Food Tasting Review at Perbacco Restaurant on 29 Feb 2016

Many Italian restaurants do not make their sauces and pasta from scratch nowadays due to the increasing cost of food ingredient as well as the number of manhours required.

I am glad that PerBacco restaurant, located at 20 Craig Road, #01-03 Craig Place, makes its pasta and sauces from scratch, the true italian style, according to the restaurant owner.

PerBacco's decor has a very simple rustic feel, with its high ceiling, brownish touches and warm lighting, giving it a cozy inviting feel.

A lovely drink bar greeted me when i walked into the restaurant.  There were many different types of Italian wines, prosecco, alcohol, aperitifs etc on the display hence diners have many choices when it comes to drinks.  The bar also serves non-alcoholic drinks, if you do not touch alcohol.

I would strongly recommend a glass of Prosecco with some antipasti before the start of your dinner to chill and relax.  This is a great place to catch up with friends as the atmosphere was relaxed and serene.

I tried a total of three antipasti that evening and this was my favourite... Strudel di Verdure e Fonduta di Formaggio (Grilled Vegetables & Mozzarella Strudel with Cheese Fondue) which cost S$18.  I am a big cheese lover and the soft eggplants and vegetable against the crispy baked pastry provided an excellent contrast to the texture of this dish.

Frittelle Soffici e Involtini al Prosciutto e Scamorza or better known as Smoked Scamorza Cheese Wrapped with Italian ham and soft Fritters was also pretty interesting.  It is best to cut a bit of the Italian ham cheese wrapped together with a bit of the soft fritter and eat them together.  This dish costs S$18. 

Another antipasti which I tried was Crocchette al Granchio ($12) which is Crab Meat Crocchette with Spicy Tuna Sauce.  I was pleasantly surprised that crab and tuna could go well together.  The crocchette was breaded and deep fried yet they didn't taste oily.

After three antipasti, it was time to proceed with pasta tasting.

This has got to be my favourite of the two pasta which were served.  Linguine alla Carbonara di Astice(Linguine with Lobster and Egg Yolk Cream Sauce) which costs $28.  The restaurant owner mentioned that real authentic carbonara sauce is made of eye yolk , instead of those sauce made from cream which you find in other restaurants.  The Boston lobster tasted so fresh that you would still have that lingering seafood taste in your mouth long after you chewed on it.  The lobster flesh was crunchy and sweet, creating a good contrast to the linguine done in close to 'al dente' style.  Al Dente is Italian for 'to the teeth' and it refers to pasta that is cooked just long enough that it is neither crunchy nor too soft, and its texture appeals to the teeth.  The restaurant owner mentioned that locals are not quite used to true Italian 'al dente' style and some customers thought that the pasta wasn't cooked and requested for the kitchen to cook it longer.  However, 'Al Dente' is the best way to cook pasta, giving it the best texture, in my own opinion.

A glass of white Italian wine to go with the food anytime!

Another pasta which I tasted was Gnocchi di Patata con Coda di Manzo Brasata e Tartufo (Potato Gnocchi with Braised Oxtail and Truffle Essence) which is priced at S$28.  Gnocchi are thick, soft dough dumplings that may be made from semolina, ordinary wheat flour, egg, cheese, potato, breadcrumbs, or similar ingredients.  

This dish was pretty interesting as the gnocchi soaked up the oxtail sauce to give it some flavour.  It is pretty similar to Korean spicy fried rice cakes just that this is not spicy at all.

 

Here come the main courses.  First up was Dentice al Forno con Sugo di Pomodorini e Burrata(Oven Baked Red Snapper Fillet, Cherry Tomato Sauce and Fresh Burrata) which costs S$32.  I was surprised that burrata cheese was paired with fish as normally burrito cheese usually appears as an antipasti together with ham. 

The fish was tender and succulent even though it was pan fried.  The cheery tomato sauce gave it a sweet and sour flavour and that worked well with the burrata cheese so that it does not taste overly overwhelming.

Guanciale di Vitello Brasato al Vino Rosso(Braised Veal Cheek in red wine with Cannellini Beans) was next in the menu.  This was priced at S$34.  The veal cheek was so soft that the meat just tore off when you sunk the fork into the meat.

After the main course, the desserts were served.  By then, I was extremely full but I couldn't resist but try this dessert, cheesecake alla Ricotta e Pesche Sciroppate(Ricotta Cheese Tart with Peach Compote) S$14.

The peach compote was made from scratch and it wasn't overly sweet like those readily available in cans.  It proved to be a great add-on to the cheesecake, with a good balance of creamy cheese and sweetness.

 

The last dessert of the day was Pannacotta alle Nocciole Caramellate(Caramelized Hazelnuts Pannacotta) priced at S$12.  The smoothness of the pannacotta against the crunchness of the hazelnuts was a perfect match in heaven.  

Want to try the above Italian cuisine and much more?  Visit PerBacco restaurant, which is within walking distance from Tanjong Pagar MRT station.  For more details on the menu which the restaurant offers, check out the website at www.perbacco.sg.  Make your reservations today!

Love,
Elaine Heng

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Food Tasting at FUKU Fine Fugu Kaiseki Restaurant on 14 Jan 2016

14 Jan 2016 was the first time I tried Fugu Fish or commonly known as Puffer Fish.  For those who do not know, fugu fish is considered an expensive delicacy but yet one of the most dangerous fish to eat due to the toxins in the fish.

The intestines, ovaries and liver of fugu fish contain a poison called tetrodotoxin, which is 1,200 times deadlier than cyanide. The toxin is so potent that a lethal dose is smaller than the head of a pin, and a single fish has enough poison to kill 30 people. 

Eating fugu fish is basically a gamble with lifestyle, luxury and death.  Because of the high risk involved in preparing fugu fish for safe consumption, chefs must undergo many years of training to obtain a fugu-preparing license, and such expertise raises the price of a fugu dish.

Thanks to FUKU fine Fugu Kaiseki Restaurant for the kind invite to try out their signature fugu dishes.  The FUGU set courses starts from a whopping S$150/person.  It was indeed a fine dining experience prepared with one of the most luxurious yet exciting fish-Fugu.

Want to see how a cute version of the fugu fish looks like?  See below.  The restaurant has made the dried up version of the puffer fish into a decoration.  So cute and interesting!

A kiss for the cute puffer fish!  Look at the tiny pricks or spikes on the body.  When the fugu fish senses any danger, it will puff up and the pricks or spikes become more prominent to scare off bigger fishes who might want to eat up the fugu fish.

This is another type of fugu fish with even more prominent spikes.  Woah... my goosebumps came up by just looking at this picture.

One of the dishes served was this boiled fugu fish meat.  So excited to test it out for the first time!

Some of the condiments to go with the fugu meat.

Next up was the thinly sliced fugu sashimi.  It had a mild sweetness to it. 

Mr Koji Tuskamoto, executive chef advised on how to eat the sashimi so that it tasted even better.  Basically, you should wrap the baby leeks with the sashimi and top it up with condiments and dip in ponzu sauce.

This gotta be one of my favourite dishes-deep fried fugu fish!  The fish was crispy on the outside and the meat was so tender on the inside.  It was done in temporal style but the meat around the bones were extremely sweet.

It just went so well with the lime and salt.

Taking a look at the raw fugu fish meat which would be used for the steamboat later on.

This is fugu fish imported from Japan.  The toxins were already removed hence it was safe for consumption in Singapore.

The executive chef, Mr Koji Tsukamoto, slicing the fugu fish meat into thin slices.

 The fugu fish steamboat for the night.

 The executive chef cooked the steamboat by placing different parts of the fugu fish into the boiling stock strategically.

Boil soup boil!

 Japanese are particular about the presentation of the food hence care is taken to put in the rest of the food ingredient properly so that the steamboat could look and taste good.

Just looked at this lovely pot of fugu fish steamboat!  It was light yet nutritious with green vegetables, mushrooms, carrots and much more.

Mr Koji, the Executive Chef in action!

 After eating up most of the ingredients in the steamboat, there were still some soup left.  Mr Koji cooked egg porridge with the remaining soup and wow... the porridge tasted amazing!  Initially I thought that the porridge would taste like the fugu fish steamboat soup since that was the soup base for the porridge but interestingly, the porridge took on its own unique flavour.

I loved having the porridge with the japanese pickles.

FUKU Fine Fugu Kaiseki Restaurant has two separate rooms for booking, if you want quiet time for business entertainment, discussions or family time with loved ones or catching up with friends.

This is the dining hall for which is very cozy too.

Just look at the display of Japanese alcohol on this specially designed shelving. Customers can see what is available for ordering.

And before I left the restaurant, I definitely need to grab a photo with Mr koji Tsukamoto who prepared such a wonderful fugu set course.

Thanks FUKU Fine Fugu Kaiseki Restaurant and Mr Koji for the wonderful and luxurious food tasting session!

If you are keen to try out Fugu Fish, just like me, visit FUKU Fine Fugu Kaiseki Restaurant at 14 Mohamed Sultan Road, #01-01, Singapore 238963.  To make reservations, please call +65 6235 8216.  The restaurant is open from Monday to Sunday, dinner time only from 6-11pm.  Call to make your reservations today!

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