jimmy's little tuscan enclave

our friend jimmy has invested in a restaurant that is opening next week.  we were invited (well, we invited ourselves, but that's mere detail) for dinner there last night, so that the staff and chefs could "practice" and we could see what it was all about.

the restaurant is called "Bistecca - A Tuscan Steakhouse", and it is located in a charming shophouse on 25 Mohammad Sultan Road, Singapore.

it is essentially that - a steakhouse alla fiorentina.  big, fat fiorentina bisteccas.

A bistecca alla fiorentina is essentially a T-bone or porterhouse steak, grilled over a wood or charcoal fire, and seasoned with salt and, sometimes, black pepper, and olive oil.  They are thickly cut and very large.  The portions served last night were between 1 to 1.2kgs.  They are meant to be shared, although B and AVP did contemplate having one each! Greedy, much?

We were a (hungry) party of 6 (i was taking the photo).

To start we were served some italian cold cuts, bruschetta with burata and chicken liver pate.

for the pasta course, we had a chef's special risotto and a homemade fusili with fresh tomato sauce.  as you can probably tell from the photos below, they were rather good.

the steaks were next, served with these sauces:

 apart from the two enormous fiorentina bisteccas, we also had a fillet steak, which was very fine.  it was full of flavour and had fine texture. it was firm and yet melted in your mouth.  it was also grilled perfectly (the picture doesn't actually do it justice).

did i say we were hungry? 2 types of potatoes (duck fat chips and sambuca laced mash) and a creamed spinach seasoned with nutmeg (no photo) as sides.

and then pudding to finish:

all in all a very pleasant evening, with a great host:

great company:

a great chef:

It opens officially in February 2012.  Go! Not just because Jimmy is a friend, but because it is a great steakhouse.  25 Muhammad Sultan Road - the red door will lead the way!

And enjoy!