Ristorante Da Valentino

Voted one of Singapore's Top 50 Restaurants, we took to Ristorante Da Valentino for my Dad's -counts fingers- birthday. Hidden away in a corner shophouse off Rifle Range Road, one would liken this restaurant positioning to career sucide. Sucide? Well hardly, though there will be those who would kill for a table without a dinner reservation. Although Jie made the reservations early last week, we only managed to snare an 8:15pm reservation on a Tuesday evening.

Valentino specialises in home style cooking, though there is nothing humble about the prices. I would consider a mark of quality assurance when one names his(her) restaurant after him(her)self. With reputation and self-credibility on the spaghetti line, the food has to be good right? Hmmm, after the Lemongrass Hall of Shame fiasco, I decided to keep my expectations in check.

For starters, we had the Calamari Fritti, Mixed antipasto (a plate of thinly shaved ham; Grilled mixed vegetables; Mozzarella cheese and tomato.

Thou shall not think mozzarella looks disturbing.

Out of all our starters, the calamari fritti was most outstanding. Transcending cultural barriers and easily found across menus, I thought the over-profusion of fried calamari had jaded my tastebuds. I didn't think the calamari at Valentino’s would be any different but I was surprised by how light and 'clean' the batter tasted.

Clearly, There's Something About calaMARY.

I didn't try the Minestrone soup but Zuppa di Marre (seafood soup), served in an amusingly tacky seashell, was pleasing and filled with various seafood.

Entree-wise, I am not a fan of pasta. I just don't enjoy it. I find it tasteless, bland and an impractical waste of calories. When I was in Copenhagen, I cooked pasta like, three times? I remember buying a 1000grams pack, cooking a few measly strands of it and giving the rest of the pack to some Swiss guys.

Good to know that here at Valentino's, I saw the pardonable side of pasta. Overall, there was clearly much attention paid to the preparation of pastas (instead of treating it like European instant noodles) and the al dente approach was a plus for me.

bottom right: When the linguine al nero de seppia (pasta in squid ink sauce) was served, my dad fondly thought of Venice, where (only) he (as us squeamish children chickened out) first tried it. With other reviewers insisting that this was a must-try, I took a leap of faith and gamely tried a forkful. With enough sauce to risk a dry-cleaning bill, the pasta was thankfully unfishy. But on my part, there's clearly a lack of appreciation for this dish.

top left: The tornarelli all ganchio was more endearing. It consists of squid ink-infused pasta (instead of pasta in squid ink sauce) and was generously accompanied by creamy sauce and fresh bits of crabmeat.

Not fond of anything unnaturally coloured, I raised an eyebrow when Yang picked the linguine all aragosta (lobster in pink sauce). Upon arrival, I was a half-disappointed half-relieved that it was dressed in familiar tones of pasta sauce. Although the pink sauce didn't taste any different from the crabmeat sauce, the lobsters were gratifyingly meaty. This was one of the evening's highlights.

The tomato-based wild boar pasta cannot be found in the menu and was part of the night's specialties. Unfortunately, it was nothing remarkable compared to the rest of the items as the palatable sauce failed to resuscitate the dry tough shreds of wild boar.

Pizza Proscuitto e Funghi

The pizza-lover in me loves the pizza served at Valentino's! Each individual aspect of the pizza worked harmoniously to produce nirvana on a circular revolving wooden board.

The wafer-thin crust held its own against the cheesy mozzarella melt and the proscuitto ham/mushroom topping proved ingeniously incredible. I am so underselling this pizza, so if you have to crawl to 'ulu' Jalan Bingka just to try it, by all means, GET STARTED!

Bisteccona

Meat may seem like an afterthought order in an Italian restaurant but this easily trounced stereotypes that Italian restaurants were only good for three things- pizzas, pastas and egoistical chefs.

The proud glistening glaze and char-grilled marks were surreal and a thought that Ogilvy had a role to play ran through my mind.

I picked the rib by the bone and noticed the bone itself was hot. Though this is of litle evident significant whatsoever, it sure heightened the pleasure of eating. The Bisteccona rib required some serious gnawing but I was a willing participant and by the time I was done, even the bits of fat were not spared. However, the rib was more rare than (what was originally order) medium rare and the lingering blood scent ALMOST made me identify with Hannibal Lector. Poor Jimmy, he was sitting opposite me and no idea whatsoever, what was going through my mind.. Evil look.

The perfectly done slices, reportedly from the back of the cow's neck, posed a celebratory toast to carnivores.

Right now, I'm really thankful the Singapore government decided to send animal activists on the first flight out of Singapore. I literally fear for my life by waxing lyrical over these obscene cuts of beef.

Although we were full from the mains, the dessert trolley, a showcase of homemade cakes, threw us a challenge which we graciously accepted.

Flaming Sambua- Theatrics was at work as Ray lit a shotglass of Sambuca and drizzled it all over the nuts-and-syrup-coated almond ice cream. The ice cream miraculously kept intact and the burning act successfully brought out the sweet fragrance of almond syrup.

A default Italian dessert, the Tiramisu lived up to its name of 'pick me up'. The cough-inducing (a 'whoops' on my part) cocoa powder and the silky zabaglione topping proved satisfying for me as I carefully avoided the rum-soaked charlotte fingers.

The Creme Caramel looked irresistible within the dessert trolley. With its tantalizing golden brown shade and a smooth facade, which I could imagine sliding off my tongue, it was "gimme gime gimme". Unfortunately, this fell short of expectations as it was disturbingly firm and weak caramel flavour did not pull through. Maybe a Flaming Sambuca would hav helped..

In its favor, the Apple Chocolate Pie measured more than an inch thick and the crust did not irritatingly crumble to pieces when pierced by my dessert fork. On the other hand, I thought the pairing of chocolate and apple was inappropriate, as the flavours do not complement each other. Perhaps this is the reason why people hardly serve apples alongside chocolate fondues. The crunchy apple slices, however, was a redeeming quality.

Imported from Italy, the Coconut Gelat was mama-mia-mazing. Forget about sharing and have one on your own.

While mum favoured the coconut dream, Dad was impressed by the zesty lemon sherbet, which was served in a real lemon. I preferred this too as the sourish tang helped cut after-dinner churlish-ness (attributable to overeating).

We were incredibly satisfied with our dishes but the whipped cream on the frappacino, was the impeccable service. For a party of eight, we naturally took a longer time to decide but Ray, our waiter was patient with our order-taking. Later, he seemed to have a hack for understanding my needs. Initially, he was curious to know why I was scribbling from the menu and I, used to being looked upon as an anomaly, shrugged off his glances. Yet later when he realised I blogged about food and needed pictures, he made sure every dish was put before me so that I could snap a pre-destroyed picture, before serving it to its respective owner. I am impressed. Period.

Ray guided us first-timers along with some recommendations, although unfortunately a couple did not quite make the grade. However, for his attentiveness, I am inclined to provide some leeway. Clearly, Valentino is a place for celebrations as including my dad, there were three other birthdays celebrated. Ray's service echoed along with the choruses of the birthday song as he took the initiative to fix a candle on top of our tiramisu. After dinner, he even gave us a short tour of the private room.

We will be back. I promise.