Alkaff Mansion Ristorante - 9th November 2012

This is gonna be a short write up as there is nothing much to write about this meal. It was Italian again!!!! And I somehow felt that CC had sloppily selected this place for want of better ideas. It's one of those, meet the minimum spend and stay clear of the samolah level kinda food.

So we arrived at around quarter past 12 to the magnificent and beautifully restored Alkaff Mansion. Whilst walking to the restaurant entrance we could see groups of people busily working the grounds for what seems to be preparation for an indian wedding. We were escorted to the second level of the restaurant (the entire mansion is the restaurant actually), and were seated at one corner. The view outside was a lusciously lovely sea of green all round owing to the fact that the mansion was situated in a park.

So we got on quickly to ordering, and were given a $55 cap on the spend as Jon had a 15% off deal with the Maybank credit card (but only with the set lunch). We decided to pool our excess budget towards ordering 2 additional portions of oven baked lamb rack to be shared amongst the party with the exclusion of Jason Lau since he had forfeited this privilege by ordering 2 ala carte pastas instead.

 Jason had requested the waiter for a spaghetti carbonara, which was NOT on the menu. Adding to that request he asked if he could have another pasta, but within the total budget of S$50 for both pastas. The waiter agreed to do an additional portion of Aglio Olio for him. Personally, I had my doubts on Jason's selection.

Moving on to the sets, we were confronted with 2 choices for starters, i.e. the Caprese and the soup of the day which was a lentil soup. Without much to choose from we thus ordered 3 capreses and 2 soups. As for the mains, we had a choice of a creamy mushroom tagliatelle and a seafood spaghetti with prawns. The last main that was on offer required additional supplement for which we had no budget for.

For desert, there was no choice except for an orange cake, owing to budgetary reasons as well.

So where to start....

Jason's Aglio Olio was ok. Standard fare nothing to scream about with a dish that is just about as basic as one can get with barely half a dozen ingredients required to make this dish. The pasta was al dente, but aglio olio is one of my least favoured pastas.

As for his carbonara, this was definitely the better of the 2 dishes. I would give it a 5 out of 10. Probably a mid ranking carbonara in my view. Better than the awful one we had at Osvaldo, but worse than the Il Lido one, and not to mention a far cry from our all time favourite carbonara by La Strada. In fact, even the Italian chain Carluccio's in the UK does a carbonara immensely better than this for about half the price.

Moving on  to our starters, the Caprese was ok. Again, it was buffalo mozzarella imported from some place in Italy, and taken out and put on a dish together with what I figure is some locally purchased momotaro tomatoes that were second grade. The cheese was standard fresh, and the tomatoes were somewhat sweet, but not of the best quality, and nowhere close to real quality italian tomatoes.

Our lentil soup was again very average. I agreed with Dann that the chick peas were a little too firm for my liking, but the texture of the split black beans were ok. The flavour of the soup was rather bland though, and I can only say that they would have been better off making an italian white bean (cannellini) soup instead if it was a vegetarian soup they were after. I think it would have been much tastier. In fact all the white bean soups i've tasted in italy even for a work man's set lunch beat this soup pants down.

As for the 2 pasta mains, the prawn spaghetti was acceptable. The pasta was al dente, and the overall flavour was ok. There was a generous serving of shelled prawns with the dish, but as Dann correctly pointed out, the quality of the prawns were not great. Possibly frozen farmed variety.

The creamy mushroom tagliatelle was thankfully much better. There was good mushroom flavour in the cream sauce, and the pasta was also well cooked al dente style.

Then came the lamb rack. I was surprised at the portion. There were only 3 small ribs laid out per serving. And mind you it cost S$44 per order, so with tax and service that's like S$50 per plate for 3 measly ribs. Gosh! The meat was really tender though, and the flavour of the lamb was not too strong despite there not being a lot of marinade. I suppose this is really chops from a spring lamb. The lamb was cooked medium done, which was to my liking, although for some, that could be a tad too raw.

Finally, we were served our dessert, which was a simple orange flavoured cake topped with cream and a dribbling of orange sauce. Taste wise it was nothing out of the ordinary, but okay.

At this point, a waiter came out with a serving of tiramisu topped with a candle and presented it to Dann. Well, apparently they got whiff of us commenting on Dann being a birthday boy in our conversation earlier (which was totally untrue!), but heck without even a wink of an eye we all played on and started clapping and singing the happy birthday song to Dann loudly. 

Dann seemlessly played his part as well smiling cheekily and making a wish before blowing the candle. In any case, this is the second establishment which we have gotten a complimentary birthday cake (and in both cases, there really wasn't a birthday!), but I suppose since Dann's birthday was going to fall sometime the following week that it was close enough to qualify. One more thing, we all actually came to the conclusion that the complimentary tiramisu was better than the dessert cake we got.

Overall, the damage came to about S$332 after discount. Definitely this place is not good value in terms of food. Quality wise, the set lunch is not good. Our set lunches at La Strada were cheaper and a whole lot better in terms of quality. We also agreed that Gattopardo, offered better quality for a marginally lower price. In fact for almost the same amount spent, we managed to have a greater variety of main courses rather than just pasta, pasta and more pasta. Having said that, if it's a view and ambience you are after, few establishments can beat Alkaff Mansion in that regard. So maybe this would be a great selection for a first date for some nibbling (since you might be too nervous to eat much anyway) and wine.

By: Club Scribe

Gattopardo - 1st November 2011

It was Jason Lau's turn for our BML, and in usual fashion (its always either Chinese, Italian or European), he selected an italian joint. Gattopardo, which was his selection for the week focuses primarily on Sicilian style Italian cuisine.

So we arrived and were seated nicely in a corner of the restaurant. Upon receiving our menus,
Jason "el cheapo" Lau proclaimed a spending cap of S$55 per pax. After much deliberations between the rest of the members and with reference to the menu, we decided to pool our restricted budget (yup... this is how far the club has fallen over the years) in order to afford some of the better recommended dishes.

With our limited budget, we picked 3 mains, namely the Branzino al Sale, which was an 800g salt baked sea bass, the Costata al Manzo alla Fiorentina, which was a large bone in ribeye done fiorentine style, and a Porchetta Cotta al Forno a Legna, which was a roasted pork belly (this was really to satisfy Dann who was protesting that he did not eat beef).

For the starches, we ordered a Bucatini (a holey spaghetti), Tonnarelli al Granchio, which was a squid ink pasta with King crab and cognac sauce and an Arrotolata, which was like a smallish Calzone stuffed with mozzarella, suckling pig, porcine mushroom and rocket leaves.

Upon taking our orders, we were served the standard complimentary bread and olive oil. At this point, Jason Lau waved to the chef and requested for butter, to which he got a firm retort of "NO!" no butter here. Ha! Now thats keeping up with the Sicilian way of having your bread. Better chance at a Northern Italian joint next time businessman!

Following this we were served our 3 starches in quick succession. As usual owing to the meagre quantity, someone had to be appointed to "fairly" apportion out the food for all members. And as per our club rules, in order to encourage proper apportioning on the part of the apportioner, the apportioner is made to select his portion LAST!

I must say, all 3 dishes were good. The bucatini is really a typical sicilian pasta dish. Having been to Sicily myself, I've had such tube like pasta dishes in several forms there. I've had even larger tubes, but I reckon that the smaller tube sizes are more to my liking, as the big ones tend to be too starchy for me. The flavour of the sauce was good and the texture of the pasta was perfectly al dente. Anyone wanting to try a sicilian pasta should select this.

As for the Tonnarelli, this was another good pasta dish. The sauce was very flavourful and there was 6 pieces of crab meat still in shell (luckily there was 6 and not 5 or 7!). The pasta was cooked perfectly and the crab meat was tasty too. You could say this dish was gone in 60 seconds.

Then came the Arrotolata. This is one italian dish i have not had. But it was good! It had a pastry like outer crust (yup, like a Calzone), and inside the outer crust was the oozing goodness of mozzarella, stuffed with pork and mushroom.  You could tell before eating that this was gonna be good. It's like a baked pork pie, only better as it had mozzarella with mushrooms as well. A real treat, but a good choice to be shared as having a whole order to yourself would be a little too much.

Next up came the 3 mains. First off, we had the roasted pork belly (Porchetta Cotta al Forno a Legna). What can i say.... it was okay.... I wonder why we always order the pork belly at every establishment when we always would prefer to have pork belly roasted the cantonese way with 5 spice and all! In any case, I'm not sure if this is really a sicilian dish.  But overall, it was acceptable. The meat was tender, the skin was ok crispy and there was no over powering porcine flavour/smell.

We were then served the beef. This was  a large bone in rib steak char grilled to medium doneness. This was definitely not Sicilian, and the name gives it away since Florence is in the north. In any case, for anyone thinking of travelling for a dining adventure in Sicily, the local food fare tends to focus more on the starches (I've had some of my biggest pastas there!) and maybe seafood, with less emphasis on meat based dishes which you find more in the centre and northern parts of Italy. 

Back to the beef, it was standard fare. Tasted pretty good, was fairly tender, but overall not mind blowing. Somehow i think that the cut could have been a third of an inch to half an inch thicker as the outer edges of the meat seemed a little overcooked.

Finally, we were served the salt baked sea bass. The dish was served at the side still encrusted in a salt cover. The waiter then removed the salt shell and proceeded to have the fish skinned and filleted. We proceeded to each take our share, and whilst some of the boys were not impressed, I have to say that on hindsight I actually really enjoyed this dish. The meat was tender and delicate. The bass was fresh and there was just a nice tinge of saltiness in the meat. The oil that was drizzled with it gave it that additional smoothness. Upon my recollection, i think this dish was done in (and seemed a bit plain) partly because we were served the stronger tasting beef just prior to it.

With no further budget for ordering dessert, and with many of our bellies still hungry, we quickly paid up and headed for ya kun kaya toast. The damage after a 10% discount came to S$353.80.

As Erap II was the only one who drove, and Jason Lau was too cheap to flag a cab, we proceeded to do the impossible. As Jon was the biggest and heaviest, he had the luxury of sitting in the front passenger seat. Collin had quickly positioned himself at one end of the back seat, whereas I on the other hand had the misfortune of being wedged between Dann Sim on my right and Jason Lau on my left. The entire 10 minute ride (not helped by the complimentary parking ticket having issues getting the car park barrier arm lifted, thus extending my agony by another 2 minutes) was pure agony, being wedged between 2 men with child bearing hips squeezing the left and right side of my own hips and draining the blood out of my legs.

All in all it was a decent meal and Gattopardo is one of the better italian joints here, although not quite just Sicilian.

By: Club Scribe

Sakuraya - 4th October 2012

Jon had set himself a mission to redeem his tarnished reputation as BMC prezzie, owing to his abject failure caused by his sloppy choice of "majestic" the last time round. And so, just like the garden variety Honda Civic has its souped up Type-R version, Jon declared that this week's BML will also be "e'special", and so the BML Type-R (R for redemption) was born.

For this redemption lunch, we were offered an elevated S$100 max spend per head (he had already excluded Dann since he knew Dann would be away for holiday in Italy) and he solicited ideas from the members.  There were suggestions such as trying out the S$80++ set lunch at Tong Le Private Dining, or a restaurant at the new W hotel in Sentosa, or some other overpriced set lunch at some other establishment. We collectively declined all the above suggestions as we felt that having a set lunch on a redemption meal just would not do, plus based on our experience, a set lunch will never result in us having made full use of the potential S$100 max cap.

We finally decided on Jap and made a request for a S$100 nett omakase set lunch at Sakuraya. The main chef there known as "Khor-san" agreed to concoct a meal at that budget just for us 5.

Upon arrival, we were seated at the L shaped edge of the sushi counter, wherein Khor-san immediately instructed the waitress to take our order for drinks. Shortly after, we were served our starter dish which was a salad trio or edamame, tomato and cabbage topped with japanese dressing, and a shot glass full of mild vinegar filled with what i think is Junsai tips/shoots, which is an aquatic plant. The edamame and tomatoes were standard fare, but the junsai tips was exquisite. It had a slippery gel like coating around the shoots, but was crunchy to the bite. We were instructed to drink it in one mouthful and then to finish off with the sweet pickled white radish that came with it.

The next dish was our sashimi dish. This was a dish that had to be prepared on the spot fresh, and we were delighted to watch as our meal was skillfully prepared. The large wild sea prawns were first de-shelled and then placed one each into a small dish and then kept in the chiller. 

Following this, the chef then prepared thick slices of hamachi (yellowtail), kanpachi (greater amberjack) and otoro (tuna belly). 

For the otoro, he then seared each slice on one side with a blow torch. Finally he took out a pre-seasoned bowl of aji (mackerel) and divided it out into 5 portions. 

We were then served individually, with each platter accompanied with a light sauce infused with sesame seeds and fresh wasabi. We were advised not to throw away the prawn head as this would be deep fried as a side dish for later.

Needless to say, the fish and prawn were extremely fresh. The prawn was sweet and crunchy in a way no farmed prawn ever is. 

The hamachi and kanpachi were delicious with a good bite to it owing to the thickness of the slices. The otoro was also delightfully tasty and was coated in an oily film released by the torching of the fish. 

The aji was also well seasoned and fresh. There was fairly little of the strong fishy flavour you encounter with raw mackerel that can be a little off-putting at times. It was very well paired with the light sauce and sesame seasoning.

The next course was a cooked dish of scallop that had been diced and seasoned and then coated with what i think was mayonnaise and cheese and then seared to an outer crisp. This was accompanied with iceberg lettuce leaves, and we were instructed to use the leaves to as a wrap for the scallop fillings. The crunchy lettuce wrap was good with the slightly salty and creamy scallop filling.

The following cooked dish was cooked beef slices, which sat on a bed of aubergines and topped with sliced cabbage and sweet peas. The beef was tender and flavourful, and the combination with the soft aubergine, crunchy cabbage and sweet peas provided excellent texture. Extra points however has to be given to this dish owing to the fantastic sauce that came with the dish. It was a rich thick salty sweet sauce that went wonderfully with the beef.

At this point, we were also served the prawn head (from our earlier sashimi course) that was fried till crispy. The heads were fantastic with a light spinkling of lemon. It would have been perfect if we had some beer to go along with it. We gobbled up the entire head, including the eyes, front legs and all without a morsel left.

For the final course we were offered either a handroll or a noodle dish. I requested for Khor-san to let us have the inaniwa udon for the noodle dish. So between the 5 of us, we had 3 handrolls and 2 inaniwa udons. 

The handrolls were simply filled with shrimp roe, avocado, crabsticks and cucumber. It was well made with the seaweed crispy, although taste wise it was nothing out of the ordinary. 

As for the noodles, the texture was smooth and al-dente to the bite. Given a choice again, I would have selected the noodles in place of the handroll.

With the meal ended, we were offered complimentary ice cream to finish off, to which we ordered yuzu ice cream and green tea.

The damage was S$500.20, and although that was not quite japanese precision, it was close enough to the paymaster's stipulated S$500 budget cap that he willingly paid up in full without getting a refund of 20 cents from the rest of us. (Thanks for the generosity Jon!) Overall this was a very good meal, and suffice to say, met up to the redemption levels required to erase some of the ugly stains caused by Jon's previous errors. Despite not having much starch (as we usually do with ample bread rolls, fried rice etc), we all felt amply full post lunch, which i think is thanks to the significant amount of quality protein we consumed. So in summary, if S$100 for lunch is what its got to be, then this joint will be is a worthy choice for your $$$.

By: Club Scribe

Catalunya - 22nd September 2012

It was touted by Dann to be the place that will bring the club to new gastronomic heights. To be the be all and end all, to be the alpha and the omega and everything in between. 

So whilst getting an unwanted sun tan walking towards the restaurant which was situated in a round protruding extension of collyer quay sitting nicely by the bay, we were all waiting intently to taste and see if Dann's BML  selection matched up to his rhetoric.

As we arrived, we were escorted by a spanish waitress to a round table at the corner in the lower level of the restaurant. The water level of the bayas we looked out of the windows was just below eye level from where we were seated. 

The interior decor was made up primarily of wood and the colour scheme was of dark earthy tones. We agreed that whilst this was a beautiful restaurant in the day, it would be truly magnificent at night.

Wasting no time, we proceeded to order the recommended olives as a pre-starter, then with the tapas, we ordered the jamon iberico croquette, the calamari andalusian (southern spain) style, the spanish omelete, escalibada and tomato tartar confit. For the mains, we ordered a portion of suckling pig (half a piglet), and the suquet, which was a catalan (north eastern spain) fisherman's soup. For sides, we ordered a portion of "piquillo" peppers and wood roasted pineapples. The waiter had actually encouraged Dann to order more (including the beef), but Dann protested his budgetary constraints and buddhist inhibitions.

We were first presented with the olives, which were I suppose what you may consider a reconstruction of a large green olive. The olives were delicately taken individually out of a clear glass jar which was filled with olive oil. 6 olives were each presented on a spoon for everyone of us, and we were directed to put the whole olive in our mouth in a go. The "olive", was actually contructed with a soft outer shell with a texture somewhat like hard egg whites, and the centre of the olive was infused with a liquid that was flavoured much like an olive. So in all, it was an olive that looked like an olive, tasted like an olive, but was not really an olive. Definitely Blumenthal inspired.

Next we were presented with the fried calamari andalusian style. There was nothing exotic or special in the way this was cooked or presented, but this was really a calamari dish that was done well. The batter was light and crispy, and the large calamari rings were tender and not overcooked. This is how all good calamari should be done.

We then had the tomato confit, which was to be eaten with cracker. This was a putty of seasoned and cooked finely chooped tomato, with accompanying tomato infused foam. This was an interesting dish, with the sweetness of the cooked tomato and foam paired quite nicely with the cracker.

We were then served the jamon iberico croquette. This was again a simple dish done excellently. The croquette was fried till it had a crisp outer layer whilst it still maintained a moist soft potato centre filled with bits of jamon iberico. This croquette was delicious.

Following the croquette was the spanish omelette "tortilla omelette deconstruccion". This was served to us in a martini cocktail glass. It was like an egg and potato mousse. Most of the glass was covered in a white mousse like foam, which was probably egg whites foamed up and when you dig deep into the glass there is a thick puree like potato mash, which was probably mixed with yolks. This was a very tasty mousse cum mash and definitely worth a try for anyone dining in this establishment.

The final tapas we were served was the "escalibada", which was a layering of aubergines, foie gras, peppers and smoked sea eel. This was a fantastic dish in my view. It was beautifully presented, was very tasty, and was a good combination overall. Somehow despite the multitude of flavours, there was still structure in the dish. You could still taste the individual components despite having it all in a go.

Then it was on to the mains, and we were presented with the "piece de resistance"! - the segovian style suckling pig! The handsome (or pretty, as I could not confirm the sex conclusively) looking fella was roasted to a nice deep amber and presented to us on a wooden board. The spanish waiter offered us the luxury of cutting the pig with the plate ourselves (which was used as a cutter), but we declined, deciding it best to leave it to the experts.

The pig was cooked perfectly, with the skin crispy throughout and the meat tender and juicy. The problem however was the flavour. There was all round complaints that the meat exhibited too strong a porcine flavour. Being chinese, everyone started to make a comparison with the chinese version of suckling pig and gave this dish a thumbs down. They argued that good chinese style suckling pig also had a very crispy (probably crispier) skin and that the 5 spice marinade probably was more suitable in cutting the excessive porcine flavour, which a majority of diners do not appreciate. I have to say however that whilst the flavour of this segovian style suckling pig could have been better masked by some herbs and spices, the texture of the meat itself is far superior to our own chinese style suckling pig which tends to be rather much drier and harder.

It was good that Dann had ordered a side dish of roasted pineapple, which was excellent when eaten with the pork, as the sweetness and acid from the fruit sort of cut through the excessive piggy flavour from the meat.

Finally, we were presented with the suquet, which came in a large black pot. There was 2 fillet's of what I suppose were scorpion fish (since that was what was stated in the menu), which sat on a bed of new potatoes and thick gravy. The fish itself was okay, and I would describe the flavour as a bit of a cross between sea bass and bream. The meat was white, and it went well with the very tasty gravy that sat at the bottom of the pot. The potatoes were also cooked to just the right softness. It would have been good if we had some nice toasted bread to scoop up the gravy, as it had fantastic flavour, from what I assume must have been concocted from fish parts and vegetables.

The final side dish was the "piquillo" peppers, for which we each had a small miserable piece. The peppers were cooked till soft throughout, and topped simply with some seasoning and oil. This was again a simple dish done excellently. The produce was good (and looked good with a magnificent red colour), the cooking was good, and all it needed was a little seasoning and wala! Collin mentioned that he had never known that peppers could taste so sweet! (What a darn philistine!!! This is standard fare in Spain.... you'll get a tapas of peppers for little over 2 euros in any half decent bar with your beer!!!)

After the meal, everyone complained to Dann that we were still hungry. We pointed out that there was no bread and so we hardly had any starch to fill in the holes in our stomach. We invoked our kaya toast rule, to which Dann readily agreed.

Whilst waiting for the bill, we reviewed our collective decision on the meal. We agreed that the tapas were good, but were disappointed with the mains, especially the pig. I suppose its a bit down to the style of cooking as well. Even though we did have many good dishes, we felt that there was something amiss which prevented our lunch from being placed as one of the "greats" in our club's storied dining history. There were suggestions that maybe it was because we were unsatiated from hunger as Dann did not order enough (that is the cost of half measures Dann!), which was plausible. Or as Collin rightfully pointed that had we ordered more tapas and left out the mains and had some fine wine to go with the tapas, this could have been one of the greats. I seconded that comment as Tapas really is bar food which should go with drink.

The final damage came to S$419.50. We then proceeded for kaya toast, coffee and eggs, and this added up to another S$23.80, for which Dann as usual did not have the cash to pay for and had to initiate an on demand credit from Jon as no one else wanted to lend him.

In conclusion, Catalunya whilst good (and expensive!), was not quite the BML dining event Dann had cracked it out to be. The rhetoric definitely did not meet reality. And just like the millions of Americans who voted Obama in 2008 on promises of change for the better (jobs, environment, peace, economy, guantanamo, social services, de-nuclearisation, civil rights etc etc), 4 years later with reality finally meeting rhetoric - reality unfortunately won (as it usually does!)!

By: Club Scribe