The Moomba - Aussie cuisine

Took the buddy here for a birthday lunch treat; before that I even enticed him with the idea of having an exotic meat - Char Grilled Kangaroo Loin. However, much to our dismay, this item was no longer in the menu.

Lucky for us, The Moomba has quite a large selection of starters, mains, and desserts to choose from and we quickly decided on our choices for the set lunch (priced $38++ for 2 courses and $42++ for 3 courses).

Naturally, we went for the 3-course option as it only costs $4 more for a dessert.

An open-kitchen concept

As you can see, the restaurant has a casual concept; nothing too fancy.

 

 photo credit: yumyumformytumtum
The buddy's starter: Bacon-wrapped Crayfish on Wilted Spinach with Poached Egg
Juicy, savory bacon paired with the natural sweetness of the crayfish, this was a delightful starter; with a perfectly poached-egg to boot.

*I lost a couple of photos, thus had to replace it with pictures from other food bloggers.

 photo credit: yumyumformytumtum

My starte: Iberico Ham with Brie croquette

Interesting fact: Iberico ham, also known as Jamon Iberico, is the finest ham in the world. The curing process of this prized meat takes much longer than the common ones, possibly because of the huge amount of fat on each ham.

So how do you tell if it's an Iberico? As you can see from the photo above, the meat is dark red and marbled with veins of fat, which are two characteristics of an Iberico ham.

Served paper-thin, it had a complex, intense flavour that increased with every bite. Sweet, nutty, and not salty-in-a-way-that-leaves-you-cringing. Best eaten with the sweetish fig and equally yummy Brie croquette.

Buddy's main: New Zealand Grilled King Salmon 

For a fish that has been done-to-death, this was perfectly executed. I loved how they grilled the salmon till it was slightly charred on the surface and meltingly-soft inside. This was served on a bed of pumpkin mash with a warm aubergine and tomato relish which were welcomed accompaniments to the main star.

Mine: Confit of Duck, nestled on garlic mashed potato and served with vine tomatoes, corn kernels, caramelized fig and smoked duck breast.

A few bites after, I immediately regretted my choice of main and wished that I'd gone for the Mushroom Risotto instead :( 1) The skin wasn't as crispy and flavourful as its French counterpart. 2) Although sufficiently tender, the flesh of the duck wasn't the fork-tender, rich-tasting kind that I had expected.

Well, I still polished it up anyway. Not that it was lousy, but I've had other mind-blowing renditions before that I couldn't help comparing. Perhaps this is Aussie's take on Duck Confit? Maybe someone could tell me.

Another shot

My disappointment was short-lived as I eagerly waited for desserts to arrive! #instantperkmeup

Among other equally-tempting choices such as Rhubarb Crumble and Warm Chocolate Pudding, I opted for the Lemon Tart, which came with a scoop of Fig & Manuka Honey ice-cream and creme anglaise.

Encased in the crusty shortbread tart base was a creamy lemon curd that had a pleasant zing, and yet not too sourish. The fig & manuka honey ice cream pleased as well, though I mostly tasted only the honey. The custardy creme anglaise was simply delightful and more-ish.

The buddy chose their Banana Macadamia Sour Cream Pie, and changed the default Vanilla ice-cream to the Triple Chocolate flavour. (kudos to their flexibility, btw)

Garnished with tropical fruits like strawberries, mango slices, blueberries, and kiwi, the buddy couldn't wait any longer. The pretty dessert, however, failed to impress. Decent, but not outstanding. And that dollop of cream definitely wasn't any sour cream, just normal whipped cream. The chocolate ice-cream too, was as normal as it can get, nothing special there.

We ended the meal with our choice of teas(large selection too), I had the Green Tea Mango Lemongrass(something like that) Tea while I forgot the buddy's choice. Mine was definitely nicer; fragrant, and invigorating to the senses.

Despite the hits and misses here, I would still recommend The Moomba for its large selection for the lunch set menu. Portions are generous here, so make sure you order the right dishes, and your meal would be bound an enjoyable(albeit super-full) one.

More awaits..


The Moomba
52 Circular Road, Singapore
6438 0141
Website

Opening Hours
Mon–Fri: 11am – 2.30pm
Mon–Sat: 6.30pm–10pm
(Closed on Sun & PH)

Senso Ristorante - Dining under the stars

The sweetheart & I make it a point to celebrate each month-sary whenever possible, and the honour of the sixth month went to...

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Senso Ristorante!

 (trying to create suspense when it's stated in the title of my post =/)

Absolutely love the alfresco courtyard setting.

Can count stars with your loved one. Lol~

Both indoor and outdoor seatings are available for dinner, and we chose to sit outdoors because of the ambience. My photos above do not capture the sensuality of it at all.  

 

So, I decided to grabborrow some pictures from dearest Google.

photo credit: SingaporeDine

 Recommended by the sommelier, we had some prosecco ($16/$18++?) to start the meal (picture taken before it was served). Forgot the name but it was light and fizzy, great for preppin' the palate.

 The bread basket was nothing to shout about. The only thing that I like was the crispy and addictive breadsticks. Couldn't stop nibbling at it.

 Amuse bouche: Salmon mousse with some kind of cheese fritter (sorry, forgot)

 For starters, we had the Parma ham 18 months ($26++) to share. They were nice enough to portion it for us; the above is my share. (yes, there were only two.)

It's essentially Pan-fried Buffalo Mozzarella wrapped in Parma Ham, and served with black Olives Tapenade. Two words to describe. Utterly Delicious. Succulent Parma + Chewy Mozzarella= The Sex. It was simple yet full of flavours, and not to mention, oozing juices with every bite. Seriously, I can't imagine anyone not likingloving these gems.

 The boyfriend had the Cappellini Pasta with (either bacon/chorizo, sorry forgot again!) in Saffron-Cream sauce ($28++). I liked how the cream sauce was revved up with the use of a little saffron, to create this uplifting aroma that the expensive spice is known for.

I was torn between the Duo of Risotti and Homemade Taglierini Pasta with Boston Lobster and fresh Basil ($32++). No prizes for guessing which I eventually chose.

For this dish, you can choose to have your pasta done in Black (Squid ink) or White (original) version. It was Black anytime for me, coz me.heart.squid.ink.

However, it kinda disappointed me a little when I realised that there were no squid ink sauce at all in this dish, but rather, squid ink-infused pasta instead :(

K, The Good first: Pasta was perfectly al dente, springy with bite. The tomato sauce was tasty with a good balance of sweet and tangy notes. Very generous with the lobster chunks.

The Bad: Lobster was a tad too chewy and lacking in the sweetness usually found in the crustacean. (boring)

But lobster aside, this was still a mighty competent pasta.

For sweets, we opted for one that was on their seasonal menu (truffles this time) - Truffles & Truffles’ Chocolate Truffles & Truffle Ice-cream ($16++).

Yeah truffles, we get it.

The chocolate truffles was actually a chocolate truffle cake, which tasted something like a mousse cake. This had no taste of the truffle(fungi) but was given an sharp twist with rock salt sprinkled on top. Quite nice and light tasting.
On the other side of the spectrum, the homemade ice-cream had the earthy notes and nutty savoriness of the prized fungi, which my palate needed getting used to. (what the heck, it's fungi-flavoured ice-cream!) I wouldn't say that this was mind-blowing, but it was definitely interesting and worth a try.

They've been around since 2000 and have won many awards for the food, wine and ambience, which  means that they're definitely doing something right! Scoring with their well-executed pasta dishes that are full of finesse and flavours, Senso Ristorante is definitely the place to go to for authentic Italian nosh. This place is definitely one of my favourite Italian restaurants from now on.

Senso Ristorante

21 Club Street

6224 3534

Open Weekdays: 12pm-3pm, 6pm-10:30pm

Sat–Sun: 6pm – 10.30pm 

Sun: 11am – 3pm (Brunch)