Special seasonal delights await in a bountiful Italian buffet
I’ve always felt that Italian restaurant Basilico at the Regent Singapore is a highly-underrated hotel restaurant and buffet.
The ingredients used are always fresh and there is always a bountiful array of Italian cheeses and charcuterie to choose from.
This year, Basilico launches its Savour the Seasons ($84++), a seasonally-driven menu that changes quarterly to reflect the time of the year.
Winter Specials
For the European winter months of January to March, expect hearty dishes containing violet and spiny artichokes, violet potatoes and game meat such as boar, venison and quail, as well as the famous Tartufo Nero (black truffles) from Piemonte.
When I was there, I loved the risotto with porcini and leeks with cured venison, a well-seasoned and comforting dish. Other traditional and authentic Italian dishes abound.
The wonderfully-seared milk-fed lamb comes with a smidgen of violet potato puree, which was pleasant surprise. Most of us thought that it was yam! The crispy pork belly with radicchio and vine tomatoes further enhances the winter menu.
The Sicilia’s Globe is a chocolate and pistachio cream encased sphere with beautiful marbling. The painstaking globes are made
by Basilico’s pastry chef and there is a limited quantity made per day. Be sure to order early.
Look Forward to More
For the upcoming seasons, diners can look forward to wholesome vegetables such as heirloom carrots, white asparagus and even succulent meat such as suckling pig and spring lamb.
In the summer months of July to September, expect the harvest of Norcia Summer Black Truffle, juicy Pugliese cherries, and some of Italy’s best seafood such as sea urchin and scampi. Look forward to dishes of summer with Caciucco alla Livornese, a flavourful soup of lobster, scallops, prawns and cod as well as a Ferrovia Puglia Cherry and Almond Tart.
Any epicurean worth his or her salt knows that autumn, October to December, brings delicacies such as Tutti Funghi (all forest mushrooms), handmade pastas such as gnocchi and, in tribute to hunting season, quail, pheasant and goose.
On top of this grand bounty, Basilico will still have its standard array of desserts and freshly-made gelati.
Basilico, Regent Singapore, Level 2, Mon to Sun, 6.30pm to 10pm
E-mail basilicogrm.rsn@fourseasons.com for reservations.
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