Entries from April 2007 ↓

Senso has been around for a good number of years. Located along Club Street, it has carved out its own space, survived the competition and witnessed the boom and bust of some restaurants along this once uber cool eating strip by offering elegant food and hospitality. I’ve walked past Senso countless times and I’ve always felt it looked intimidating, but once I walked through the doors I realised I was terribly wrong.

We were greeted by the reception, where we spied a cosy and elegant private dining area, then led past the al-fresco dining area, which is highly not recommended for afternoon dining and then into a large comfortable dining room.

Senso has built its name on the concept of ‘home from home’; in short it has built itself to be familiar and friendly. The lunch hour packed a good crowd that filled the large dining hall and its guest was everyone from suits to children to a local celebrity. There was a cheerful and relaxed buzz in the room, and a sommelier who glides around the room, usually with a bottle of wine or wine glasses in hand, that is happy to accommodate and make sure lunch goes down with some extra good spirits.

The service staff was, despite being helpful and warm, rather appalled that I, a relatively small sized female, wanted to order three starters to split with my dining partner, and so stopped me in my tracks and limited me to two, which were the Pan-Fried Duck Liver Served With Red Chicory And A Sweet Passito Di Pantelleria Wine Relish and the Pan-Fried Buffalo Mozzarella Wrapped In Parma Ham, With Marinated Raisins And Pine Kernels In Balsamico. The duck liver was cleverly crusted with polenta, which gave it a very crisp cover and utterly creamy centre, the combination of the taste together involved ideas of a suckling pig that is rich and creamy. The second and lighter of the two appetisers was the house signature that was a delightful balance of sweet, tart and smoky tasting chewy and squishy cheese. And if you inform them that you would be sharing starters, they will split your appetisers into two small portions and plate them together for you.
Continue reading →

Had an impromptu dinner last night with a few of my makan khakis at Morton’s Steakhouse. The choice was initially IL-Lido, but they didn’t have tables until 9pm so we settled for Mortons. (Actually Mortons didn’t have a table till 9 as well, but it was in town, so that made it easier for everyone)We were punctual for our reservation and was promptly shown to our table. Even at 9pm, the place was still packed to the brim and rather noisy due to the incessant chatter from the customers. Ironically, the noise made the entire atmosphere pretty exciting and relaxing at the same time. Conversation wasn’t difficult as the decibel level was within a reasonable range. That being our first visit to Mortons, we were given a thorough introduction to the variety of mains, sides and desserts as well as the cuts of meat available by a very friendly waitress who tended to us that evening. After some recommendations, we ordered the Double Cut Fillet Mignon, Porterhouse Steak, sides of Hashbrown Potato, Sautéed Wild Mushrooms, Steamed Fresh Broccoli, with the Morton’s Famous Hot Chocolate Cake and the Upside Down Apple Pie as desserts.

Breads are always a bad way to start off your meals as they fill you up really fast, but I couldn’t help stuffing myself with the complementary Onion Bread that was served. Served with smooth butter, it was really quite good. However, we ate it after it had turned cold as we were busy taking photos, so my guess would be that it would taste much better if it had been taken fresh from the oven.

Continue reading →