Story and photos by Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling Gourmet TM
Copyright all rights reserved
The inspiring and debonair Travelling Gourmet TM goes to…
Medieval Bergamo…magnificent
town of Art and Architecture Near Milan…
Well not exactly…I was in Resorts World Sentosa on the island of Sentosa where you will now experience a slice of Bergamo in the Italian ristorante that used to be Pallio.When RWS first opened for business some 6 years ago. I wrote one of the first reviews about Pallio which was a colourful restaurant inspired by the famous horse race in Siena.
It is now called FRATELLI and helmed by unassuming but skilful and creative Chef Davide Bizzari, a Chef I am honoured to call mio buon amico. Like all good Chefs he is very humble andmodest, unlike mountebanks like Gordon Ramsay and the likes of him.To tell the inspiration behind Fratelli…in Bergamo, a historic and medieval town famed for Art, Architecture and Amazing cuisine…there is a ristorante called Da Vittorio which translates as from Vittorio. This is a superbo place and in collaboration with Da Vittorio, Fratelli aims to give discerning lovers of Italian cuisine a taste of Bergamo. Da Vittorio is headed by two brothers of the Cerea famiglia…hence the name “Fratelli”. Fratelli means “brothers” in Italian.
The stunning restaurant is split into two areas. One is PAP which does not stand for the People’s Action Party which has transformed Singapore into a modern metropolis of great success…BUT Pasta and Pizza. Wahaha ! Ha! The other half is a semi-fine dining concept with elegant furniture and of course, spotless white table cloths. Open Kitchens allow guests to see the ACTION in la cucina (the kitchen)! So no more dipping fingers into the Minestrone to test the temperature and then sticking the finger in your mouth to taste. Actually in closed kitchens,this happens all the time, but it is not always a bad thing. It is just politically incorrect (how I DETEST political correctness!)
I went one cool evening to try the menu and I was most favourably pleased with the cuisine, the service and the elegant ambience. Amuse Bouche came with slices of shaved Tartufo Nero (black Truffle) known as the ‘black gold’ of gourmets! The aroma is so heady it makes you swoon in the same way the sightof Camaeorn Diaz in a skimpy bikini makes your swon and almost have a heart attack!
To be continued…
More to follow…
