Transitioning from an unbelievably popular home-based private dining to a successful restaurant is no walk in the park, but based on my visit last Friday, Antonio (@casanostrasg) has pulled it off with aplomb for @labottegasg. Echoing the lighting at his home where I had visited a number of times to enjoy his legendary pizzas and other dishes, each table and the bar counter top at the restaurant is lit by individual small lamps. These create pools of light that draw the eyes, most deservingly (although the spatial design deserves ogling), to the food prepared by his kitchen team. Antonio has trained them in the art of his Italian cuisine and I think they have pretty much mastered it, judging from our meal. Like everyone else seated in the main air-conditioned part of La Bottega, which is designed to transport guests straight to Italy, we had the Tasting Menu ($139++ per pax). There are options for every course but let me warn you, deciding what to have is challenging. My friends and I ended up rolling off into the night because besides our picks, Antonio also kindly sent us a couple of complimentary items which he wanted us to try. So here’s a rundown of where our calories came from: 1. Beef Bresaolo - House-cured and dressed with fresh fennel, arugula and extra virgin oil, the paper-thin slices were as delectable as I recall. 2. Pan-fried Cheese from the Dolomites - My all-time favourite antipasti from #casanostrasg private dining. The big pieces of chewy-creamy cheese were grilled to a crisp for a smoky, mouth-watering contrast. 3. Foccacia de Recco - Compliments of Antonio, this was everyone’s number one dish of the night. Amazingly, it outperformed the version I’ve had it at his home. I believe the restaurant’s professional pizza ovens elevated his dough to its greatest potential. 4. Double Crunch® - We could choose our toppings for this. While most of us opted for the mortedella with ricotta and basil, @daphnengats picked the raw Gambero Rosso (prawn) from Mazara, with crunchy strips of zucchini. My group agreed regardless of went on top, it was Antonio’s innovative crust that was the star. ⬇️Continued in Comments⬇️

G I F T Being able to ensure fine dining cuisine travels well is an art in itself. If it isn’t well planned, all the time and efforts in preparing the food can go to waste. An establishment that has pulled off this tricky step with aplomb is @cornerhousesg, the One-MICHELIN Starred restaurant located in the Botanic Gardens, and helmed by Executive @chefdavidthien. Besides neat packaging, there are clear and concise instructions on how to finish certain dishes. Kudos to the team for their systematic organisation of the accompaniments for each dish too. They use small coloured stickers to group them to avoid confusion. So smart, don’t you agree? It’s been a while since @huatkaliao and I had dined at the Corner House, so when invited by Chef David to choose what we’d like for our meal, I selected most of the new items. They all turned out to be extremely delicious! Please read on for the details: 1. Mackerel and Obsiblue Prawn Otah Sandwich ($22) - After warming up for 5 mins at 180 degrees in the oven, the sandwich became lightly crunchy and wafted with a heightened fragrance of aromatics. I thought the ratio of bread to otah was spot-on, and relished the plentiful seafood mixed into its mildly spicy paste. Highly recommended. 2. Foie Gras and Chicken Liver Parfait ($28 for an 80gm jar) - Chef David’s wife, Chef @lisarevilla, had correctly guessed I would enjoy this a lot. The accoutrements of “mélange gourmand” (guerande sea salt, black peppercorn and pink peppercorn), sour plum purée and sesame crackers were impressive too. They offset the richness of the chicken liver parfait in such an unforgettable way. 3. Suckling Pig “Lechon” Style ($58) - I literally yelped with joy when I saw this was one of the available mains. It required a final easy-peasy step at home - pan-frying the pieces of meat in shallow oil so that the skin can achieve shattering crispness. Spectacular by itself, the “Lechon” was even tastier when I ate it with a little bit of the sweet liver sauce, smoked vinegar, Niigata rice and crispy crackling. Definitely THE dish to order if you are a fan of pork like me. ⬇️Continued in Comments⬇️

Aplomb is our fanciest garment.