Robertson Quay is a hive of activity on weekends with Common Man Coffee Roasters and Kerbside Gourmet cooking up a storm. BoCHINche of course, would not shy away from the action. Of late, head chef Diego Jacquet, formerly from 3-Michelin Star El Buili, was in town and spruced up BoCHINche’s existing Argentinian menu.
Pictured above is one of BoCHINche’s classics, the Provoleta melted with Almonds and Honey ($17), which is made ‘pasta filata‘ style, where the Provoleta cheese is pulled and stretched in hot water which lends it a fibrous and elastic texture. Approach with caution, for if you are not a cheese lover, the piquant Provoleta might not sit very well on your palete, otherwise, be prepared to indulge in the pan of melted cheesy decadence.
We have a preference for light and hearty dishes, so the Heirloom tomato salad, burrata, citrus olives and chopped basil ($23) definitely tops our list, as the burrata cheese is smooth and not overly pungent. It is well-paired with an assortment of vegetables that brings out the best of the creamy burrata.
Other items on the brunch menu such as the Smoked salmon and scrambled eggs with red onions, capers and dill cream cheese ($24) was decent comfort food, with a tinge of spice from the capers and red onions, although we lament that it was not as outstanding as we hoped for it to be. We were particularly intrigued when we sighted the Brioche French toast, house-cooked ham and bacon with vanilla ice cream ($19) on the menu,but we found the combination of warm, savoury ham and cold, sweet ice cream a little hard to get used to. But overall, it was a modest dish, just not extraordinary.
Happily, we reached two of our favourite mains on the menu, which happen to be dishes from the ocean. The Squid burger, smoked pepper, chopped romaine, crayfish and dill mayo ($27) and the Yellow fin tuna, grilled pak choi, spicy humita, and crispy “aji molido” tofu ($30) were rich and colourful dishes, that playfully added a twist to the standard brunch fare of eggs, bacon and ham.
The crayfish patty was moist and of good consistency. Topped with a crisp squid-ink bun, the resulting combination was delicious. As for the yellow fin tuna, the slightly grilled tuna was interestingly paired with chinese pak choi (chinese cabbage), the only lament we had was that there were only 4 slices of tuna. We were all ready to get an upsize for this dish.
BoCHINche’s meats are worth-trying too. The Sirloin steak salad with porcini, sweet potato, grilled leeks and mustard dressing ($29) was grilled tenderly, but that said, having been exhausted with the selection of cheeses, we would caution against eating too much meats in a bid to combat climate change.
Moving on to the sweet stuff. We were particularly impressed with the fluffy Milk Cake, passion fruit sorbet and toasted almonds ($14) that are all lovingly prepared in-house. The passion fruit sorbet adds a refreshing twist to the saccharine sweet milk cake. If you still have space, you can opt for the “Dulce de leche” creme brulee and banana split ice-cream ($17), served in a pan and is esentially a melting pot of sin.
This was an invited tasting.
BoCHINche
22 Martin Road, #02-01, Singapore 239058
Tel: 65 6235 4990
Opening Hours: Lunch 12pm – 3pm (Tue – Fri, last order 2:15pm)
Brunch 11am – 3.30pm (Sat-Sun Last order 3pm)
Dinner 5:30pm – 10.30pm (Tue – Thu, Sun, Last order 10pm; Bar closes at 12mn)
5:30 pm – 10.30pm (Fri – Sat, Last order 10pm; Bar closes at 1am)
Website: http://www.bochinche.com.sg/
