Saturday, May 26, 2007

Bravo! Encore!

Nothing gives us more pleasure than sharing a favourite restaurant with good friends (except perhaps discovering a new favourite), so it was with a certain amount of glee that we dined with MM and KKN at Menotti at Raffles City. Menotti is where HM and I go to when we need a pasta fix, and we're talking good to excellent pasta, at reasonable prices. Sure, the set menus are somewhat limited but, hey, where else in Singapore can you find set dinners comprising full-on portions of soup/salad, entree, pastry and expresso coffee at SGD$29.90 (before taxes and gratuity)? And the icing on the cake (pun fully intended) is the mouthwatering pastries.











spinach and crab soup











bruschetta pomodoro (from the ala carte menu)



bruschetta gamberetti (from the ala carte menu)











beef carpaccio with rucola salad and parmaggiano cheese

For starters, we had soup, bruschetta and some carpaccio. The beef carpaccio (raw beef dressed with olive oil and lemon juice) was a stand-out. Of the two bruschettas (grilled ciabatta or Italian bread with various toppings), we preferred the pomodoro, topped with chopped vine-ripened tomatoes and basil, to the gamberetti which was topped with prawn and lemon. The soup was unfortunately a tad too peppery, quite unnecessarily so.











cod-stuffed ravioli (from the ala carte menu)











veal scallopine with mushrooms










fettucini with chicken, rucola and parmiggiano cream

The entrees all passed muster. The most "gourmet" of the lot was the cod-stuffed ravioli. The ravioli was made with squid ink - delicious! The veal scallopine was tender. The gravy was pretty much like brown sauce and went really well with the bed of mashed potatoes the veal was sitting on. The fettucini was yummy too, especially the pasta itself which had a lovely texture.

Of course, the highlight of the evening was the pastries.









profiterole (chantilly cream puffs coated with chocolate)








catalana (cherry creme brulee)







soffiato (warm dark chocolate cake with chocolate chip ice cream







limoncino (lemon custard and meringue pie)

The pastries at Menotti's are very good. The limoncino was, as it should be, refreshingly tart. The profiterole as always tasted better than it looked (yes, yes, it looks like Quasimodo). We have had the cherry creme brulee before and weren't that impressed previously, but that night, it was absolutely delicious. Our all-time favourite is the soffiato, a warm lava-type chocolate cake made with oh-so-good dark chocolate.

After we had fought over the desserts (we had to order an extra catalana to keep everyone happy), we settled back with our coffee to chat. Dining at Menotti's usually leaves us with a good feeling after, and that night was no exception.

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