Alkaff Mansion Ristorante hardly needs an introduction. Housed in a stately, Tudor-style bungalow, it's, for many years, been a favourite of those on romantic dates, had borne witness to many a wedding ceremony (a fully air-conditioned and carpeted Grand Marquee serves that purpose) and earned a steady following with a consistent, if not particularly exciting, menu.
The addition of new executive chef Simone Depalmas could then, be seen as a means for the Italian mainstay to add a rejuvenating jolt to its food. And a good move it was too. A Sardinian native, chef Simone's hometown influence on the menu comes in the form of plenty seafood items, lots of clean, fresh flavours, and naturally, Italy-imported ingredients – a welcomed change to the typical Italian cuisine we've been accustomed to, and perhaps a sign of the burgeoning popularity of the lighter Sardinian cuisine in Singapore.
Must-tries: We're fans of octopus, so the Fresh Octopus Carpaccio ($24, above) was an obvious favourite. But even if you're not partial to it, the slivers of lightly-steamed and tender Sardinian octopus dressed in aged balsamic reduction and served with frisee salad, cherry tomatoes and orange wedges makes for a lovely, mellow start to the meal.
It also paves the way for other seafood stunners, like the show-stopping Oven Baked Sea Bass in Salt (from $48 for 600g), rolled out to your tableside encased in salt, and then flambeed, cracked open and deboned by chef Simone himself. The fish is served as simply as you can possibly imagine, with just a sprinkling of black pepper, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon to retain all of its ocean-sweet freshness, and it is sublime. The Seafood Platter ($68) of tiger prawns, tuna tartare, sea bass carpaccio, octopus salad and lobster chunks is an easy crowd-pleaser, but next to the sea bass, it comes across lacking finesse.
Skip: No obvious dislikes here, but the Slow Cooked Sardinian Style Suckling Pig ($46), though getting points for its perfectly crispy skin and moist flesh, is still a little too rich for our liking.
Alkaff Mansion Ristorante is located at 10 Telok Blangah Green. For more information, visit www.alkaff.com.sg or call tel: 6510-3068.