Aficionado

Aficionado gastronome dining

How many of you all have craved a perfect sit down dinner with your loved ones, coupled with a comfortable yet slightly romantic ambience. In that instant, the whole world seems to revolve around the both of you.

Suddenly, a chair from the neighboring table is rudely shoved into the back of your own chair. A quick apology follows and with that, the magical mood has all dissolved. You suddenly come to the realization that romance could never blossom in such a crowded room with the intrusive eyes of the public peering at you.

I am certain that many of you had such experiences, a well planned dinner spoilt by the intrusive noise from a rowdy diner perhaps a little intoxicated or even a perfect setting tainted by the serving of not so palatable food? Well, at least my dining experience with Aficionado private dining wasn’t one of those.

To cut the chase, I had planned a surprise for babe a few nights back. A private dining session with Aficionado gastronome dining to be held at the host’s humble abode. On top of that I had prepared a bottle of customized wine with beautiful gold engraving. I shall not stress that the bottle of wine was an award winner and a 90 pointer by spectators. Hehe. French and 100% Chardonnay. It’s always better to get the taste buds accustomed to the full original flavors before dwelling into the fine art of mixes. In fact, I was blown away by the full flavor of the wine, a combination of spices and oak, well balanced and absolutely rich and my babe simply love it! It simply made other Chardonnay taste bland and boring. The tingling taste left behind on your palate is simply unforgettable. Perfecto!

Before I start on the food, let me first speak about the wonderful hosts that we had. Gabriel (who was in charge of preparing all the food which consisted of a 6 courses) and Jill (whom was in charged of the desserts). The fact was that the two of them were much younger than I am and yet their ability to cook as well as to provide such excellent service amazed me.

The food was in short, top-grade. We started out with a simple garden salad infused with vinaigrette. Which was a so-so affair, what really kicked it up a notch was the presence of teeny bites of garlic fried to perfection. The crunchy little pieces added dimension to the whole dish and wetted my appetite for more to come.

Next up was the soup, clam chowder with garlic crostini. Served in a good hearty portion, this soup was unlike the usual I had. In fact it reminded me of the clam chowder I had at Angus Steakhouse at Taka the other time except that it had an amazing ability to bring warmth to you insides as you drank it down.

Following that was the entrée which by my standards was excellent! Pesto Pasta
Fettuccine infused in pesto sauce, topped with garlic butter king prawns. Let me tell you, the prawns were way beyond gorgeous. In fact I hadn't had such succulent prawns in a long time, they were fresh and absolutely outstanding with the garlic butter; I swore I cldn’t wipe off the silly smile I had on my face throughout this course (babe: yes she really look silly while eating.. ^_^). The pasta was done to my liking, not too soggy yet still retaining a bit of looseness. *swoons*…

What I appreciated the most was the right balance between privacy and service given during the course of the meal. The hosts were attentive at the right times and withdrawn at the appropriate times to allow the both of us some private time together. And I forgot to mention that the ambience was magical if not surreal. The dining table draped with a black cloth and strewened with rose petals and candles lit up the room. Cushions lined the side of the wall and more flower petals were swept the floor. The lights were dim but not too dim that we weren't able to appreciate the food. Soothing music played in the background. It was one of those instances were time stopped and all that meant something in your life was right in front of you. *hugz* Back to the food, we were given a palate cleanser next which was an orange sorbet with luscious pulp on the top. Next up was the main course. Ribs in homemade black pepper sauce. Okie... everybody scream!!! That was one of the best ribs I had ever tasted, maybe even better than Tony roma's. I believe in quality over quantity. And this dish proved to be a roaring success. The black pepper sauce was to die for and the rib managed to erase the bad memories that babe had towards it. I was speechless and cldn't refrain from picking the rib btw my fingers and sucking on it. The table was quiet mostly apart from the frequent “Mmmm”, or “OMG...this is really good” exclamations. Trust me, if you were to try this, you would totally understand.

Being a person with a sweet tooth, dessert to me was the highlight of any meal. And Jill's did not fail my expectation. Pavlova with passion fruit coulis and chocolate roulade with cream and cherries. That was so far the best matching of desserts on a platter I had ever had.
Now, that is what I mean by fine dining. Soothing romantic ambience coupled by the best of cuisine and of course the most beautiful companion. And best part is it didn't burn that big a hole in my pocket. What more could I ask for?

I left the house with a huge smile on my face and a full satisfied tummy.

To all those who are interested in a one-of-a-kind dining experience, I wld strongly recommend Aficionado. Check out their website HERE. You won't be disappointed.