Senso Ristorante & Bar

For my 25th birthday last year, I spent a quiet day out (since my workplace had a birthday- off leave). I had a nice lunch at a place of my choice with the Sister, followed with good coffee at a new cafe I was planning to check out, and then finished it off with a decent dinner at a small cosy spot with one of my girl pal.

As I age, I find my expectations for the so called hatch-day evolving. As a kid, I'll be uber excited in anticipation of the numerous presents I was going to receive for my birthday. Now, I'm just thankful for people (whom I know are busy) who take the time out of their busy schedules and gift me with their presence. Thank goodness for these precious moments indeed.

Senso Ristorante & Bar

There were a few hits and misses for the meal. First of all, the complimentary bread basket was excellent. I couldn't stop myself from stuffing my face with the various kinds of breads on offer. There certainly was a good selection varying from crunchy breadsticks, to warm toasty foccacia.

I liked how the restaurant staff were really considerate to divide our dishes into two equal individual portions so that we each get a plated plate. And that was without us prompting them to do so. Thumbs up (cos that means I get to snap photos of my own portion without making the Sis wait for me before going ahead with the meal ^^).

Parma Ham 18 Months

The appetizer of pan-fried Buffalo mozzarella wrapped in parma ham served with black olives tapenade was a thumbs up too, though I didn't really like the black olives spread. But that's just a personal opinion cos of my dislike of olives. The Sis thought that the spread was delish and she finished off her share quite happily.

Bread basket; 8-hour braised Beef Cheek

We both thought that the beef was a let down. Beef cheeks if done well, should have a melt-in-your-mouth consistency, but instead, the beef was tough and chewy and not exactly to our palettes. The only saving grace on the plate was perhaps the really good creamy and delicious mashed potato puree. A pity, for this was one of our main dishes, and also because we are both beef lovers.

Risotto Carnaroli 'Capesante’ 

Our other main, the risotto with pan-seared scallops, yuzu lemon and herbs was excellent. Perfectly cooked al dente creamy risotto, with a mellow yuzu flavour in some bites, and the beautifully cooked scallops made it a great dish.

In all, I was quite happy with the meal. Many thanks to the Sis for the birthday lunch treat.