Dinner @ Lolla
June 21, 2013 in Spanish by thywhaleliciousfay
My girlfriend and I found ourselves at Lolla on a Thursday night, all prepared to wait as we heard they don’t accept reservation and that it gets really packed. But much to our pleasant surprise, we were able to secure two seats at the L-shaped counter on the ground level where we could see the chefs at work.
And situated in the basement are the bar, a large communal table and the restroom. Restroom which is beautifully decorated with butterflies.
And from the menu which came in the form of booklet and with specials written on a chalkboard, we ordered:-
1) Sea urchin pudding, $19 (above) – With all honesty, I came to Lolla to check this dish out. And it certainly did not disappoint. It’s a cold dish which has a very interesting taste. A taste which we could not put a finger to. The squid ink pudding (which I initially thought was century egg due to its colour. My bad. Ha!) tastes like very dense custard. And that’s a tea spoon, not a spoon in the picture. A must try!
2) Tuna belly “chutoro” tartare, $39 (above) – Tossed in dressing, I guess I found how I prefer my tuna belly served, and that’s (unfortunately) sashimi style. And while the tuna belly was fresh, it lacked the melt-in-mouth sensation. There were inconsistency in the sizes of the pieces. But I guess I have to be lenient as this is not a Japanese restaurant. But hey, some of the pieces could be chunkier for more satisfactory bites.
3) Candied foie gras & kumquat, $30 (above) – This is one of the specials. Though the exterior was slightly crisp, the foie gras did not have the melt-in-mouth sensation which I was going after. But I enjoyed the combined taste of the foie gras and fruits. Nice.
4) Char grilled octopus, $24 (above) – Another dish ordered from the specials. This came across as a little strange for us. There was this slime with every piece. Not sure if it was intentional, but we preferred it without. Other than that, the octopus was nicely done; Not chewy.
5) Smoked pork belly & brussel sprout, $24 (above) – This was recommended by the staff under the specials. And I like this! Though my girlfriend found it a little salty.
6) Spanish tortilla with smoked eel, $19 (above) – Chunks of potato are placed along the perimeter with the centre of the tortilla being creamy, moist egg.
7) Doughnut with lemon curd, $12 (above) – Another highlight of our dinner. Plain choux puffs which is light and went well with the puree served on the side. I finished more than half! A must try for desserts.
So while I had better for Spanish tapas, the place has a very nice and laid back atmosphere for friends to catch up. It gets a little noisy, but it’s great that way as everyone is doing their own stuff within their own groups. My girlfriend and I enjoyed the additional entertainment, which came along from sitting at the counter, of being able to watch the chef prepare the food. Especially when they are preparing someone’s dish which is the exact dish which we were eating.
In fact, it’s ironic that I spied them taking out a packet of foie gras from their chiller (under their preparation table) when they were closing the kitchen. It was in the type of packaging where one can easily find from the super mart. Hmm…
Service wise, the staff were pleasant. So while they were prompt in filling up my wine, they overlooked my girlfriend’s water. But hey! If the bottle of water is placed with us, I guess it falls onto us to top up our water.
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LOLLA
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22 Ann Siang Road, Singapore
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Overall: 7
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Opening hours:-
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Food/Beverage: 7
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Mon – Sat : 12:00 – 14:00 (Lunch)
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Ambience: 7
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Mon – Sat : 18:00 – 23:45 (Dinner)
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Value: 6
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Service: 7
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* Closed on Sun
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