GAIA Restaurant: Italian fine dining done right

PUBLISHED June 25th, 2014 07:11 am | UPDATED February 2nd, 2016 06:35 am

Goodwood Park Hotel seems to be one of those venues that you’re either really familiar with or have simply not been. In my unfortunate case, the latter is true. A great shame considering the amount of culinary gems found at this beautiful old hotel hiding away on Scotts Road, just outside the hustle and bustle of Orchard Road. One of these gems is GAIA, a luxurious, fine dining restaurant with an interior that conjures images of grand dining halls not out of place in the Godfather films. After having a gander around the restaurant, we finally sat down in one of their glorious leather booths. Enormous things of extreme comfort, it’s almost as if they were designed for post-meal napping.

Settling down to what we believed would be the most traditional of meals to compliment such an old-boy setting, we began to peruse the menu and were immediately surprised to see some very cool and modern interpretations on Italian classics.

A perfect example of this marriage of flavours were the amuse bouche of Squid Ink Rice Basket with Sea Urchin (complimentary) and the Sicilian Red Prawn with Warm Ricotta Cheese ($32). The sea urchin literally oozed freshness, with a full, salty, cream engulfing your tastebuds. As for the Sicilian red prawn, despite the red colour, the prawn is totally raw, and combined with the warm ricotta cheese, basil and oregano makes an elegant and tender appetizer.

Moving onto the mains, the extravaganza continues with delights like the Roasted Pigeon in Black Truffle Sauce ($68) which somehow defies the odds. Strong flavours of truffle with the gamey pigeon ends up being incredibly elegant and mild. In complete contrast was the Rigatoni with Boston Lobster and Bisque ($34) which paired an immense al dente bite of fresh-made rigatoni with strong lobster flavours. An absolute winner in my book.

Needless to say, the meal ended with a superb selection of desserts. It seems that every detail of every dish is painstakingly seen to and perfect. Exactly as you should expect from a fine dining restaurant of GAIA’s calibre. With such an interesting, unusual and delicious menu, GAIA makes for a great spot for special occasions. For serious foodies, this is one for you… come excited and with an adventurous palate.