Recently, I have been feeding my addiction to truffles in what I hope is a modest way. Trying not to burn a hole in my wallet, I have stocked up 2 condiments – white truffles olive oil and black truffle-infused sea salt, and made some really simple, but satisfying dishes at home, whenever the addiction hits.

Having similar addiction, some of my friends organized a dine-out session at Casa Tartufo Ristorante (House of Truffles Restaurant), making a reservation 3 weeks in advance – something that we seldom ever do, and take the wonderful opportunity to try some really expensive dishes at special prices found only during the Restaurant Week. During this Restaurant Week, there are 2 seatings (one at 6pm and another at 8pm). The Restaurant served a fixed dinner menu at S$55++ for antipasti (starter), main and dessert.

Like any good Italian restaurant that I’ve encountered in Rome and Venice, Casa Tartufo served up herb-infused bread, good quality olive oil and vingarette. It would have been made perfect if they were warm. Be careful to leave space for what’s to come!

For Antipasti, they served up their signature Burrata cheese with a truffle heart (serves 2 at S$42). Even at my first encounter with this giant cheese dumpling, one could tell that this is not something easy to make at all.

Cutting open its supple Mozzarella cheese outer covering, what oozes out is cream, mozzarella and truffles. Immediately, our noses are greeted by the smell of truffles. Served cold with tomatoes and salad, the Burrata is fresh and sets the stage for the main.

For me, the main is the star. I choose the Tajarin, which is piedmont thin egg noodles with fresh summer black truffles sauce (S$33). Every mouthful is like a symphony, and I’m not exaggerating. The taste of truffles is strong and surprisingly, the egg noodles (which I usually associate with Chinese longevity noodles 长寿面) were light and didn’t cause me to get tired of this carbohydrate dish. If I were at home, I would have licked the plate.

Some of my friends chose the Merluzzo (S$39), which is roasted Altantic black cod with capers and raisin sabayon. The serving of cod fish was generously thick. The taste? Creamy, sweet, fresh and succulent.

We also ordered some Truffles Fries (S$12), which in my opinion, were not great, especially for the price, amount and lack of truffles’ smell and taste. So far, Skinny Pizza’s truffles fries are still No. 1 for me. If you know any other good ones, share with me.

To end off the meal, we dug into this Truffle Gelato. Yes, you heard it right – Truffle Gelato (S$15). It was delish! At the sound of the name, one would think how in the world would truffles taste in an ice-cream? We were just as suspicious. Kudos to the chef! At the first taste, the truffle taste is strong and not in any way, discordant in a gelato. I finished the crumble sprinkled around the gelato first, as the strong sweetness of the crumble seemed to overpower the gelato. This is where even distribution doesn’t work…I want more of that truffle flavor!

pling thinks Casa Tartufo is a restaurant to visit to subdue that truffle addiction. If you love truffles, give this restaurant a try. I wish I discovered truffles earlier.

Casa Tartufo Ristorante
This review was done at Casa Tartufo when it was at Forum Shopping Mall. It has since moved to:
33 Erskine Road (entrance at Ann Siang Road)
The Scarlet Hotel
Singapore 069333
t: +65 6836-4647
restaurant@casatartufo.com
Lunch: 12pm to 2.30pm
Dinner: 6.00pm to 10.00pm (Sun-Thu)
6.00pm to 11.00pm (Fri & Sat)