boCHINche Brunch: a home-run of bold Argentinian flavors


It's right before the break of dawn that I start to think about breakfast. Weekend brunch if you'd like to be specific. One that my mind drifts back to ever so often was my experience at boCHINche while it was still tucked away in the lush enclaves of Martin Road (read my experience here) - the classic Proveleta is a predictable order, oldie but gratifying nonetheless.

For those of you who don't already know, boCHINche had made a move to the dynamic precinct of Amoy street about half a year ago, sporting a more sleek and intimate outlook amidst several other changes. The weekend brunch menu, too seeing some revisions yet retaining some of the old classics. Take the Empanadas for example; days of the thick crusted 'curry pok' have changed and the pastry recipe has been swapped out for a flakier variant with a slight puff like consistency. Spinach, goat cheese, raisins and pine nuts ($6) is a product of those pre-dinner daydreams and is really good in my opinion leading up to the main brunch affair.


Chef Fabrice Mergalet is cooking up some seriously excellent food here - exotic enough for what people fathom Argentinian cuisine to be, and grounded enough for new.  You don't have to dig deep for a gargantuan serving of some of the best ceviche here in Singapore - the Sea Bass ceviche, radish and preserved lemon ($18) is a pescatarian's dream. The bitterness of the preserved lemon flexing the taste-buds amidst a windfall of creamy sea bass chunks.


I'm a sucker for avocado in brunch settings and boCHINche does a rather magnificent rendition of the classic avo on toast. Don't be intimidated if the first ingredient stated on the dish is something that is foreign to you. I approached Faina with apprehension only to find out that the magic rug below the mounds of crushed and seasoned avocado and fried eggs was a pancake made of chickpea flour. To add to the pageantry of this dish is coriander and "aji molido" creme fraiche which red pepper beginnings add a bit of feisty dimension to the dish. I shouldn't have been worried, the Faina and Fried eggs, crushed avocado, coriander and "aji molido" creme fraiche ($22) is perfect for those sorting our their new years resolution of eating clean.

And then, on the opposite spectrum of things, is the Brioche French Toast with House cooked ham and Bacon Ice cream ($20). I have once waxed lyrical about this dish and this round, I shall do the same. Perfect 10/10. Where French toasts are concerned, these were perfect, moist in the middle with an evenly browned crust sans the patchiness demonstrated by amateurs - I reckon it's all that butter, but we'll leave that worry to another day. Needless to say, the bacon ice cream was a concoction weaved out of dreams; if only there was whisky and a little brown sugar love involved. 

Meatier options include the Poached eggs on toast, topped with ossobucco and chives hollandaise ($25) as well as the Ojo de Bife ($75 for 400g) straight from the charcoal grill. The standout dish here being the ossobucco on toast with a side of perfectly poached eggs. The exemplary stew of mushroom and potato lending the dish a rich earthy quality whilst the unctuous ossobucco cheekily kisses your lips with an imprint of succulent oiliness.


If an Aviation cocktail dyed a shade of violet from the creme de violette winds up in front of you, then brunch will surely end on a happy note. Buzzed and in negligent high, but happy nonetheless.

Weekend brunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 3pm. 


boCHINche
115 Amoy Street
#01-02
S(069935)

Operating hours:
Mon - Thurs: 12pm - 2 30pm; 6pm - 10 30pm
Fri: 12 - 2 30pm; 6pm - 11pm
Sat: 11am - 3pm; 6pm - 11pm
Sun: 11am - 3pm

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