintage. This is good drinking now.

2001 Domaine Amiot Guy et Fils, 1er Chassagne-Monrachet Clos St Jean

WADA rated 80pts

Extremely lighthearted in approach. I had guessed Savigny Les Beaune given its style but noted Chassagne-Mont pinots are very similar as well. Soft cherries with some teasing hints of cedar. Bitter herbs on the finish.

2005 Lafon Rochet, St Estephe 4th Growth (RP90, JR16, WS90)

WADA rated ???
This bottle had been opened since UGC, meaning about a week plus sitting in William's fridge. The amazing thing is that it still holds up at least for the first 5 mins in the glass. Tropical bananas galore on the nose...make that bananas that has been baking under a hot sun. However, the palate shows telltale signs of aging....pretty flat with just some residual acid left. There is no way I can give a fair rating given its been left oxidizing for so long but I would love to re-taste this soon. All said, this is another testament to the legendary 05 vintage.

M & M battle of the 05 Volnays

Tasted 2 of MM's (not Minister Mentor) volnays on separate occasions with the following results.

2005 Mischief & Mayhem, VV, Volnay (WS91)

WADA rated 82+pts

Dense red cherries. Amzingly complex and difficult to dissect...just too robust. Green and herbaceous...am amazed by the complexity of this village. Both Paul and I agree...this is puncing above its weightclass.

2005 Mischief & Mayhem, 1er Clos des Chenes, Volnay

WADA rated 74pts

Medium red. Minty eucalyptus with coffee-toffee oak. Brambly crayola with good cherry acid. Gummy tannins but has some question marks on the finish and alcohol imbalance.

Bubble Bubble Toil & Trouble

2004 Petaluma Croser, Adelaide Hills
WADA rated 81+pts
A bubbly mixture of Pinot Chardonnay concocted by prolific aussie winemaker - Brian Croser. Pale gold. Basic and nice peach and white fruits on the nose. Plenty of juicy peaches on the fore with a very enjoyable satisfying length. A non-pretentious “champagne” that anyone would like. This shouts Drink Me!

NV Gosset Grand Rose, Brut Champagne (WS83-90, RP90, ST91)
WADA rated 74+pts
Very stingy on the nose. It does give off a little unripe strawberry skins. Nice pinkish red and definitely very good on the bubbles (small, round and longlasting) and length. Slight yeastiness but not blowing neither me nor DBF away.

NV Tattinger Grand Reserve, Champagne
WADA rated 70pts
Had this at John’s after dinner party @ Café Del Mar. Yeasty and tastes like squeezed essence of lemons that have been baking under the sun….v griping lemony acidity. Bubbles are easily lost.

And A Spattering of Other Stuff...

2001 Paloumey, Cru Bourgeios, Haut Medoc
WADA rated 81pts
Garnet with brownish hue. This is ageing fast. Smells of a pot of cooked fruits with rabbit stew that has lots of mushrooms and truffles. Whiffs of milk choc as well. The nose is surprisingly complex and opulent. However, it is bordering vinegarish …probably you have to drink now. Alcohol and acidity still holding on ok but dimmering. Strong legs though. Mid palate of cooked fruits (plums and prunes) with Chinese herbs. It is pretty rich stuff with good density and richenss…this reminds me of the Virgin de Valandraud I had. The finish is short to medium and the lack of it penalizes this otherwise good effort.

1999 Louis Lequin Santenay Les Charmes
WADA rated 80pts
Diluted blood red with brownish tint. Truffles and earth with savory soupy nuances. Sweet cherries that are still bright given its age. Drops off a lil sharply at 1/3 of its finish. Soft tannins.

Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux: Review of 2005 Vintage

Review of the 2005 Vintage
The Ballroom of Conrad Centennial Singapor26 May 2008, Monday

Finally! The much-anticipated 2005 Bordeaux vintage is here! And what better way to welcome this much-touted legendary vintage than to go for the UGC review tasting of 70 chateaus! Usually Monday blues are to be dreaded but this is one Monday that I had eagerly looked forward to and hope to have more often. So many good wines so little time…we started in the afternoon with the wild rush to taste more than 70 over 2005 bordeaux wines from 2nd Growths to Appellation Controlees. Everyone came with a strategy and mine was to limit the afternoon tasting to a max of 30 wines with spitting. As opposed to tasting by order of prestige / price of the chateau, I had chosen to go with tasting by regional appellation. Therefore, allowing for a clearer perspective of the quality of the various communes.
After a quick hour of rest, we were back in the ballroom for the UGC Wine Review Dinner with an extensive list of back vintages in addition to the remaining unfinished 05s from the afternoon. My original plan was to pick at least a sample for every vintage from 1985 to 2003….BUT! ….who would have thought that the wild rush in the afternoon is a mere shade of the mad rush at night….Imagine this…The constant stampede of unruly yet refined wine-crazy gentlemen quenching their thirst like runners at a marathon from one of the three wine buffet tables spread across the three corners of the ballroom. By the time we managed to make our way to any of the tables, the stash of wines had dwindled with a significant number of the most sought after wines of the night nowhere to be found It was only at the end of the event upon scouring around like Indy Jones looking for the holy grail that I finally found the 95 Pape Clement, 01 Pontet Canet, 98 Canon La Gaffeliere emptied and hidden in the ice buckets of the tables closer to the wine buffet tables. Still missing were the Leoville Poyferre 98 and Leoville Barton 99! What inconsiderate suit-clad infidels!

In general, the quality of the 2005 vintage is undisputedly good to great (as echoed by many wine critics – both European and American palates). As can be seen from WADA scores below, this is a fact that cannot be denied. The whole group of us that attended – including myself & DBF, Paul & his fiancee, Uncle L and small L, the bourgogne maestro- William and Gao, all did not find a single wine that was appalling (or at least none were bad enough to warrant any loud cries of agony). In the 3 hours of tasting, the common thread of discussion centred mostly on which wine was better or needed some time to display its greatness. Surprisingly, I found the tannins of more than half of the 2005 wines tasted to be very agreeable now and a majority having no problem displaying purity and intensity of fruits. I personally preferred Margaux and St Julien for their brighter and denser fruits to complement the thick powerful tannins of the vintage. Actually, the right banks (Pomerol and St-Emillion) presented extremely good drinking now…which lessens my intrigue to prefer them. As for the night’s wines… although we couldn’t do the planned tasting sequence…I think it still went pretty well with some surprisingly good wines from lesser-known chateaus.
Us nervously before the start of the tasting.


Wine chat with Danny Lee (with tie) of Romanee's Kitchen


Mr Gao taking time off to pose with small Lawrence.

So here are some of the scores and tasting notes (as much as I can remember) from the fabulous day of tasting. Pl take note that given the unquestionable pedigree of wines tasted, any seemingly negative comments are made in reference to the overflowing goodness expected from this tasting. Pl also note that scores are given in ranges to take into account the palate overkill…so…don’t trust my scores…its your palate that counts most.

UGC 2005 Vintage Review

Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, Pessac-Leognan, Graves GCC (RP92, WS97)
WADA rated 86+ to 91pts
Honey oats…some nuttiness. Tropicana palate with lemons dominating

Pape Clement Blanc, Pessac-Leognan, Graves GCC (RP95, WS95)
WADA rated 84 to 89pts
Floral with wet stones…elegant.

Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc, Pessac-Leognan, Graves GCC (RP93, WS96)
WADA rated 87 to 92pts
Butter and nutty…reminiscent of butterscotch.

Larrivet Haut-Brion Blanc, Pessac-Leognan, Graves GCC (RP89-91, WS88)
WADA rated 83 to 89+pts
Captivating nose.

Canon-La-Gaffeliere, St Emilion GCC (RP94, JR17.5, WS95)
WADA rated 84 to 90+pts
Sweet cherries, blackberries and chocolate. Questionable finish…undecided. Some bitterness with low intensity finish. Really captured my attention at the start till mid but sort of confused me nearing the finish… maybe time will tell.

La-Gaffeliere, St Emilion 1er GCC B (RP96, JR15, WS92-94)
WADA rated 81 to 86pts
Violets, sweet dark fruits and some chinese herbs …powdery tannins with a bone dry finish. The nose was good but the palate didn’t quite match up.

Angelus, St Emilion 1er GCC A (RP98, JR15, WS96, GV99+)
WADA rated 88 to 93+pts
Sweet cherries, mushrooms and coffee cinammon…nutmegs too…cocoa beans on the finish…v elegant…extremely drinkable now. Some worries were voiced over the acidity…but to me…this is just great drinking now! I love it. So so so elegant and pure.

Smith Haut Lafittte, Pessac-Leognan, Graves GCC (RP95, JR17.5, WS93)
WADA rated 83+ to 87+pts
Stink bomb…roasted coffeee with bitter mocha ..a bit raw and meaty.

Pape Clement, Pessac-Leognan, Graves GCC (RP98, JR17, WS96)
WADA rated 84 to 90pts
Another stink bomb with dirty leather and coffee oak…bitter tannins on the finish.

Haut-Bailly, Pessac-Leognan, Graves GCC (RP95, JR17.25, WS95)
WADA rated 82+ to 86+pts
Raspberry with underlying fart. Nice ripe cherries on the palate. Friendly and very gay wine.

Gazin, Pomerol (RP94, JR17, WS94)
WADA rated 84 to 88pts
Brambles, dark fruits…WOW!!! Very layered…lots of spices..Powdery tannins and a lil dangerous on the alcohol.

Clinet, Pomerol (RP92, JR17.5, WS93)
WADA rated 88 to 94pts
Lightly perfumed with violets, coffee and blackberries. Very balanced…very light and gentle…like the bridegroom carrying the bride over the threshold…it brings you gently from start to finish…of some Chinese herb bitterness dashed with fruits. I am feeling it. Can’t believe its so ready to drink now.

Leoville-Poyferre, St Julien, 2nd Growth, (RP93, JR16, WS92)
WADA rated 82 to 87pts
Oaky and greenish with some dark blueberries. Alcohol showing.

Leoville-Barton, St Julien, 2nd Growth, (RP94?, JR17.25, WS96)
WADA rated 85+ to 91+pts
V interesting intensely sharp nose with good freshness. This is for keepers.

Branaire-Ducru, St Julien, 4th Growth, (RP95, JR17.5, WS92)
WADA rated 86 to 91+pts
Dense violet nose…Full bodied with some chin chow action…dark blackberries.

Pontet – Canet, Pauillac, 5th Growth, (RP96, JR15.5, WS96)
WADA rated 85+ to 90+pts
Raspberry, some oak…sweet raspberry and strawberries on the palate. Beautiful length and energy.

Lynch Bages, Pauillac, 5th Growth (RP91, JR17, WS93)
WADA rated 81+ to 86+pts
Stinky rotten vegetables with good fruits. A little bitter lemon seeds on the finish.

Clerc Milon, Pauillac, 5th Growth (RP92, JR17.5, WS95)
WADA rated 80+ to 86pts
Bitter tannins reminiscent of fruit seeds.

Lascombes, Margaux, 2nd Growth (RP95, JR15, WS93)
WADA rated 87 to 92pts
Deep dark brooding fruits. More berries than cherries. Definitely a parker wine but on reflection, this did stand out.

Giscours, Margaux, 3rd Growth ( RP91, JR17, WS93)
WADA rated 87 to 92+pts
Very surprised by this chateau given that not much attention has been given by the critics…probably because there are too many good 05 wines to compete with. But..I really felt this wine…I could feel the effort of trying to throw a serious challenge to the big boys….Lascombes being one of them. Deep, dark and luscious. I like the intensity of the fruits, acidity and tannins. Some might say its trying to hard.. but I can feel this underdog (well ..it’s a 3rd growth so maybe a Great Dane underdog) in the game of big name chateaus.

Brane-Cantenac, Margaux, 2nd Growth (RP94, JR15.5, WS92)
WADA rated 82+ to 86+pts

Malescot-Saint-Exupery, Margaux, 3rd Growth (RP97, JR16.5, WS97)
WADA rated ???
Had just a sip of this because they were out of it…but from what little I had…I didn’t feel the 97pts given by both WS and RP. Maybe I should re-taste to give it a fairer chance. However, a few frens that had tasted this.. didn’t feel it too.

Siran, Margaux, Cru Bourgeois Exceptional (RP88-90, JR15, WS91)
WADA rated 82 to 85pts
Brambly with violets. Good fruits.

Latour Carnet, Haut-Medoc, 4th Growth (RP91, JR15.5, WS90)
WADA rated 80 to 85pts
Decent with good fruit, acid and tannins….just not great.

La Lagune, Haut-Medoc, 3rd Growth (RP95, JR16.5, WS91)
WADA rated 80 to 85pts

2005 Sauternes

Given such a wonderful vintage, its no wonder that the sauternes are rich, bold and full-bodied sweet dessert wines. Yummilicious but hard to judge now as all of them are so rich! Too cloying and sweet to tell how each will develop. Will definitely be buying a few keepers to taste in anohter 10 years at least.

UGC Wine Review Dinner

What a treat...after a day of tasting the fantastic 2005 vintage ...we had a pretty sumptuous dinner with more wines! Personally, I felt the dinner menu was more blanc than rouge...abalone..chicken..curried prawns...Hmmmm...i wish I had some viognier or alsace rieslings. Here is the dinner menu:

The lamb wasn't cooked well enough and had lingering afterflavours of muskiness. The prawn, siew mai and abalone were just normal. What I do remember fondly is the crispy egg noodle which I felt was the tastiest with good fragrant aromas.

Too many wines, too little time..a pity we hadn't been as Kiasu enough as a Singaporean..we had missed out on tasting some of the wines that I had shortlisted to try for the night. They were very ungraciously taken away from the wine buffet table onto individual tables. But still...there were many other marvellous old vintages that we managed to taste and here are the scores and whatever tasting notes that I could remember.

2001 Siran, Margaux, Cru Bourgeois Exceptional (RP86, WS87)
WADA rated 86pts
Some green stemy action in this. Suprisingly pleasant drinking with good fruit acid and tannins...much better than their 2005.

2001 La Gaffeliere, St Emilion, 1er GCC A (WS88)
WADA rated 75+pts
Rather disappointing effort.

2001 Pontet Canet, Pauillac, 5th Growth (WS90)
WADA rated 78pts

1996 Brane Cantenac, Margaux. 2nd Growth (RP86, WS90) WADA rated 87 to 89pts

1998 Gruaud Larose, St Julien, 2nd Growth (WS89)
WADA rated 88 to 90pts

2001 Haut Bages Liberal, Pessac Leognan, GCC (WS91)
WADA rated 86 to 88pts

1995 Langoa Baron, St Julien, 3rd Growth (RP86, WS92) WADA rated 84 to 86pts Stemy green action.

2000 Malescot St Exupery, Margaux, 3rd Growth (RP92, WS93) WADA rated 83-85pts Stinky with some indian spices.

2002 Carbonnieux Blanc, Pessac Leognan, GCC WADA rated 83pts Sweet toffee, dates on the nose but suprisingly lemony sourish palate. A contradictory effort.

1999 Armailhac, Pauillac, 5th Growth (RP89, WS90) WADA rated 83 to 85pts

DBF with chateau owner of Citran and Climens.

1997 Climens, Sauternes, 1er Cru (WS94) WADA rated 88pts Sweet canned lychee cocktail.

1996 Coutet, Sauternes, 1er Cru (RP88, WS91) WADA rated 89pts A flower garden in bloom.

1998 Guiraud, Sauternes, 1er Cru (WS89) WADA rated 87+pts

1989 Bastor-Lamontagne , Sauternes (RP85, WS88) WADA rated 92pts

Liked this the best. Maybe its the great vintage it had come from or the slight advantage in bottle age, this is the most quaffable of the lot with gentle sweetness and complexity from both floral and sweetened fruits.

Buono (75p)

27 Lichfield Road, Serangoon Garden Estate, Tel: 6733 5646
Operating Hours: Mon-Sat: 12noon - 2.30pm (Lunch) 6.00pm - 10.30pm (Dinner)Sun: 10.00am - 2.30pm (Lunch)6.00pm - 10.30pm (Dinner)

WADA rating: (50 + 25) = 75 pts
QPI: 7+ ($20-$35 per pax for a main and side)
WFI: A (Free corkage, better than average stemware, very affordable wine list)
Tasted once for a weekday lunch.

We had recently read many reviews about this new kid on the block (my block to be exact) and we had tried on numerous times to locate this ang moh (italiano) chef cooking up a storm in the heartlands. Finally, on one lazy weekday noon, DBF & I (both on leave…officially!) finally found it tucked away in a very industrious corner of sgn gardens, where I have never (in my 10 years living in the area) ever ventured to before.

What's Good

Risotto Pescatore

A risotto bearing very similar qualities to a Spanish seafood paella but minus the saffron and add sweet sour tomato puree, which really makes this dish very appetizing. Delicate aromas of ocean waters splashed around the refreshing smells of the steamed risotto rice. The natural sweetness from the seafood – big prawns, squid, mussels and clams, are very well integrated with the alienly-huge grains of rice, which seems bloated up from excessive soaking up of the seafood juices. I especially love to slurp the tomato-red-stained risotto that have been lodged tightly inside the clam/ mussel shells. The purity of the seafood flavours are not overwhelmed by the sauce at all. However, the prawns were slightly off fresh and had a “mud” taste.

Penne Andrea

A seemingly simple looking dish of penne tossed in an orange cream sauce with slices of cured sausage slices, this is an elegant dish. Delicate aromas and flavours of saffron permeate through the hollow “trunk” of the penne …which is glazed with buttery creamy sauce. Some might find this too buttery but I can imagine it will go perfectly with some white Bourgogne. They are quite generous with the saffron as can be seen from the hue of orange in the sauce as well as the thin stalks of saffron littered over the penne. Could use a lil more salt though…in general, very good but not great yet.

What's Not

So far, we have only tried two mains and there have been only minor gripes with the food. First impressions from the first visit is good.

Comments

Hard to locate but this gem is worth searching out for. The neighbouring units along the same stretch of shophouses consists of a splattering of haphazard workshops, which seems to accentuate the uniqueness of this establishment. I really appreciate the fact that this is one of the few restaurants offering authentic high quality Italian food for a fair price that is located out of town….AND right at my doorstep! What is even more super is that they have free corkage! (which is the only good Italian restaurant that does so as far I am aware of )
I will definitely be patronising this place more often…provided I am able to even get a table….heard reservations are required from thu-sun nights.

Wine Pairings Done

2005 Durfort Viviens, Margaux, 2nd Growth (WS92, JR 15.75/20)
WADA rated 83+pts
Tasted at the UGC 2005 review and didn’t like it at all…with very harsh tannins dominating. However, on re-tasting this after bottle-decanting overnight…this turned out much much better. The hard tannins were now smooth and velvety with lots of milk chocolate nuances intermixed with crushed dark morello cherries. The elegance pairs well with both the risotto and penne (even though it was a cream based sauce). I am glad I re-tasted because this just shows how prodigious the 05 bordeaux vintage is going to be given some time in the cellar. I definitely look forward to re-tasting all the 05s in 5 years time!

Wine Pairing Suggestions

Had a chat with Mr ang moh chef, who exudes a serious no-nonsense “Godfather” aura, and tried to offer him a glass of Dufort Viviens… BUT lo and behold!...this Italian doesn’t drink! ...an abnormality to say the least. Ma Ma Mia! Pa Pa Doom! However, he does boast an exciting AND affordable wine list ranging from $30 to $100. I am definitely going to try some of his vino next time round.
In general, I had a quick look at his food menu and basically there is a wide range of food pairings to go with any wine varietal so do not fret over what to bring. Out of respect, do try to drink a Brunello or a Chianti.