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2011-12-06
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Fofo by el Willy - contemporary Spanish food. My first visit was last year for the Spanish National Day Menu; and since then, I came back from time to time for lunches (fuel for the long day at work)~ The power of social networking website. The (then) birthday girl spotted this gem (with very white and chic decoration) on my facebook and requested our little "party" to be held there for her day. I rang up the restaurant without delay and secured a table. ENVIRONMENT & SERVICEFofo had a very "cl
My first visit was last year for the Spanish National Day Menu; and since then, I came back from time to time for lunches (fuel for the long day at work)~ The power of social networking website. The (then) birthday girl spotted this gem (with very white and chic decoration) on my facebook and requested our little "party" to be held there for her day. I rang up the restaurant without delay and secured a table.
ENVIRONMENT & SERVICE
Fofo had a very "clean & clear" ambiance with the main colour tone as white. The dinner was in mid-November (yes, delay in posting this review ><) but Christmas decoration was already out (Christmas decoration was never too early for me)! I loved the little white penguins here and there lined up around the restaurant (and of course the white boars); and most importantly, some with little christmas hats! Though I must confess I failed to see the link between peguins (and boars) with fofo . Anyhow, pleasant, soothing and chic setting - indeed, contemporary (like the food it sought to offer).
Service was just okay, expected it to be better with the price we paid. At times, we had to gently remind the waiters to refill our drinks (both sangria and water). Nonetheless, I do appreciate their efforts when presenting us with the cake (I saw a few waiters gathered together lighting up the candle and protecting it from extinguishment.
FOOD
Now - food!
We ordered a jar of PINK sangria to share. I was used to traditional (red) sangria and the "white-type" which was often served in other restaurants. But PINK was certainly an exotic twist, and we enjoyed drinking it (as well as looking at the sexy pink colour ) a lot.
Promptly after ordering, we were served with assorted olives and toasted tomato bread as "nibbles". "Toasted" tomato bread did not feel very "toasted" at all. The bread could be warmer and crispier (in other words, it was cold and hard), but the tomato puree spread was fair.
"Paletilla" Iberico ham shoulder "Iberselect" with toasted tomato bread
This was SO GOOD! The amount of fat was just right. The smoky flavour and the silky texture, HMMMM . I could immediately fantasise sipping a good spanish red wine after savouring a piece of that. It felt so right; for that moment, I thought that I was lazing somewhere in the Southern Spain. It came with the "toasted" tomato bread; appeared to be the exact same kind served earlier as "nibbles". I did not really care though. The ham deserved to be enjoyed on its own. I would skip the tomato bread.
Fried croquettes of Iberico ham aged 36 months
Again, GOOD! The presentation might appear to be unexciting; I mean, difficult to imagine how fancy it could be for croquettes. But do NOT let its looks fool you! I assure you, this was not an unexciting lump of potato mash!Served super hot (beware, risk of a burnt tongue). I took a small bite and hot steam oozed out; to be precise, hot steam with the aroma of iberico ham!! Now, this was not a lump of potato mash with just a few dots of ham. Certified - iberico ham had an "obvious presence" and performed the transformation of the croquette! It was not heavy and mashy, it was creamy, and I tasted iberico ham!!
"Coca de recapte" - Crispy bread with tomato, porcini, iberico ham, manchego, arugula
Next tapas up - "Coca de recapte". I saw it and thought to myself "pizza?". The birthday girl saw it and said to me "pizza?". Well well well, I tasted it and confirmed "yes, pizza".
Efforts was definitely made for the presentation (note the long black gravy line by the side). It did not taste bad at all, and of course, it could not have gone wrong when they added iberico ham. Iberico ham is kind of like the perfect little black dress which a girl has to own in her wardrobe; mix and match, never out of season, goes well with everything!
I wished I was able to taste the work that manchego (cheese made from sheep milk) did to the pizza, but nothing caught my senses. =(
Organic eggs cooked at 62 degrees in crispy potatoes & onions "nest" with foie gras & truffle
THIS, was guilty pleasure! Crispy thin stripes of potatoes and onions formed the "nest" "protecting" the poached egg; topped with foie gras and truffle. The "nest" was very crispy and surprisingly not as oily as I expected! Having hand-picked a few stripes for tasting, I did the almighty STIR. The yolk of the egg was super runny and blended together with the "nest", I was careful to keep a good portion of the "nest" dry and crispy. I had a taste. It gave me a similar sensation of having a good homemade apple crumble with white chocolate custard - except, a salty version. I tried each, the foie gras and truffle, separately on its own first. Foie gras a bit too overcooked, just very mediocre on its own. Truffle so-so as well. My friend A suggested us to blend the foie gras and truffle with the "nest"; now that did the magic. There was certainly a reason that it was a "guilty pleasure". After another 2 servings, it really felt a bit too much
Oh so guilty.. (but I will still re-order it next time)
Beef Cheek with banana & passion fruit crispy roll
In my opinion, highlight of the night. The birthday girl had a BLING in her eyes (*0*) when she had her first bite. It was superb; tender and flavourful (the gravy went very well with the cheek; thick enough to "stick"). Beef cheek; you would expect it to be tender, but not as delicate as it was! Every bite was like an affectionate touch. Clever to have the banana & passion fruit crispy roll underneath to give the taste a more complex sensation. Unfortunately (and a bit expected), the crispy roll was no longer crispy when eaten (each of them was sitting in the delicious gravy). The banana and passion fruit flavour (good fruit choices, not crazily sweet) balanced well with the thick gravy and beef cheek without tipping the balance. VERY GOOD! Grilled baby lamb rack with "samfaina" roasted peppers & eggplant
Lamb Rack was nice. The size served was generous; not really baby-lamb-rack in size (I have had some awfully small, but very tasty, ones in other restaurants...). Soft, and the sauce with roasted thin slices of peppers and eggplant went well with the good lamb aroma (without being too overwhelming)! Nice dish, but nothing innovative.Crispy suckling pig with potato & mojo picon
Crispy suckling pig - not very crispy, rather oily. When I had a bite, I only felt oil and it lacked the inherent crispy-suckling-pig flavour. The sauce was too light (both in flavour and form) and did not compliment the suckling pig. Definitely with room for improvement."Arroz Negro" - cuttlefish & squid ink juicy rice
This was VERY TASTY (some might find it a bit TOO tasty since it was edging towards salty lol; I felt that the chef was keen to enhance the flavour too much). The amount of ink sauce was just right, each and every piece of rice absorbed the essence and was in dark black. Texture good, not too soft - justified to be called "black paella" and not just black "rice". Bits and pieces of squid/cuttlefish in the rice (sorry, I was unable to distinguish which was which and whether both were present); amount not the most generous but I was not fussed (too full by then).
We were then served with a cake I bought elsewhere - NO CAKE CHARGE. Together with champagne my friend C brought - Corkage $250.
Overall, a very pleasant night! =D
Fofo has a set lunch menu which changes every month (I believe). I would recommend to skip the set lunch though and order say 2/3 tapas and 1 rice to share. The set lunch does not do the restaurant justice.
Also worth noting that Fofo has a rooftop terrace for drinks! Not a big area, and not with the most romantic view; but it is always a good place to chill before or after dinner! =)
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