Otto With The Girlfriend

Starting the year with good food and company is a tradition that I'd like to continue. Who am I kidding, I want it to be like this for the whole year! When the girlfriend had no strong opinions about dinner venue beyond a preference for a glass of wine, of course I pulled her to Otto Ristorante. It's quite interesting how this island's dining scene is dotted by many Italian restaurants. The pastas, meats and desserts really appeal to the Singapore palate.

I considered asking the chef to do a spicy pasta aglio e olio. But bearing in mind each time I visit, I make strange off-the-menu requests that probably made the chef's life miserable, I decided to stick to the menu offerings. The lobster pasta was super spicy as pointedly requested. Hahaha. I think the chef secretly rolled his eyes. Ah well. It was much better spicy somehow. Heh. Otherwise, with just the tomato sauce and minimal spiciness, though beautiful, the pasta doesn't quite pack a punch.

The girlfriend satisfied her craving with a well braised tender veal cheek with mash. That mash! I wanted to steal all of her truffle flavored mash. But I didn't. I restrained myself to 2 scoops out of her plate. However, the shared appetizer of grilled tomino cheese decidedly chased all thoughts of dessert away. We couldn't stomach anything else after the mains.

Since the girlfriend was in the mood for a red, I didn't mind a glass too! Since Italian reds have been around all through the 12 days of Christmas, I'm not so averse to them now. There was no way we could do a full bottle, so we had limited choices and stuck to a half bottle which turned out surprisingly fruity and easy (as promised!).

The girlfriend was sweet. She didn't just pick me up and sent me home. She also asked if the man wanted to join us for dinner. I was like, NO! It's girls ONLY. Then we're free to talk about matters of all manner. Dinner was so relaxing. Service was excellent. Food was very decent. Good vibes all around. What an absolutely pleasing evening.