of mojitos and other madness: forlino

the end of the year is, at least in my books, always associated with eating. with most of the family born in the later half of the year, the celebratory eating begins as early as august (with e's birthday) and continues with two birthdays in october, three in november and then christmas and new year's in december and january. so the posts on mojitos should be picking up speed and i'm gonna try to keep the momentum going with this one following the recent combined birthday celebration for my sis and mom at what is touted to be one of singapore's best restaurants....forlino.

hidden on the second floor of one fullerton, forlino's entrance hides the somewhat maze-like layout of the restaurant. coupled with the oppulent deco of tiffany blue walls with ornate trimmings and the odd modern artsy piece here and there, just walking to your table gives you the alice down the rabbit hole feel, making one intrigued and curious about the place, and of course the food it is going to serve. with a fantastic view of the marina bay, forlino probably has a somewhat unfair advantage in drawing in the crowds, especially with peeps wanting a view of the f1 circuit, fireworks and eventually the night skyline once the integrated resorts are done, and have the luxury of enjoying some classic italian fine dining.

the experience in forlino was quite special with the surprise of a private room, professional yet friendly maitre'd and of course the six course gourmet degustation menu. even before the courses began, we were all quite blown away by the house-made freshly baked focaccias, which the maitre'd warned us not to over indulge in less we will not be able to enjoy dessert...and he was right. they were little discs of buttery heaven...just out of the oven and oozing salty butter, one really needed a lot of control to resist wolfing down all four quarters! thankfully the kitchen timed the arrival of the degustation quite perfectly and we began the culinary adventure. first was the chef's complimentary course...kinda like a quiet thank you from the chef gesture i think, it constituted a red bean puree (which tasted a little like truffle mushroom!) and quail served on a bed of greens. not outstanding but certainly unusual enough to pique my interest as to what the rest of the courses would be like. next, citrus fruit cured salmon with fennel salad and pomegranate sauce. now this was refreshing twist the the normal smoked salmon and capers. with a tangy touch, classic fennel flavor and crunch of the pomegranate, this immediately gave mom new ideas to spice up her salads! no italian meal is complete without a serving of pasta and forlino did quite a good job with its tagliatelle with duck confit and goose liver. al dente and not overly rich and oily, the combination of duck, creamy liver and hint of wine sauce definitely hit the spot with me. they also did a serving of cabonara for the kids and it was similarly fantastic. think classic cabonara made with egg not cream, crispy bacon and al dente pasta...its no wonder the kids polished every last bit off!

i thought the highlight of the dinner would be the main, that is the korobuta pork cheek or the beef tenderloin depending on what you chose, but i think the pan roasted black cod definitely stole the show. with fish being one of the hardest dishes to cook perfect, forlino's serving of the cod was quite phenomenal. it was a good sized piece, perfectly cooked and dressed with a complimentary smoked roe and mushroom sauce. the light smoky earthy sauce and the creamy texture of the cod brought the flavors of both the earth and the sea together in harmony and really made the dish something to remember. dinner was rounded up with a chocolate log cake and an additional chocolate truffle cake to celebrate the birthdays. both were good but i think we would have enjoyed it a little more if we paid a bit more attention to the maitre'd's warning about the breads!

it is no wonder why forlino's got itself a quiet following...this girl thinks that while the food is pretty good, it is positioned in the higher class of fine dining joints in singapore. definitely worth a visit though for that special occasion especially once the marina bay is all decked out and ready.