Italian 👨🏼‍🍳

Looking forward to the desserts and I was so pleased when I saw Tiramisu on my plate: just my favourite Italian dessert. Apart from that, there was Panna Cotta, Apple Cake with fruits and a small piece of sweet Meringue. Really wonderful sweet ending to this satisfying dinner course!

The No Menu dinner course was at $108/pax.

For mains, we both chose the fish option: Snapper with lemon butter sauce on a bed of spinach, cherry tomatoes and enoki mushrooms. The fish was pan-fried nicely to retain its moisture. Since I preferred it light, I skipped the creamy butter sauce and just squeezed a bit of lemon juice over the top; goes perfectly together. 👌🏻😊

Our second course were the Beef Bolognese Tagliatelle, Tomato-based Penne and Truffled Risotto (with truffle slices to garnish! 💕) My favourite was definitely the handmade tagliatelle pasta, perfectly al denté and well-coated with the bolognese sauce.

I've heard amazing reviews of this place for their food and service, and we're pretty excited to try out their No Menu course. It was hustling and bustling that evening, but somehow I loved the vibe and the cosy atmosphere, and their attentive staff providing excellent service. We didn't make reservations but glad that we managed to get a place on a Thursday night.

For starters, we had Burrata Cheese with Salad, Prosciutto and Figs and Potato Salad, Homemade Bread and Sicilian Tomatoes. The buffalo mozzarella was definitely the star of this dish. But my favourite? The warm focaccia bread in the background that's served free-flow, dipped in olive oil or with a pâté spread. Can't stop thinking about that bread! 😻

Stuffed pasta with crab and lobster meat tossed with calamari served in home made marinara sauce.

Friday date night at Valentino for authentic Italian cuisine. Had bruschetta for starters and ravioli for mains. Ricotta cheese-stuffed ravioli was lightly tossed in olive oil and with porcini mushroom; quality ingredients simply put together, but such a satisfying dish. The risotto was the more hearty option: cheese-cream-based risotto paired with beef cheeks so soft and tender it just melts. 😌

Homemade Raviolacci stuffed with beef in Masala sauce. ($22) The raviolacci was decent; it came with four pieces but each was pretty big in size. But it's the masala sauce that complements the beef really well, and each spoonful leaves me wanting more and more 😍

This is one for the truffle lovers. Stuffed with generous amounts of cheese and a truffle-infused mushroom mixture between two layers of crisp flatbread, this appetiser will definitely fill you up. (It would be just nice with a company of four as it came with 4 slices!) The filling is packed with a strong truffle flavours and combination of cheese and truffle is simply heaven-sent 👼🏻 A must-order at iO! ($18)