Isola

We had dinner at Isola last Sunday. We had noticed the 7-month-old small, cosy bistro/café whilst driving by many times previously, and finally decided to give it a try.

The bistro is small and cosy, decorated European-style - with dark wood furniture, gilded mirrors… Actually, I don’t remember much about the décor… my only sensory memory of the physical surroundings is just an overall sense of noise, smells and crampness. The place was almost full when we got there just after 7.30pm (we took the last available table inside). The total of 10 tables or so were all set very close to each other, due to the space constraints, and so each table’s conversations were competing against each other and against the fairly loud (too loud?) background piped music, as well as the noise coming from the open-concept kitchen. All the smaller tables, which we were at, were placed extremely close to the open-kitchen – our table was actually only about 2-3 feet away from the start of the kitchen counters! So it meant that the smells of the cooking clung tenaciously to our hair and clothes even hours after we had left the restaurant.

The food, on the whole, was fairly well-executed, although there were a couple of misses. The menu was kept small, featuring what the chef does best. The food is contemporary European, with a strong leaning towards Italian influences. We had ordered a pasta, a fish and a sandwich, along with a side dish of sautéed wild mushrooms and a starter of garlic bruschetta.

The garlic brushchetta (S$5.50+++) (~ US$3.30) was done with Italian ciabiatta bread (a crusty slipper-shaped bread – which is what “ciabiatta” means actually, a slipper), instead of the usual slices of baguette or French loaf, which was a nice surprise. Very crispy and garlicky, which we liked, but also very, very greasy – a bit too generous with the butter we thought. After only 2 small pieces each, we had enough.

The pan-fried seabass (S$21.00) (~ US$12.40) was well-executed – smooth, succulent, juicy flesh, and a nicely crisped skin. Unfortunately, it was somewhat bland – the fish had just a seasoning of salt and pepper before being pan-roasted. Perhaps it would have been nicer if it had been served with either a sauce or a flavorful, light broth, which would add flavor to the fish, whilst still keeping the dish light and healthy. We like seabass / cod a lot – it’s a fish with great texture, and one that is hard to cook “wrong”, but it is not a flavorful fish in itself, instead, its fatty flesh absorbs and carries very well all the flavors it is cooked or served with.

The menu had listed the fish as being accompanied by potato gratin and tomato ragout, however it came on a bed of boiled, unflavored spinach, and topped with some chicory tossed in a very light peppery vinaigrette.

The chef’s very light touch with flavors was again seen in the crab linguine (S$15.50) (~ US$9.00). I sneaked a taste… it tasted light and fresh. The crab sauce was made up of a light broth base, no tomato paste, and some finely chopped fresh tomatoes and parsley, and a light sprinkling of toasted pinenuts. The waiter had said it was a spicy dish, but we couldn’t taste any chillies or heat/spiciness at all. Nice dish if you are looking for pasta without strong, powerful flavors.

The steak sandwich with caramelized onions (S$12.00) (~ US$7.00) had looked interesting on the menu, so I ordered that as well. Compared to the two mains, this was at the other extreme of the flavor scale! Again, nice crusty ciabiatta was used. The small portion of fairly thick beef slices (not the thin slices that the waiter had promised) were heavily coated with a very strong black pepper sauce. Yet, even the overly strong taste of peppercorns was overwhelmed by the even stronger taste of the spread they had very liberally applied on the bread – we guessed it was maybe a combination of English mustard, mayonnaise, vinegar and maybe even a touch of wasabi? We couldn’t quite make out what ingredients had gone into the spread, but there was definitely an ingredient that had a really weird and unappetizing taste. Somehow the combination, whatever it was, just didn’t work… we cringed when we tasted it. So, I ended up taking the sandwich apart, scraping as much of the spread off as possible, and piling the rather tough, overcooked beef onto just the top half of the ciabbiata. Created a right mess on the plate I did. Quite a disappointment. The only saving grace I suppose was the rather nice store-bought packaged chips that came with the sandwich.

The sautéed wild mushrooms (S$3.90) (~ US$2.30) we thoroughly enjoyed though… beautiful balance of flavors, and sautéed just right. Flavorful. Yum!

For dessert, a listing of “Affogato” (S$5.50) (~ US$3.30) on the menu caught our eye… not something that is found very often in restaurants in Singapore. In fact, I haven’t seen it on any other menu in town. It sounds simple enough… vanilla-bean ice cream served with freshly-brewed espresso poured over it. We were intrigued… if done right, it would offer a wonderful taste experience of contrasts… the coldness of the ice cream melting into the hot espresso, the sweetness of the ice cream counter-balancing the bitterness of the coffee. Sorry, no pictures… we were too busy trying to slurp up the ice cream before it very quickly melted into the espresso! Can’t say we enjoyed it… the very small serving of ice cream meant that it had all melted within seconds, and the espresso was “over-done”. The very strong bitterness suggested that the coffee grind had been “cooked” too long. Unfortunately, all we ended up tasting was the overwhelming bitterness of the coffee and nothing else.

The same bitterness was experienced in their café latte… a bitterness which lingered and lingered on the tongue and in the mouth, long after dinner was over.

The service was very friendly, prompt and efficient. Everyone was quick with information and suggestions. Perhaps not very observant though… we had created a huge, messy pile of uneaten bread and scraped off fillings from the sandwich, yet we were never asked if the food was ok, or whether we enjoyed the food, or more importantly perhaps, what we weren’t enjoying about the food (as evidenced from the pile of “waste” on our plate). Oh well, maybe I’m just being nit-picking.

Overall, the food was definitely above average, the service very friendly, and the prices very reasonable. I think the chef has the right concept… trying to create light, healthy dishes using high quality, fresh ingredients and cutting out the heavy creams, butter and sauces etc. This is what a lot of people are looking for when dining out nowadays. And “light and healthy” and “full of flavor” are not mutually exclusive objectives. It can be done. My personal preference would be that the main courses be slightly more “flavorful”. And it would be good if the light touch extended to some of the other menu items, like the over-buttered bruschetta and the heavily flavored sandwich.

Would we return? Probably not, unless we were in the area, and wanted a quick meal. And not on a crowded weekend evening.

Isola
559 Bukit Timah Road
#01-01 Kings Arcade
Tel: 6467 8680

Food: 3/5
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 2/5
Price: $$

S$15 & below : $
S$16-30 : $$
S$31-50 : $$$
S$51-75 : $$$$
> S$75 : $$$$$

Copyright © 2003 Renee Kho. All rights reserved.
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