Trust Him, He's Italian

It's been awhile since I put anything up about a restaurant. There are so many food bloggers in Asia who do it better than I ever would (or could, given that I am a little like a goldfish and may explode). Once in awhile though, I find places that don't seem to have as much blogtime as I think that they deserve, and so I feel that I ought to contribute something. No Menu, in Singapore, is one such place. Prior to our date there, I only found one decent article about it. Resident Froggie had gone there for her birthday though, and her recommendation was more than enough for me.

No Menu is located reasonably centrally in the business district, where it attracts a fairly affluent crowd of adventurous local foodies and homesick expats. It's a family-run affair and typically Singaporean in its informality, though it still retains white linen and generous leather seating.

While No Menu offers an attractive a la carte selection encompassing buratta ravioli, squid ink risotto and other dishes I would ordinarily be hard pressed to resist, there was a clear decision to be made this time. The off-menu, no-menu option was a no brainer. For S$98++, the No Menu family would bring out taster plates of antipasto, primo and dolce. The secondi was described only as "meat or fish?", and, naturally, the Hubs and I decided have one of each and share them. Given that I'm now a two drink girl, we jumped straight in with prosecco and valpolicella. Here's a glimpse of the meal we had:

This plate of mortadella was given to us with the introduction (in an Italian accent) "this is todays amuse bouche", which I found hysterical for reasons I'm not entirely sure of. Is there even an Italian equivalent of amuse bouche?

The antipasto plate: (L-R) coppa and steamed vegetables, caprese, parma and melon, bruschetta. The caprese and bruschetta were clear winners on this plate. I've always struggled to make good bruschetta. The best I've ever had was in a neighbourhood Italian in Chiswick, where the chef told me rubbing the bread down with garlic was an absolute essential. Sadly, there must be other essentials, since I never seem to perfect the balance of tang, sweetness and crunch. No Menu's bruschetta had that to a T, and you could taste the extra-ordinary virginity of the oil. Yum.

I've never had a fried egg with truffle before, and it's a toss up (ha) as to whether it's better than with scramble, though there is something very decadent about dipping into yolk and come up with a sliver of truffle attached.

The primo plate: (L-R) spinach and ricotta tortellini in a butter and sage sauce, wild boar ragu, buratta ravioli

Meat: Beef cheeks and mash

Fish: Sea bass

The dolce plate: (L-R) tiramisu, meringue and whipped cream, chocolate mousse and mascarpone cream All that, plus coffees and two glasses each, came to S$330. I'm definitely going to go back.