Well today, a colleague (and his wife) and I decided to go for a spot of lunch at a establishment that he found that was close to our office. The restaurant was called “No Menu”, and was located a few blocks down from Lau Pa Sat along Boon Tat Street.
No Menu - Osvaldo Forlino's Interesting Menu Concept!
My colleague booked earlier in the morning and was fortunate to get a 11.45am booking – I guess we were a bit lucky to get a space at such short notice. We were told that it would have to be in the first floor, which is accessed via the a separate door on the street – it is a bit weird that you have to exit the place to go upstairs, but I guess this is one of those converted places that has caused this. The first floor actually looks very nice, a very homely feel with the decor fitting for a lounge and dining room type setting, but they have placed 5-6 tables for the restaurant and it seems to work. It is a very relaxing setting and the decor was quite charming indeed. At one side was a wine-cabinet, with an amazing selection of wine and beers.
The Nice Vino and Bierre Selection
Isaac Biere from Le Baladin Piedmont
We noticed that there was a nice selection of Biere bottles within this “Wine Rack”, so upon closer inspection and after we chatted to one of the Owners, we learnt that these were beers from Piedmont, from the Le Baladin brewery. They had a nice selection, from dark stoud, to white beer, to casual Italian Biere, but what intrigued us was the shape of the bottle and the names given. They ranged from Issac, Nina, Elixir, Nora, and Wayan.
This website actually lists them in GBP, in case you were interested 🙂 I might have to come back and give them a try some day! Ha!
The concept behind “No Menu” was simple; you have 3 options, go for the A La Carte Menu, go for the Specials or go for the S$98 No Menu speciality. The latter simply requires you to choose between Meat or Fish, and then you leave it to the Chef to cook the meal for you – across over 9 courses. Nice idea!
Osvaldo Forlino's Eatery in Singapore
This is the latest establishment by Osvaldo Forlino, one of those infamous Michelin-starred Chef’s that seems to be setting up all around Singapore these days. Osvaldo is not new to Singapore having previously been at the Forlino at One Fullerton and then Osvaldo at Maxwell. After leaving the latter, he opened “No Menu” in January / February 2011, it’s not a bad find at all. It’s run as a truly ‘family’ Italian establishment, with his wife (Patrizia) in the kitchen, daughters (Gaia and Serena) in the dining room. They are from Piedmont originally, and this place does have this authentic feel about it! We were served by a local waitress, who was very pleasant and attentive.
The Waitress has a lot of work to do, reciting the 3 menu options and then outlining the various house specials on offer. Very complicated, and I must admit is a bit too much to really for the customers to recall all of the options (then again, I sense that you would quickly grab onto one particular dish that caught your attention), the concept does seem to work in this restaurant. The only word of caution is that on the ‘specials’ you are not really told the price, except that you know they will be at a higher price than the A la Carte menu – which generally ranged from S$15 – S$25 for starters and S$25 – S$40 for the mains.
We had 3 glasses of red, and as I was going for the Risotto, I decided to go for the Pinot Grigio – it was a nice little number. They served fresh bread and Mortadella. We also asked for Still Water – St. Pellegrino Acqua Panna – nice!
The Freshly Baked Bread with Motradella - oh and my Glass of Pinot Grigio - Lush!
We chose one of the house special’s Starter for the 3 of us to share – the Burrata which was served with Parma Ham, Cherry Tomatoes and Salad – it was absolutely gorgeous, and the Burrata was silky and creamy – which melted in your mouth.
The Burrata with Parma Ham, Sicilian Cherry Tomatoes and Salad
I then choice another of the house special, the Risotto with White Truffles – ouch! They would bring the White Truffles separately, and prepare to weigh exactly 6 ounches on your dish.
The White Truffles and Scales - well 6 Ouches has to be Precise!
They served the Risotta and then shave the 6 ouches of White Truffles onto the Risotta – purely delightful and truly delicious!
Risotto with White Truffles - the Mushroom Gold!
The other eating companions went for the Hand-made Tagliatelle with Seafood and another Pasta dish with White Truffles topping. They also ordered a nice and tasty looking Rabbit dish to follow that.
The Rabbit Choice
We finished our meal with coffee and asked for the bill. It came in a bit steep, but I guess that is the impact of having Truffles for lunch 🙂 It was just over S$400 for the 3 of us, so I guess I have to eat easy over the next few days, I think it was worth it. “No Menu” definitely was top notch, and very good quality, but I don’t think it’s one of those places I would go regularly – it is definitely one of those “once in a blue moon” places, e.g. celebrations (hang on it’s my birthday, next week – well that means I was allowed to visit this place!) 🙂
No Menu
23 Boon Tat Street
Singapore 069621
Tel: +65 6224 0091
URL: www.nomenusingapore.com
E-mail: info@nomenusingapore.com