Review: Lolla

touted as one of the top 10 hottest restaurant in the world by zagat, i knew i had to make a trip down to try their signature sea urchin pudding. located near maxwell market but away from the noisy main street, lolla seems like a restaurant one would miss even if you walk past it everyday.

made a reservation for two  beforehand and were given a counter seat. surprisingly when we arrived slightly past 12noon, there were already a couple of customers in the restaurant. for those who do not want to reek of smokiness after your meal, my advice is not to take the counter seat.

ordered a full portion of sea urchin pudding (no surprise), tomato salad, grilled octopus and a roasted duck breast with date puree from the specials board. it didn't felt like we ordered a lot because we were under the impression that lolla's concept was of small plates, so four small plates to share seems reasonable. service staff were polite, attentive and helpful.

the main attraction, the sea urchin pudding, was the first to arrived. i watched as the chef gently placed the sea urchin on top of a bowl of prepared squid ink pudding. mmm... one can never go wrong with sea urchin, especially when theirs was very fresh and creamy. the squid ink pudding was rich and savory with no fishiness. the two, when eaten separately, was enjoyable, but i can't really feel any synergy from putting these two together, except for that additional umami-ness i guess.

next up was the grilled octopus. i love eating octopus and its hard to find them on menu in singapore. having cooked octopus myself, i know it is not an easy ingredient to play with. it arrived looking nicely grilled with lots of char bits which i like. however, the first bite was disappointing. because they used a large tentacles, so they had tried to tenderise the insides, which made it slightly fibrous. it felt like eating a piece of boiled dried cuttlefish. the seasoning was also not to my liking. the potatoes that came with it couldn't save the dish either. i would prefer my octopus to be juicy and less fibrous.

the grilled octopus filled me up, so it was good to see the tomato salad served next. looks just like it is, simply tomatoes with a balsamic dressing. the tomatoes were fresh though, but not a wow dish.

despite being very full by the time the roasted duck breast arrived, this dish was surprisingly good. i would say this was my favorite dish for this meal at lolla. the duck breast was cooked to a perfect medium-rare and served on top of date puree, together with some nuts and fruits. it has the aroma of foie gras with a good balance of meat and the fats. the nuts and fruits complemented the duck meat really well and i could have polished off the entire plate if not for being too full from the previous dishes.