Tucked away in the most unlikely corner of the Berjaya Hotel along the buzzling night-life of Duxton Road, this Italian restaurant promised me a great Friday evening dinner and delivered.
Owned apparently by a Czech and boasts of chefs that had previously worked along side Gordon Ramsay, the food is indeed commendable. It had garnered numerous reviews on Hungrygowhere.com and passed most with flying colour. I was only amazed that it wasn't packed on a Friday night.
The bread basket arrived on the table expectantly warm and freshly baked. The spinach and Parmesan bun was super yummy. I don't mind loading up on my greens in such a fashion ever!
We started with a beef amuse buse served with a creamy sauce which I was shamelessly scraping off every inch of Hubby's and my serving with the bread.
For starters we got the Fresh loin of Tuna tossed with fennel and orange vinaigrette and the Parma Ham with Porcini, simply because it had truffle oil in it and that is must 1 true love.
The tuna was fresh and texture-ly juxtaposed with the tangy orange pieces, aromatic herbs and the crunchy fennel.
The parma ham was of course my favourite of the appetizers. Though a common sight in many Italian restaurants, to serve it well requires more effort. Saraceno is generous with the Parma ham slices and Parmesan shavings.
The flavours came together beautifully on the bed of toasted bread laced with truffle oil.
The waiting time between our appetizers and mains was decent. Not too long that we would get impatient and not too fast that the taste of the appetizers were still lingering on our palettes.
We ordered the Beef Tenderloin fillet from the 'Carne' section and I would highly recommend this to any meat lover. This is probably the best executed tenderloin fillet I have ever encountered. Medium rare, just how I like it, but it was not overly raw and the knife sears through the meat like butter. The texture is so smooth. Together with the potato puree and red wine sauce - oooooh, I still think about it ever so often.
Hubby wanted to try the pasta so we ordered the Linguine con Aragosta which came highly recommended and the Pappardelle pasta with roasted bell peppers.
We changed the pasta to angel hair and with the first mouthful there was simply no regret. The cherry tomatoes were yummy and the fine pasta soaked up all the juices making each bite super yummy and tasty. The lobster was extremely sweet and fresh.
The pappardelle wasn't that fantastic though. The capers and olives, cheese and tomatoes certainly gave it more than one dimension, but this was only ok for me. What can I say, I must have some meat in my carbs. :)
The portions were decent, 3 of us shared 3 mains and we were all adequately stuffed. But of course that being said we definitely had room for dessert.
Like my sister says, we judge an Italian restaurant by the Tiramisu they serve. And I will say, this is the best Tiramisu I have ever had. Not just in terms of taste, but also in terms of novelty and creativity, Saraceno's tiramisu truly takes the cake.
The coffee infusion is not too overpowering, the cheese does not feel cloying and how clever to use a think crisp sweet biscuit basket instead of the boring finger sponge. I will come back here just for seconds.
We also ordered the pineapple ravioli. I liked this though my dinning companions felt it was too sour.
The tartness on the contrary completes the evening to every Italian dinner where we tend to overload on heavy creams and hearty meats. The pineapple sorbet cleanses the palette and just puts the finishes touches to the evening and the happy smile on my face. :)
I am definitely coming back here and bringing people!
Not only was the food good, but they were also very friendly and homely. Not many fine dining places welcome bulky prams and wailing babies. But they welcomed Graydie with open arms and a pot of hot water for his dinner. :)
What more can I say! Thumbs up!
Saraceno Ristorante
83 Duxton Road
Berjaya hotel Singapore
6438 9638
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