Osteria Mozza, Singapore

This restaurant is best for serious food fanatics who appreciate food and do not mind paying for it.  I have been there twice in two years and so far has not disappointed me.  The recent trip being on 26 th July 2012. I understood from the waitress the menu changes everyday. We went straight for the Chef Tasting Menu which will give us both the selections as the Chef Tasting Menu required the participation of the entire table. 
The Antipasta:
1) Red Endive, Fennel & Parmagianno with Anchovy dressing was by far the best starter to tingle your taste buds. The sourness complimented the Parmagianno so well with the endive, stirring any appetite if you had none to begin with.
2) Grilled Sardines with Peperonata was muted but outstanding in its simplicity and freshness from the sardines. Real sardines!

From the Mozzarella Bar : 1) Caprese with bufala mozzarella, cherry tomatoes & basil gave a fresh start to your taste buds. The bufala alone was naturally tasteless but well combined with the sweetness of the tomatoes, the basil lightly giving the dish a minty taste but not overpowering. 2) Burricotta with braised artichokes, pines nuts,currants & mint pesto - this was when i felt the chef was teasing us. He cleverly combined your partner's dish which was plain and light with this more explosive of melodic tastes in the second. The Burricotta with its innocent plainness supported the artichoke which in turn held the pine nuts so fragrantly roasted to exude a nutty aroma but not burnt, blending so well into the sweetness of the currants and the mint pesto.. It was out of this world! The whole dish was sprinkled with some crispy fine looking sandy texture of something that resembles bread crumbs and fried flour which completed the whole orchestra of tastes.
Primi:
1) Farfelle with chanterelle, English peas and walnuts - the sauce was lightly done with some beautiful butter I believe. Not a cream based dish but butter based I think. Farfelle was done el dente. I feel the peas were not needed but just there for the colour. Walnuts I hardly noticed but I guess it was meant to be. Lovely! 
2) Pici with Duck Ragu - my partner had that and he loved the way the duck meat was cooked till so soft and moist and the best part was, it was all stewed till so shredded and soft with no hint of its gaminess. I am guessing a good portion of some really good red wine went into the stew witha whole lot of spices and herbs which made the dish taste so full-bodied.

Secondi :
1) Grilled Iberico Pork Chop with cranberry  bean cooked in soffritto came out a bit too sourish but the pork was of its finest quality, cooked to pink, the outer part with a generous crust of black pepper and other spices bordering on salty.
2) Pan Roasted Sea Trout with Umbrian lentils and red cabbage sottocetto was somewhat muted. The beans and the trout did not do much for each other but each needing the other to hold the dish as complete.

Dolci: the Starwberry Sorbetto with prosecco gelatine was a nice touch to clean the palette. But having already tasted so much vinegar based sauces in the pork dish and the Endive in the beginning, I did not need another sourish Sorbetto to do the job. This was followed by two desserts :
1) Berry Crespelle with spiced almonds and vanilla gelato looked like a dish you would serve during Halloween parties, Thanksgiving and Christmas with the medley of red and white from the berries and vanilla. This is for the person who opts for the safer dessert, tried and tested.

For the more adventurous and risk taker, being me, I was blown out of my seat with this unique dish - 2)Rosemary Olive Oil Cakes with olive oil gelato & rosemary brittle. When the dish arrived, I saw no cakes. The first thing that caught my eyes was a transparent brittle long and curvy, resting at the side of the gelato. The brittle had a very light hint of rosemary so light you would not have noticed it, thinking it was the role of the sugar that did it. Tiny drops of olive oil scattered round the dish but it did well not to overpower the main player - the gelato. The gelato was white, which made me think it was vanilla. The moment the gelato touched my tongue, I was so pleasantly surprised by its taste. What did it taste like? Well, go there and find out. It was certainly  the finest display of skill anyone can do to make the diner go through so many experiences in one sitting. If you were grumpy in the beginning, this dessert can break a smile in you. You would never think the chef/pastry chef would use this one ingredient that would get you out of the seat.

Compliments to the Executive Chef David Almany, Pastry Chef Ariana Flores and their team. My partner and I paid for our meals at SGG 128++ per person without any wine pairing. At no time were we invited by the restaurant to write this review. I write this because I love food, good food and will share if I come across any like this worth paying for.