PUBLISHED March 4th, 2015 05:00 pm | UPDATED June 19th, 2020 05:36 pm
To us, the true spirit of Restaurant Week is going on one too many gourmet adventures throughout the 9 days in hope of looking for another gem to add to your must-return list of restaurants. After Portico and Punjab Grill, we were off to lesser known Stanley Street ristorante PepeNero and Bukit Pasoh representative, Hashi.
PepeNero
This semi-fine dining restaurant has recently welcomed Chef Daniele from Rome and unsurprisingly, their Restaurant Week menu focuses heavily on the cuisine of Central Italy – something that’s fairly uncommon in Singapore.
Marinated Eggplant with Tuna Salad
While the lunch starter Marinated Eggplant with Tuna Salad was too bland for my tastebuds, the main course we had from the lunch menu was as the highlight of our meal. Not only was the Homemade Fettuccine in White Bolognaise Sauce perfectly al dente, adding cream to the classic bolognaise made it heartier and more comforting – our forks kept straying back for more.
Both appetizers on the dinner menu fared better with us. While the Leek & Potato Soup with Garlic Croutons could do with a little more salt, it was neither heavy nor chunky, which should do well for small eaters. For something more substantial, the Triple PepeNero’s Bruschetta, which features three flavours – dried tomato paste, black olive pate, and the usual tomato – will satisfy. No complaints about this dish – very Italian, very classic.
Baby Chicken Escalopes Saltimbocca Style is one of the rare few times that pork and chicken taste this good together. Think very tender baby chicken breast topped with savoury parma ham and cheese; no other flavouring needed for this simple, delicious combination.
‘Sbriciolata’ Puff Pastry with Nutella Cream
For once, we’re trying a new Italian dessert, ‘Sbriciolata’ Puff Pastry with Nutella Cream. According to Chef Daniele, the puff pastry is not served in restaurants in Italy because it’s known to be something you made at home, broken up into small pieces and mixed into Nutella. It might feel too airy for you, but it’s a piece of Italian culture new to us – and Nutella is Nutella!
Overall: Well-executed Central Italian food and totally worth your money for Restaurant Week – we’re interested to see what else Chef Daniele introduces on their a la carte menu.
Hashi
Chef Kadomatsu Masamitsu served his Restaurant Week dinner menu, which started off really well with the Long Cabbage, Mushroom with Dashi Stock appetizer. For someone who doesn’t like veggies, I lapped up every bit of it. The secret, I believe, is in the stock. The Hotate & Yellowtail Carpaccio was quite average, though the freshness of the seafood was never disputed at our table. We found the sauce was overpowering the scallop, while the yellowtail could be sliced thinner.
The main course arrived looking very un-Japanese. A slow-braised Beef Cheek with Red Miso Japanese Pepper Sauce, it was quite the heavy main we weren’t expecting. While the beef cheek was fork tender, I didn’t take to the sauce at all. Side note to those who don’t take beef, Chef will be preparing sea perch for you guys instead.
Luckily, the Akitakomachi Rice with Teriyaki Salmon Flake smoothed things over for us. The taste of this rice bowl embodies a kind of simple happiness – the kind that make you want to pick up the bowl and eat the rice with your chopsticks, savouring every bite. The teriyaki sauce was the golden proportion of sweet and savoury.
Dessert was a slice of rock melon served with a Japanese red bean sweet imported from Shizuoka. We’re no experts on Japanese desserts but at least the azuki wasn’t too saccharine for us to enjoy.
Overall: Frankly, we’ve had wonderful times at Hashi (full review here) but we were quite disappointed by the Restaurant Week dinner menu, which didn’t feel like was it worth $55++ (since Hashi has the Dining City star).
Book your seats at PepeNero and Hashi online for Singapore Restaurant Week, 14-22 March 2015.
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