Search This Blog

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Lolla - Ooh, oh so good!

The name of this restaurant, Lolla sounds somewhat teasing and the food follows exactly the style that the name implies: strong and bold flavours that tease the palates.


The little plates of wonders of simplicity here do not seek to just stop at pleasing the patrons' taste buds; they aim to excite instead. The sea urchin pudding is a little pot of concentrated goodness of the sea, combining the sweetness of the sea urchin, savoury of the squid ink pudding and hints of sourness of the sauce to create a dish the invokes very deep impressions. The tuna, chutoro tartare refuses to let the sea urchin pudding to snatch all of the spotlight; cubes of slightly chilled chutoro charm one with the melt in one's mouth consistency, simulating, aromatic and delicious sauce that goes very well with the raw fish. The only flaw I can find in the tuna is that some tough sinews remain in the meat that disconnects with the melty texture of the flesh. Even seemingly the humble tomato salad has its ten minutes of fame when we savoured the juicy sweetness of the tomatoes from Italy, which is accentuated by the tangy sauce. The combination works beautifully.

The scrambled eggs, and Patatas Bravas with boar sausage are not as attention catching as the previously mentioned three dishes, but they delight one's taste buds nonetheless. The scrambled eggs are creamy without an overly strong eggy smell and the grated roe lends a slight saltiness and edge to the overall taste. As for the boar sausage, the bite is chewier than the normal ones (the thinly sliced ones are better to bite on) but the taste is very good; fragrant and have a slight gamey flavour that will not overwhelm. The potatoes that come with the sausage, are smokey and hearty in flavour, absolutely no complaint on this. The Steamed chocolate pudding is very intense in the chocolatey taste, the consistency is similar to lava chocolate cake; meaning that it is just the way I like it, moist and nice cake. No doubt that this dessert puts a sweet ending to my dining experience, though have to say that it is more like the supporting cast that rounds things up nicely, instead of being able to stand out on its own as a very impressive dessert.

Ambience tends towards industrial chic; the seats are quite comfortable (better than the ones in Esquina), though it is better not to bring a big bag due to the close proximity to other patrons at the table. The place can be quite noisy though.

The service is absolutely wonderful; a middle aged lady staff is so sincere and friendly that we felt immediately at ease upon entering the premises. The chef (seems to be the in-charge besides Ming) is very friendly and eager to share the information about the ingredients and dishes (all his recommendations are spot-on good). And the staff will offer to change the bottle of iced water when it warmed up, offer a temporary bag to put my wallet in; little things like these shows the attentiveness of the staff there (though take note that we went on a Saturday afternoon when it is not crowded). Despite being busy, the chef, that lady staff and another staff nearby all took the efforts to bid goodbye in a cheery and upbeat manner.

What else can I say, except that I love the food and great service of this place. One last thing, this restaurant does take reservations via phone or email.

My Thoughts: Impressive and Wonderful!

Nearest car park: Outdoor URA's car park along Ann Siang Road or outside Maxwell Food Centre (though it is extremely difficult to find an empty slot here, highly advisable to park straightaway into URA building's car park instead to spare oneself of the pain of waiting or searching)
Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar

22 Ann Siang Road
Singapore
Contact No: 64231228