FOO'D BY DAVIDE OLDANI
Italian celebrity chef Davide Oldani, 49, chef-owner of the one-Michelin-starred D'O in Cornaredo, which is outside Milan, has opened his first restaurant overseas, at the Victoria Theatre & Concert Hall.
While the menu is conceptualised by the chef, the kitchen is helmed by Sardinian executive chef Simone Depalmas, formerly from the now-defunct Sopra Cucina & Bar and, more recently, Alkaff Mansion Ristorante in Telok Blangah.
Lunch is $45 for three courses and $52 for four. The five-course dinner costs $138 and the seven-course is $168.
Highlights on the dinner menu include the Caramelised Onion with 20 months aged Grana Padano (served hot and cold), where onion halves are baked into a crisp pastry base and served with cold gelato and hot cream - both made with Grana Padano Riserva; lobster, coconut sauce and roasted celeriac (add $15); Risotto with housemade sourdough breadcrumbs, Marsala sauce, and Umbrian truffle; confit duck leg with house-made Apicius Roman spice blend and Millefiori honey.
For dessert (lunch menu), check out the lemon curd, meringue, lettuce ice cream and cocoa crumble.
Where: 01-01 Victoria Theatre & Concert Hall, 11 Empress Place
Open: Restaurant: Noon to 3pm, 6 to 11pm (Mondays to Saturdays), Bar: 6pm to midnight (Mondays to Saturdays), closed on Sundays, except today
Info: Call 6385-5588, go to www.facebook.com/FOODbyDO or make a reservation at www.foodbydo.com
NANJING IMPRESSIONS
Get a taste of cuisine from Nanjing, the capital of China's eastern Jiangsu province, at Plaza Singapura.
Nanjing Impressions was founded in 1994 and has 35 outlets across China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Wuxi, Hefei and Qingdao. The Singapore outpost is the brand's first overseas one.
The 6,500 sq ft restaurant seats 300 diners and has two private rooms (minimum spending of $300 required) for up to 10 people and another four semi-private booths (no minimum spending required) for four people each.
Menu highlights include seared crabs in ginger and brown sauce ($16.80 a piece); Jinling signature salted duck ($16.80, $32 or $62) made with more than 10 steps - from dry rubbing with seasoned salt, brining in spices and hang-drying; steamed patin fish with chicken broth ($48.80); baby rooster stew with special sauce, served with crispy sesame bun ($23.80 a portion); and honey-glazed stuffed lotus root ($12.80) filled with glutinous rice and slow-cooked in pear-honey syrup.
Where: 04-46 Plaza Singapura, 68 Orchard Road
Open: 11am to 10pm daily
Info: Call 6352-7877
TEEPEE BAR & RESTAURANT
Five-day-old Teepee Bar & Restaurant is the latest addition to the foodie enclave in Hongkong Street.
The menu focuses on burgers and rice bowls. Burger options include spiced kimchi beef burger ($19); buttermilk chicken ($17) with apple raisin slaw, cheese and caramelised onions; and Umami Swiss ($18) with a 150g beef patty, mushrooms, cheese and caramelised onions.
For the rice bowls, pick from wagyu beef bowl ($24), with egg cooked at 63 deg C, sauteed kale and leek sauce; Loco Moco Truffle Shrooms ($18) with a beef patty, sunny-side-up egg, caramelised onions, brown gravy and truffle oil; and Pork Belly Kimchi ($22) with slow braised pork belly, kimchi, leek and egg cooked at 63 deg C.
Side dishes include half-dozen freshly shucked oysters ($24) with cherry bomb radish, pickled shallots, and cilantro mint foam; tuna tartare ($14) served with wonton skin; and crostini ($12) with Parma ham, cherry tomato relish, pine nuts, basil and parmesan.
Teepee also serves speciality coffee drinks such as Teepee spritz ($7) with cold brew coffee, apple-infused soda, orange zest and dried orange, as well as cocktails including Chamomilla ($22) with chamomile-infused gin and Togarashi Umeshu; and Sinensis ($25) with Hibiki 12-Year-Old Whisky, junmai karakuchi sake, green tea liqueur and sencha green tea ice.
Where: 01-02, 31 Hong Kong Street
Open: 8am till late (Mondays to Saturdays), closed on Sundays
Info: Call 6225-0025 or go to www.facebook.com/teepee.sg
Eunice Quek
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