Otto Ristorante

Do you have a best friend? One who is your partner in crime when you want to monkey around? One who will never judge you or laugh at you (only with you)? One who builds your confidence, challenges you to be a better person, makes you feel stunning, and puts you at ease no matter the situation?

Well I do, and her name is Nik.

Nik and I have been BFFs since we were 8 and 9 years old respectively. While our friendship started off on rocky ground (it's not my fault that she couldn't handle a little friendly competition when I beat her in our first ever swimming match up), we became inseparable when we discovered that we wore the same styling shoes- LA Gear with little light up flowers. It was love at second sight and the rest, as they say, is history.

Since the day we declared we were BFFs, because every friendship needs to start of with an official declaration of feelings, Nik and I have gotten into the habit of aiding and abetting each other into whatever mischief we could manage. If we weren't begging our moms to let us play hooky from school, then we were pretending to be ladies who lunch and finding our way into any and every fabulous restaurant in town. Umm, we were like 10 when we started our lunching extravaganzas. 

Years later, while we live light years apart, lead very different lives, and have really nothing in common (except each other), Nik is and always will be my best friend.

As to that mischief we got into when we were younger... that hasn't changed much. Instead, we just get into more grown up versions of said mischief (You KNOW what I am talking about Meeks... Xmas eve *ahem ahem*) We also still think we are ladies who lunch, except we have expanded our repertoire to include breakfast, dinner, dessert and anything that falls in between those.

This trip home was no exception, with Nik calling in "sick" one day and us getting all gussied up to lunch at Otto Ristorante.

Surrounded by expat businessmen in posh suits and fashionistas that don't have to work, we fit right in with the crowd who lunch.

For our first course, we decided to try the Carpaccio di Capesante con Condimento allo Zafferano e Polvere di Olive Taggiasche, or if you don't speak Italian, the Hokkaido scallop carpaccio with saffron vinaigrette and black Taggia olives powder. 

With saffron and olives in the mix, I had such high hopes for scallop carpaccio. I was expecting something that was bold yet delicate, pronounced yet refined. However, upon tasting the dish, all I got was bland, boring and blah.  

While the flavors of the saffron and olive were pleasant, it was apparent that the dish lacked any kind acid. A squeeze of lemon would have help bring everything together. What a waste. 

The sole reason we had come to Otto was because Nik was craving her "uni pasta." That and the fact that the restaurant we had initially planned at (Andre) dining at was fully booked.

So to Otto we came to eat their Spaghetti ai Ricci di Mare e Bottarga di"Carloforte" or spaghetti with sea urchin and grey mullet bottarga. The original plate that they laid before us was wa-ay too salty, even for my now Americanized-I'm-immune-to-salt palate. A little too heavy handed on the roes there, Chef!

After sending it back to the kitchen, the second plate came out lovely. The soft creaminess and brininess of the sea urchin and grey mullet roes linger on your palate and then open up to a warm, slightly metallic (but in a pleasant way) and fishy sensation. Nik said that she was not pleased with her uni pasta that day, saying that there wasn't enough fresh uni, but I didn't find anything too offensive about it.

The second dish that we shared was the Tagliatelle con Fegato Grasso e Dadolata di Manzo Giapponese or Tagliatelle with foie gras and Wagyu beef ragout.

The combination of the Wagyu beef ragout and foie gras created a dish rich enough to clog anyone's arteries. Foie gras? Wagyu beef? Fish Roe? The way we were eating that day, you'd think we'd never heard of Gout. But hey, you only live once right? 

For how rich this dish could have been, there was something still appealing to it that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Was it the beefy dept of flavor? The contrast in textures between the soft foie gras and meaty beef? Or perhaps it was the freshly made tagliatelle that held up beautifully to all the lusciousness that was going on around it? 

Suffice to say I quite enjoyed this dish.

And because our initial uni pasta was too salty, the suave Italian manager gave us mango panna cotta on the house. 

Now ladies and gents, if you hail from Singapore, you'll know that comps are a VERY rare thing in Singapore dining. But somehow, whenever I dine out in Singapore, I manage to charm my way into a free dessert. Apparently I have the magic touch. 

Magic touch aside, this mango panna cotta had a lot of lovely mango (my favorite fruit) action to it. But sadly, the texture of the panna cotta itself was a little off. I wanted it to be just a smidge lighter. 

All in all, it was a lovely lunch. Not just because the food was pleasing, but because I got to be a lady who lunched with my bestie. xoxo Meeks! 

Details:

Otto Ristorante

28 Maxwell Road, #01-02

Red Dot Traffic Building

Singapore 069120

+65-6227-6819