osvaldo

Housed in the corner of a refurbished 1940s Customs House, now known as Maxwell Chambers, Osvaldo is family style Italian restaurant owned and run by Chef Osvaldo Forlino, formerly of the Forlino Restaurant at the Fullerton, which still uses his name. Having left Forlino, he wanted to put behind formal high end cuisine and do something simpler and closer to his heart. The food at Osvaldo is best described as rustic and down-to-earth. There is no overwrought plating or presentation, just honest food with excellent ingredients.

Entering the restaurant through the door which was once the main entry to the building facing the junction of Maxwell Road and Shenton Way, the whole restaurant comes into view. Seperated onto 2 split levels (probably pre-exisiting and not by design), the space is large with high ceiling but at the same time intimate and welcoming. Littled with Chef Osvaldo's collection anitque furniture, the decor is simple and rustic, if a little nonchalant and haphazard (in an endearing and homely way).

In between tending the kitchen, Chef Forlino can be seen going from table to table casually chatting with patrons, explaining the food and checking if everything is alright. As this was our first proper meal at the restaurant (I have been to the restaurant previously but only for a quick but excellent pasta during lunch time),we spoke to Chef Forlino who offered to arrange for an assortment of items for the table to share.



Having no idea which items we were going to be served, the meal began with a food train of antipasti. We were served a total of 7 antipasti which includes bell pappers stuff with tuna mayo, russian salad, bresaola, cold cuts platter, fresh anchovies, bruschetta and buffalo mozarrella.

The anti pasti were mostly excellent, perhaps with the exception of the russian salad which was a little like what you might get as part of lunch in some cafeteria. The bruschetta was particularly outstanding, the sweetness of the diced tomato highlighted with olive oil and basil. The waiter, when he served the Bruschetta, quipped, "can make at home!". The simplest food allows the natural falvour of the ingredients to be expressed but also requires the use of good ingredients as the lack of flavour cannot be masked by seasoning.

After the antipasti, we were served 3 pastas to be shared. Firstly, it was the Piemonte agnolotti with veal shank sauce. Stuffed with bacon, the pillows of agnolotti were bursting with the smoky goodness of bacon, which was complemented by the lightness of the veal sauce. The second one was the home made tajarin with squid ink sauce. I usually do not order squid ink pasta but I rather enjoyed this one. The last and my favorite one was the tagliatelle with wild boar ragout. This dish is simply tagliatelle tossed with minced pork in broth, basically an Italian bak chor mee. I am partial to flat pastas but the winner in this dish for me is the pork ragout which was so full of flavour. All the pastas were perfectly cooked, firm with a bit of bite.

Being rather gluttonous that day, we ordered the lamb shank which was recommended by the waiter who had served us earlier. The meat on the lamb shank, together with the gelatinous tissue around the joint, slid off the bone with a slight pull of the fork, tender and juicy (melt-in-your-mouth, to use the food blogger cliche), with the sprig of rosemary scenting every bite.



We rounded off the meal with a trio of desserts, which perhaps were rather disappointing. The more interesting one was the ice cream spaghetti which was strings of vanilla ice cream served with strawberry syrup. Someone commented it tasted like Wall's ice cream in a good way, but I found the sweetness rather flat. My favorite was unexpectedly the meringue sandwich with just a dollop of cream in the centre, creating a nice contrast in texture and sweetness.

Using locally sourced fresh ingredients and from the Forlino family farm in Italy, Osvaldo serves up uncomplicated food that tingles the tastebuds without try too hard. There is an inherent honesty that permeates beyond the food into every element of the restaurant, from the casual atmosphere, the charming but not overthought decor and the professional service. The outstanding front of house staff played a particularly important part in crafting the experience at Osvaldo. Ample knowledge of the food served and sincere recommendations, coupled friendly banter, are not something that is easy to find in Singapore restaurants; it's like being hosted in a friend's home. The idea of a cosy neighbourhood Italian restuarant serving home style Italian food is perhaps still a rather foreign concept in Singapore, but Osvaldo has scored very high marks in my books.

Osvaldo
Unit 03, 01/F
Maxwell Chambers
32 Maxwell Road

the burj

A view from the highest built point in the world, the tip of the spire of the Burj Dubai. The surrounding land, the new "downtown Dubai", acquires a Google Earth like quality. The city is seen from a god-like perspective, detached yet with startling but false sense of clarity. The city can be observed in its entirety but with poor definition. The scene is static, like a photograph frozen in time, any sense of life is projected, imagined. The flatness of the land emphasized, devoid of natural terrain; the surrounding buildings dwarfed and distant, viewed like a Sketchup model plonked onto google earth, seen with an unnatral and unlikely angle. The immensity of the building has pushed it far beyond the threshold of being a tightly interwoven part of the city. To manyit will be the new icon of Dubai, one of pure bigness. Like a rupture in the urban fabric, the burj is a city in its own and on its own, one can only look out from it or look at it.

braided sweater 1983

This braided knit sweater would not look out of place if it appeared on the runway today for the current fall/winter collection or even the next fall/winter collection. Looking like a cross between SNS Herning and Fabric Interseasons, it is actually from the comme des garcons fall/winter 1983 collection, looking as relevant (perhaps irreverent) today as it was more than 25 years ago. There is a sense of timelessness, but not of the kind one would normally associate with classic lines and simplicity, and being able to fall within the narrow and constantly shifting bounds of social and aesthetic conventions over time. Timelessness, in this case, is achieved by operating at the margins of or beyond these conventions, outside the realm of trends (but I must caution that there is a fine line between this and being purely wilful and irrelevant). The clutch of simplicty is shrugged off and the garment, rich in expression but decidedly undateable, bears the ability, and indeed demands, to be revisited time and again.

bape singapore

Had a little WTF moment when I saw this while walking down Orchard Road last night. This impending arrival of A Bathing Ape in Singapore has taken me a little by surprise, having heard no news about its opening before chancing upon it (I pride myself on being updated with the local retail scene), and the choice of the location in a shopping arcade along a major shopping street. The popularity of Bape has waned considerably since its height during the early 2000s, especially in Japan where it no longer has the same cred nor mystique as it once had; and it is making moves into markets where there is still a somewhat behind-the-curve following.

While I have no interest in the products nor do I associate with the culture surrounding the brand, I do enjoy, in a detached way, the interiors of the various A Bathing Ape stores designed by Wonderwall which I assume will be doing the Singapore store too.

Further down the road, a uniqlo megastore will open at 313somerset in a couple of weeks, which I am also hoping to be designed by Wonderwall who has done the New York flagship and the london Oxford Street stores.

chloe early: clouded apollo

a riveting mashup of images and textures, Chloe Early's latest gallery juxtaposes urban housing blocks, tanks, and bodies sprawled out. her work on perspex is particularly compelling, introducing an element of translucency to each piece, a texture she exploits along with her palette of rough paint scrapings and drips. the aluminium pieces were slightly less convincing, losing the tight mesh of narrative.


i especially liked the printed urban landscape cutting into the painted space - the stark, looming blocks sticking through. there were prints for sale as well, also with the same urban motifs, but they felt different...



image on the right is a work-in-progress of the piece above it.

'Clouded Apollo' at the StolenSpace gallery,
Nov 5 - 29

comme des garcons x beatles

“For Rei Kawakubo’s hotly anticipated collaboration with The Beatles, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. In fact, the logo of Apple Corps Ltd. — the London-based company that manages the legacy and musical catalogue of the British band — sits next to Kawakubo’s signature polkadots on a range of travel bags, the core of the collection, along with shirts and T-shirts.

Priced from around $115 for a T-shirt up to $860 for the most expensive bag, The Beatles/Comme des Garçons label is to launch Nov. 20 in Tokyo at the Trading Museum, a new Comme store concept in the Gyre building. Dover Street Market, Kawakubo’s multibrand emporium in London, is to host the British launch on Nov. 27, with a further commercial rollout planned for 2010.” WWD

Two heads are better than one, and at Comme des Garcons, two brands, it seems, sell better than one. No strangers to collaborations, co-branded temporary lines have become the mainstay of the CdG family.While I have enjoyed and have been surprised by many of their past collaborations, even more leave me cold and thinking it is some sort of souless money making scam, an evil necessary only to keep the mainlines running. But recent news of CdG's collaboration on a line of bags and tees with the Beatles left me puzzled. I am immediately reminded of the Rolling Stones collection of the Homme Plus ss06 collection and the earlier Pink Panther collection (currently being reissued in the Home Plus Evergreen line), both of which were full collections with the benefit of having classic comme construction as a foundation and a breadth of pieces

The Beatles collaboration, as a line of only bags and tees sounds like something produced just to make money with little work involved except to tack on logoes onto a rather banal product that had already been designed. Having seen this lone picture of the outcome of the collaboration, I am tempted to think it might be something a little more than a just a blatant merchandising venture, but my skeptics's hat refuses to come off my head.

Rei, Rei, Rei..... when will you stop.

lindsey adelman bubbles

Lindsey Adelman's lighting fixtures are like wild mechanical plants, sprouting from a ceiling or from the floor on a stem, with pivoting stainless steel arms, sometimes brass, branching off like in a classical molecular structure. The branches terminate with glass buds at the ends, each housing a naked electric bulb which feed off the energy coursing through the wires embedded within the branches and stem, blooming in a display of anti-photosynthesis at the flick of a switch. Sometimes, the light is melon-like, sitting freely on the floor with vines sprawling across it, alwasy ready t be plucked and transplanted to another location, perhaps a tabletop.

There is a quiet botanical beauty despite the use of cold inorganic materials. Each fixture is made to order and prices will ensure the farmer is well fed. The description of the 3-globe with naked bulb reads,"...add $1600 for each globe and $400 for each socket without glass."

see more of her work here.

opening ceremony x billy kirk

Opening Ceremony collaborates with Billykirk to create this quirky confection of waxed canvas and leather. Labelled as a laptop satchel, the simple rectangular shape of the bag is also suitable for use as a work or school bag. The main body is made from an earthy dark olive colour waxed canvas with the bottom laid with leather. The design is highly practical with a durable leather shoulder strap, handle and a leather top flap with an attached buckle. The design might be simple and practical but the coloured leather components give it sort of a washed-out-de-stij vibe, melding classic leathercraft with the sembelance of modernist art.

available here

erwin hauer : continua

The Continua screens of Erwin Hauer are at once, skin and space, liquid and stone. The anitclastic surface curves and weaves into itself in periodic rhythm, infinitely expandable through modular addition. Though earlier versions had to be put together from indivdual handle-like components, advancement in casting technology allowed single, and later, multiple modules to be cast in a single piece. The graphic quality of the screen is striking, especially in a large expanse, where it visually feels like a punctuated geometric sheet. Up close, the sculptural and spatial qualities become apparent, the curvature morphs in 3 dimensions, concave becoming convex, forming a cavity in between through which light, air and space filters through. The screen casts a shadow within itself through its own depth forming an interplay of light and shade; its curved surface reflects incidental light in multiple directions, casting a diffused, ethereal glow onto itself.

Some words from Hauer about his Continua screens here.

taste paradise : century egg lime sorbet

Once in a while, you might come across something so wacky and ridiculous but ends up changing your mind about something. There are quite a number of food that I would actively avoid when I eat and century egg is one of them. I don't find the look of century egg unpleasant as much as I dislike the taste. Recently, I had a little appetizer at Taste Paradise at i_on that made me rethink my aversion to century egg.

This appetizer daringly combines coarsely chopped century egg with lime sorbet and topped with a small portion of finely chopped pink Japanese pickled ginger. The combination is served cold in an amuse bouche size on a margiela-esque bent . The components are broken down but not mixed, gelatinous chunks of the dark brown century egg "white" can still be discerned, juxtaposed with more cheery shade of the pale green lime sorbet and candy pink of the pickled ginger. The result is a petite but intriguing mouthful that is layered in both texture and flavour. The lime sorbet masks the flavour in the century egg that I find quite unpleasant but leaves a clean but strong eggy end note after the citrusy perk from the sorbet subsides. The pickled ginger forms an underlying flavour which pulls the whole thing together. The use of Japanese pickled ginger is also a twist on how century egg is traditionally eaten with Chinese pickled ginger.

While I still do not like century egg on it's own after having this, but I do know now that it is not entirely unpleasant and can, in the right hands, be somewhat enjoyable.


taste paradise
2 orchard turn
i_on orchard
#04-07

le bistrot

It's been a long time since I've visted Le Bistrot. The last time I went was some years ago when they were still operating out of their original Joo Chiat shop, a small cosy corner at the ground floor of an apartment building with, maybe, 10-15 tables and one person running the house, in addition to the lone chef at the back. The fare was straightforward, bistro staples like steak and onion soup. One of my favorite was their crab salad, freshly deshelled blue crab mixed with a little mayonaisse and a light dash of lemon juice, wonderful flavour with no gimmicks. The decor was equally unpretentious.

Move forward a couple of years, they are now at Stadium Cove, a cluster of restaurant at the bottom of the Singapore Indoor Stadium near the Kallang Basin. The space is visibly bigger and more "designed" than the original. Intentionally mismatched country style chairs arranged around wooden tables, a partition of unevenly cut timber planks divide the space into 2, the special menu chalked onto the blackboard wall, visible as the diner is led into the main dining area. The space is lit by an array of naked bulbs. The vibe is sort of a hip modern-rustic, the ambience is still casual but more self-consciously so. There were more wait staff managing the ful house, looking more frazzled and a little less personal then I remembered.

I started the meal with the vichyssoise glacée which was a chilled leek and potato soup paired with a cold Pernod marinated tiger prawn with avruga caviar on a bed of telegraphic cucumber. The chilled soup which came in a small glass was light and refreshing, thick but not heavy, though the flavour veered towards the bland side and the profile was somewhat monotonous. The Pernod marinated tiger prawn provided a little perk of flavour with the Pernod seeping into the cool telesgraphic cucmber below. You might ask what is a telegraphic cucmber and I honestly admit that I had not idea and had ordered this partly because I was curious about it. The cucmber came in a single long coil like a telephone wire and I, at that point, thought telegraphic refers to the cut of the cucmber but a little research on google some time later revealed that telegraphic cucmber is actually a variety of cucumber which is characteristically long and thin with a hook at the end. The coil cut cucumber was a fun way to eat cucumber nevertheless.

For my main, I shared a cote de boeuf with a friend. A cote de boeuf is basically a rib steak that comes with a single rib bone, one serving size is usually big enough for 2 persons. We had initially wanted it done medium rare but was advised that due to the thickness of the steak, the steak would have reached medium doneness by the time the centre has been properly cooked. We agreed with recommendation with the implicit idea that it was the best way for the steak to be cooked. The steak arrived already sliced portioned into 2 plates, the centre was pink and moist and a pool of jus has already dripped off the sliced steak. The sight was quite tantalizing, the steak looking more pink and moist then What I had expected. We tucked in striaghtaway (well, after taking photos). The steak was wonderful, well seasoned and perfectly cooked, every part of it was moist and bursting with beautiful flavour. The steak also came with a big basket of aioli fries and mesclun salad at the side which were quite enjoyable in their own right but totally overshadowed by the steak.

Already quite full from the steak, I shared a dessert with a few others. We ordered the pastilla, which was a dark chcoclate pastachio ganache wrapped in filo pastry with a scoop of vanilla ice cream at the side. The ganache was nice and rich and the basil oil drizzled onto the pastry provided a pleasant contrasting note, though the dessert as a whole, was not terribly exciting and the plating felt a little half hearted.


Since starting at their Joo Chiat shop and now at Stadium Cove, Le Bistrot has been operating with a prixe fixe menu, fixed prices for either a 2 or 3 course meal. However , the prixe fixe system at Le Bistrot is perhaps increasingly more theory than practice as many items on the menu carry with them a surcharge on top of the prixe fixe, meaning the the cost of your meal varies depending on the items you choose. The surcharge is usuallyaround$10 but it is still fairly significant considering the 3 course prixe fixe is $60 and the possibility of multiple surcharges for different courses.

Prices aside, Le Bistrot serves one of the best steak I've tasted in Singapore, so good that it makes the the other non-steak courses on their menu seem mediocre. However, their epicural aspirations can definitely be felt on their current menu which has gotten more elaborate compared to their one they used to have at Joo Chiat. Their website says they are now a "bistronomique", a gastronomic bistro bringing "a new twist on the traditional French bistro" through the "creative yet idiomatic use of classic techniques and traditional ingredients to gastronomic ends". I'm all for culinary experimentation and creativity, but I hope that they do not forget the roots of the restaurant as a simple down-to-earth bistro. As long as they continue to serve up a mean slab of steak, I will be a happy return customer.



le bistrot
2 stadium walk
#01-03, singapore indoor stadium

patrik ervell SS10

the highlight of this show, for me, was Ervell's oxidised metal fabrics that he sent down the runway in shirts, suiting and harringtons. his work is often placed into a bracket, with words like 'minimal' and 'modern american' thrown about because of his consistent visual motifs of club collars, functional outerwear, denim and his pastel-driven colour palette. however, a sample shirt i found sometime last year made of cotton interwoven with metal filament really put a new light on his work. his collections are often as much an experiment with fabrics as well as visual references, apparent in pieces like his jackets in the gold foil polyurethane found on emergency blankets, to his faux-shearling trims woven from sheep's hair, something only previously used on luxury teddy bears, both from FW09. someone on superfuture made the reference to Helmut Lang in his cerebral approach to his collections, which is a comparison at least worth considering...

all these influences are evident in this collection, one of his more overt in the last few seasons. very much keen to handle the pieces when they drop at DSM in spring.