The revival of Ann Siang Hill, with its smorgasbord of restaurants, have brought gleeful smiles to the hungry diners. One of the hottest restaurants is Lolla and i'm sure many of you have already heard/seen their signature Sea Urchin Pudding making its rounds on Instagram and Facebook.
A long overdue catch up session with B provided an opportunity to check out this small but uber hip tapas bar. Reservations were made but it was only for the communal table in the basement. Thankfully we were early (7pm on a Wed) and managed to score seats at the most coveted spot in the restaurant- the 13-seat zinc-topped bar counter (walk ins only, except for lunch).
My love for food goes beyond what is presented on the plates and i love watching how my food is prepared. Food voyeurism is not a bad thing in this case. The lighting is also perfect for the droolicious pictures that you are about to feast on.
The tapas dishes are a fusion of European and Japanese flavors. Portions are on the small side for some dishes but give yourself time (and tummy space) to decide and order along the way. B and i ordered the following to share.
Sea Urchin Pudding ($19/half portion) is a must order. This is a rich, creamy, sweet and savory ink pudding adorned with tongues of creamy raw sea urchin. This 3 inch ramekin, though minute, is packed with decadent breakfast flavors. It is made from squid ink, egg yolks, cream and tomato sauce. The taste can get quite overpowering and we spent the whole night nursing it in between the other dishes. We can't fathom how people can even finish a half portion on their own.
The Duck Rillettes ($15) came with nicely toasted baguette. This was probably the greatest (and only) disappointment of the meal dry. The meat was dry and lacking in the creamy and savory flavor of duck fats. The meat was also too minced up and it resembled canned tuna when served. We left it much untouched.
Another must order is the Scrambled eggs with Bottarga di Muggine ($22). We could taste every bit of the TLC Chef put into it. He stood there over the low fire and did not stop stirring for a good 3-5 minutes. Well, the results speak for itself.
Just look at that velvety luscious texture. This is certainly the best scrambled eggs that i've had in my life. The sweetish briny flavors of the Bottarga di Muggine (salted, pressed and dried roe of gray mullet) brought the dish to the next level.
Instead of following the crowd and ordering the Grass fed Ribeye ($52), we opted for the Lamb cutlets ($28). This is by no means less inferior and turned out to be the highlight of our meal. The lamb is first seared and then finished in the oven, simply seasoned with salt and herbs and served in its own jus but oh that crust and oh that juicy tender meat. And i'm not even a lamb fan (i only have a weakness for lambskin). The dish is rather small, i wouldn't recommend sharing if you're not ordering many dishes.
Dinner concluded on a high (from the sweetness) with the Steamed Dark Chocolate Pudding ($15). There is so much of that rich chocolate sauce with dark chocolate chunks on top of the cake. I thought the cake was a little dry that night though. Ice cream comes with real vanilla beans (i expect nothing less) but the flavors didn't quite pop. Nonetheless, a nice dessert to end the night.
Lolla is certainly going on my favorites list. B, who didn't have a good impression of Lolla, became a convert after this meal. All thanks to my stellar taste in food no doubt. Our bill was only $110 because we weren't up for more eating and drinks weren't included.
You definitely have to check Lolla out if you haven't!
Lolla
22 Ann Siang Road, Singapore
Tel: +65 6423 1228
Mon-Sat: 12pm - 2pm, 6pm - 12am
The workshops and gallery have started already so do check out their Facebook Page (link at the end of post) for more details!
Posts
