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Culture on Demand: Benissimo!
Little Italy comes to swinging Singapore
By STAN STALNAKER
September
16, 2000
Web posted at 7:30 p.m. Hong Kong time, 7:30 a.m. EDT
Singapore's Club Street continues to attract new dining talent, and the recent edition of Senso, an Italian brasserie, is quickly taking this fun little area upscale. Senso opened its doors a few weeks ago to a full house of fashionistas and marketing types intent on making the restaurant an instant watering hole on the city social scene.
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All the ingredients are right -- a sleek, modern glass-backed bar with cool blue lights, the city's greatest selection of grappa, and simple modern furniture in a warm setting. It makes for a place that is instantly relaxing. (That is, if you can make it past the imposing entrance without striking a self-conscious pose for the assembled bar guests.)
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Heading out the back, guests encounter a small piazza with tables for those who wish to relax in Singapore's sweltering heat. Inside, a large room seats over 100 people, with a full Italian menu from lesser known parts of Italy -- Umbria, among them, instead of the standard Tuscan or Sicilian fare in which most Italian restaurants specialize.
The food has quite a reputation to live up to -- the head chef, Diego, worked for top Parisian chef Alain Ducasse, and he has headed restaurants in Monaco, Paris and Tokyo before landing in Singapore. A team of nine work throughout the evening to prepare a mixed menu that changes depending on the availability of ingredients, most of which are imported directly from France and Italy daily. The food is very European -- to such an extent that many Singaporeans will find it a bit different from the standard Italian fare on offer around the city. Portions are designed smallish, with extra care taken on sauces. The result? Everything tastes and looks great. And, as one recent patron put it, at least they are not stacking everything -- a reference to the nouveau-style food-art so often seen in modern and chic restaurants. Here, you actually feel as if you are being served a real, authentic and traditional Italian meal. Recommendations include the gnocci and the lamb, with the pumpkin and onion soup a must.
Despite the hard work on the design and atmosphere of the place, the place still needs some improvements, notably the lighting -- which is just a little too bright for intimate conversation. (Maybe they forgot that half the fun in people watching is not being able to clearly see everyone.) To the restaurant's credit, the problem is being rectified and they plan to have the lights dimmed soon.
Since the venue is quite large, expect to see Senso become a favorite venue for fashion launches and other corporate events. Two private rooms cater to smaller, private parties, and a small glass-walled wine cellar features a selection not commonly found in Singapore.
Senso, it's simply benissimo!
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