Trattoria Lafiandra

Trattoria Lafiandra

71 Bras Basah Rd  Singapore 189555

6884 4035

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Food 7.5/10

Ambience 6/10

Audience 6/10

Service 6.5/10

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Listening to Moumoon's うつくしい人 (utsukushii hito) as I write this post :)

Trattoria Lafiandra is situated at the Singapore Art Museum,  just next to Bras Basah MRT station. Yet again, this was another Restaurant Week Escapade that was decided hurriedly since a visiting foreign customer indicated his interest to try :)

The decor definitely wasn't shabby (which I was hopefully able to convey via this pic), but the low score (6/10) is due to the (lack of) ventilation, thus allowing the aromas to escape from the kitchen and creep into the dining area. With all the different foods being prepared there, it really hindered my sense of smell and that's not welcome :(
It was also a little too boisterous for fine dining, but this is hardly something the restaurant can control so I'm not gonna grumble about it.

We were first served with some bread, pretty decent and nothing to be disappointed with. It's kinda like Italian pizza crust, just so that friends reading this review may understand it easily. Interesting, since I do not usually go for crunchy food before my appetizer...I'm more of a fluffy good ol' piece of bread person :)

 
Pardon my poor photography skills (it's not quite polite to be getting all into position in front of a customer to take pics during the meal...). Bruschetta with some ham.

The bread was finely toasted and the tomatoes weren't overly moist, while adding a tender fluidity to the monotonous bread.
Only thing I didn't quite understand was the purpose of the ham. The bruschetta was good the way it was and adding ham to the dish was a generous gesture of the chef but unfortunately, nothing much beyond that.

 Lafiandra really offers a decent portion, even for Restaurant Week, as exemplified by the Appetizer Sampler. Usually, no one complains when we get more, but I'm not quite the usual person. There's too much parma ham to go with the rockmelon so they could either reduce the ham or give more rockmelon :D I still enjoyed it anyway.
The calamari, despite my customer's praises, was poor. Some parts were overcooked and others, uncooked. You know how you're enjoying a really comfy ride in a posh car along the coastal line, and then you hit this series of bumps that turns it into a hell ride? That's how it felt for me. But the hardest hit had to come with the presentation of this dish.
No, I am no artsy-fartsy guy who's gonna slam it for artistic reasons, rather, I would have much preferred this dish to be served separately (or in compartments) so that the sauces wouldn't cross over and corrupt the individual tastes. As we say in Spanish, Fatal.

Lafiandra served us plenty of food, so be patient while I go through it.
Pumpkin soup was up next, which can be best summarized with one word - "Sweet". In fact, too sweet for me and unhelped by the cake crumbs. But fret not! A fantastic way to overcome this comes in the form of...a fine sprinkling of black pepper! My customer asked, "How does pepper help the taste?" To which, I replied, "It helps the aroma, and hence the food experience." Arrogant me.

Beware though. There was a considerable lag between the soup and the main course, hence the low score for service (serving speed is a very important factor!

I didn't mind it too much, for my grilled sea bass was very very well done. The meat was tender and juicy, with a nice smoky aroma to tickle the nostrils, and the drop or two of lemon juice does help to refresh your taste/smell organs tremendously. Just do the honor yourself when it comes served with the lemon, will ya?

Hold on just yet, cos I haven't gotten to the skin. Grilled to perfection, the fats underneath the skin envelopes your tongue and spreads out like a gentle wave of richness to go along with the meat. Buonissimo!

Sides were decent and complemented the main without stealing the limelight, especially after sucking up the oils from the fillet. Truly a dish to be enjoyed (fish fats are good!) 

My boss had the Crabmeat and Crayfish Aglio Olio and unfortunately, he did not tell me how good it was (i.e. how did the tastes intertwine, battle it out and reconcile) but one thing he did tell unspokenly was the speed with which he finished the dish, as well as the numerous nods he made during this ritual. If only it were with friends...I coulda asked for a teeny weeny bite :(

Switching the camera view to my colleague's Ribeye. He's a man of few words, dug in quietly like a disciplined soldier and went on with the job as efficiently as always...but there was a notable difference - he was grinning. I guess it meant that he like it ;)

And here's my Panna Cotta. If it sounds foreign to you, fret not. You're not alone. In English, it's kinda like Milk-Pudding-With-Berry-Sauce. But it's Italian ;)
As I'll continue to remind you in future posts, I do not have a thing for sweet stuff. So I'm gonna suck at describing it but perhaps a best gage is if I lapped it up in ecstasy. Did I? Nah...it was too sweet for me nonetheless :P
Please do try it for yourself or come along with me to help me taste the sweet stuff in future :)

As for the rest, they had the Tartufo Ice Cream. In other more familiar words, Truffle Ice Cream. So why truffle huh? Don't you think it resembles a chocolate truffle? With the additional strawberry and some chocolate sauce, yes, but it's filled with 2 different kinds of ice cream goodness on the inside, while being covered in more chocolatey goodness on the outside!
This reminds me of Powerpuff Girls, made of all the nicest things in the world.
My dining companions ignored me for 5 minutes as they were happily enjoying this.

And finally, the Limoncello, a lemon liquer produced in Italy, which was on the house. If you're not impressed by anything in this review, or this blog per se, please just bring this away with you after reading - the owner of Lafiandra is really pretty generous. Oh, and please do not try this in small sips. Take it in a gulp!

This ends my little foodcation at Trattoria Lafiandra.
Plenty of room for improvement. Mains were a lot better than the appetizers and the soup, so if I're to return, it'll be for the mains.
We actually opened a bottle of house white, but it didn't go well with the food so I kinda forgot about it (I don't like to remember un-nice things).
They also serve pizza here so anytime you're popping by the museum and you're looking for a decent eatery nearby, Lafiandra is a consideration ;)
Just don't mind the kitchen aromas. I left smelling like a steak, and smiling like a cow.

Haxenhaus

Haxenhaus

80 Mohamed Sultan Road

#01-13 The Pier at Robertson Quay

Tel: 68357818

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Food 6/10

Ambience 5/10 or *8/10

Audience 7/10

Service 6/10

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*Ambience was rated as 5 on the basis of a fine dining establishment. For a general friends' gathering, I think Haxenhaus deserves an 8 for the bustling tavern it appears to seek to recreate.

Recalling my previous trip to Haxenhaus (again, during restaurant week), this time, for lunch.

I went for the Sommersalat, Wienerschnitzel, Strudel and...a beer, of course :)

Walls @ Haxenhaus

Kitchen (Open concept)

Bar

I liked the walls, which suited the open style of Haxenhaus, and which facilitated the usual heat from sunny Singapore to stir our thirst for some beer.
(I can't imagine how torturous a rainy day must be though :P)
The decor was cleanly simple, without a sense of pretence...almost like visiting a friend's place with a pretty nice eating area to chill out.

The Sommersalat was drenched in dressing. You got that right. It was DRENCHED.
I wasn't so sure if the chef spilled a bottle of it into mine, but a quick check with my friend confirmed that it was probably intentional. Very poorly executed and it made me pretty cross.
For people who know me...it says a lot that I left this dish unfinished.

Bad.

But thankfully, I decided on Haxenhaus cos I was craving Schnitzel \(^o^)~♪
For friends who are unfamiliar with Schnitzels, it's basically a breaded pork chop. Well, originally, it HAD to be made with veal but it's become more accommodating and chicken, turkey, and pork were added to the Schnitzel family :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKgeBCbVGgQ

Enough on the background, on to the taste.
Individually, the schnitzel was a little on the dry side; the potatos were too buttery and the jam too sweet for my liking. Does that mean it's perfectly horrible?
Nah, that's exactly why dining is fun. Have the schnitzel with some very buttered potato to get a smoother texture...squeeze some lemon to "lubricate" the schnitzel...etc, if you thinking what I'm thinking, mix'n'match to get te perfect combo is the key.
My personal favorite combination/sequence for this would be to:
1) Spread some jam on the schnitzel (take care not to spread too much or it'll mess up the balance. What you really want to do here is to have the jam add more colors but the focus should still be on the meat)
2) After having the schnitzel, treat yourself to some potatoes (have the texture transition from tough to normal...)
3) Finish it off with a beer to rid the oiliness you may be feeling from a deep fried dish, while letting the slight bitterness of a beer spur your fondness for a good piece of meat.

The meal was concluded with an apple strudel, but as I am no fan of desserts, I got my friend to give me a review instead (while I probed incessantly with lots of questions).
She felt that the ice cream was not sufficiently cold and melted too quickly.
I agree with her, especially after taking into context our tropical weather.
My salvation came in that it was not too sweet (I could finish it and not feel any after effects!)

After the experience, I had to face the inevitable question: Would I come back again?
Haxenhaus is not meant for fine dining. Instead, it is a place for friends to have a noisy party, which would then pit it against other German eateries e.g. Brotzeit (far more accessible) and Werner's Oven (cheaper, family restaurant).

My answer: Yes. They have a platter for 4 (~$88 before tax) that I've yet to try :)
As much as I was not too impressed with the schnitzel, I feel compelled to try the Schweinhaxe (pork knuckle) before a verdict can/should be reached.

Zafferano

Zafferano
Oceon Financial Centre, Level 43
10 Collyer Quay
Singapore 049315
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Food 7/10
Ambience 7/10
Audience 7/10
Service 8/10
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Been a while since my last update. The multiple business trips have really taken their toll on me.
Back to the more enjoyable aspects of life.

Next stop, Zafferano.

Situated in our favorite financial area, I was frankly expecting to bump into some friends (which I did, but let's leave that aside ^^)

A well-dressed lady greeted us on the ground floor for what would be the first pleasant surprise. The beginning of service is definitely before you reach the restaurant and pertaining this, Zafferano did a nice job. The view wasn't mind blowing (as Singaporeans are already pampered with too many breathtaking views), and my friend felt the air-con was a little chilly.
Personally, it looked chic at first glance but I would have preferred for the jars of bread to be kept from sight. At least...trick me into believing everything was fresh and homemade :)

 

Restaurant Week Menu

Going first to the bread platter...
As you can see in the pic, there're 5 kinds to savor and while personal tastes kick in, I'd say the Focaccia was the best, because...I like Focaccia. It's a personal bias ;)
Some bread for thought:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_breads

On a more serious note, the bread was not overflowing with the aroma of freshly baked bread so that was a let-down. Neither was it warm when served so it lacked a little welcoming homely touch :(

Next up was the Burrata (YAY CHEESE!)
A standard dish in any decent Italian restaurant, you can hardly go wrong with this one.
Yes, I enjoyed the dance by the fragrance of the cheese, the texture made possible by the olive oil as well as the vibrancy of the tomatoes. But...I have one small complaint.
The inner layer of the burrata just wasn't creamy enough. I like it creamy inside cos it illustrates the transition of the tough outer layer 'melting' into a river of goodness. To say I was disappointed would do injustice to the dish, but it is some mark off "perfect".

With my palettes successfully awakened from their slumber, the Lobster Ravioli invaded my table, followed by my mouth.
each piece was perfectly bite-sized and I really liked how the slight bitterness of the asparagus made the sweetness of the lobster filling shine even more as the star.
While one can enjoy 7 different tastes with 7 bites of say, a steak, the same cannot be said for ravioli. But this gave me ~4 different tastes (I discounted if the tastes were similar but were of varying degress of intensity).
Unfortunately, the white I ordered along for this dish in particular did not match it well. I know, white is recommended for seafood but it's not a good match if it doesn't escalate the good ol' lobster to a new realm. This was the highlight dish of the night for me.

To end off the meal in good fashion, I opted for the classic Tiramisu, which came along with some coffee ice cream.
I'm not a fan of desserts, so please expect to see really dull reviews of any dessert I eat.
In essence, it was not overly sweet and the coffee ice cream smoothened the texture of the tiramisu without spoiling the taste.
And as what raspberries do best, they blend well with chocolate :)
Simple, classic, and performed without much difficulty.

Service on the whole was pretty decent.
The staff was generally attentive, non-intrusive and could be more helpful if they go the extra mile to make a guest feel really welcome.
I ask for too much sometimes ^^

On a non-restaurant week day, I would expect to spend $60-80 per pax, and it is worth that range if you consider how the night view lifts the other aspects.

I will consider returning if I am in the area, or if I am looking for a place with a nice view.