It was a lazy, casual weekday dinner and Boogie, as usual, is out for a nice comforting meal to ease the pain of a mundane work week. The plan was for Boogie to have a easy meal at Villa Bali(80% drink, 20% food). Down ECP we went and we exited via Telok Blangah. Minutes later, inches away from our destination, right before the junction of Labrabor Park, a supposedly renowned restaurant, Olive Restorante, came to mind.
We had read and heard about it and yet, in our prowl around the island, we had never ever came close to it. Probably due to its location, at one corner of the island, out of the way from town, there was also not much of a reason to be anywhere near this place, except for romantic(sleazy) make-outs, WWII monuments(barracks and underground tunnel) and the occasional ghost-hunters. Not kidding. I actually know of someone who has actually been there to try to capture shots of the “Other World”.
Olive, is more of an Italian bistro, tucked slightly up a slope from a round-about at the bottom of the hill. A short stroll, about 200 metres, is necessary from the nearest carpark. There are a few distinctive signboards that should lead you to this bistro without much difficulty and once there, you will be surprised how a pleasant and cozy restaurant fits nicely in this no-man’s site. This would be a very nice place for a quiet dinner away from the crowd.
Fare is mainly Italian. After some pondering, we decided upon the following:
1) Portobello Mushroom Salad (As appetizer)
2) Tenderloin Steak
3) Spaghetti vongolle in white-wine sauce
4) Hot chocolate cake (As dessert)
Overall, the meal was satisfying and it went down pretty well on us.
The Portobello wasn’t too bad as a palate cleanser. It was mildly sweet, I suppose that’s how it should be and it seems like a good way to start-off your meal, especially when you are really hungry. You know how everything taste good when you are really hungry and when your food arrives, you’ll just woof everything down. The Portobello serves to prevent starvation from deluding your taste bud and by not leaving too much after-taste, it keeps your taste bud in the “neutral state”. Ok ok, I know this is not some wine-tasting session, but its something that just came to mind.
Carrying on, the spaghetti vongolle! According to the waitress, I vaguely recall that this is one of their house specials. It was good and we dare say that it was the one of the best that we tried. We had a similar dish at Prego and by comparison, we felt Olive had a better version. At Olive, the white-wine sauce’s presence was strong and the dish was definitely much more tasteful, with bigger serving as well. Not to mention, more affordable.
For the tenderloin steak, well since this is not a steak house, we should not be overly critical. We noticed that most restaurants tend to be very inconsistent when it comes to steak. We’ll usually ask for it to be medium-done, yet half the time, it would turn out as medium rare or well-done. Given that this is just a typical Italian bistro, as long as they do not screw this up, we’ll just pass it. The steak actually turns up pretty juicy and nicely done.
For the dessert, well, its tough to go wrong with a warm chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream by the side. Overall, we felt that this was a good meal and though not on the cheap side, it was affordable still and value for money. A place with some good dishes and an unusual location nestled in Labrador Park tucked away from the town. However, Olive is fully al fresco and can get a little stuffy. The above meal cost us SGD 80 for 2. We’ll definitely be back.
Food: 7/10
Ambience: 6.5/10
Service: 6.5/10
Overall Rating: 6.5/10
