Ristorante Bologna 2 @ Marina Mandarin

A revisit at Ristorante Bologna after a good first visit. Perfect dining place with the girls for chit chatting, chilling...and well, wasting a Friday night away. Reservations are recommended as it tends to get packed.

We had the privilege of meeting the chef at the entrance of the restaurant. Here's him signing off as we got ready for the Italian Expedition.

Table distractions.

The same bread basket presented the last time round and also at the buffet table! Adore the onion croissant enough for refills.

Sea Scallops ($25)

It was supposed to be bacon wrapped scallops...try spotting the bacon! Bits they were, deliciously crunchy! Pity the seared scallops were painfully bland if not this dish would have been ideal.

Gnocchetti ($18)

Potato dumplings with cheese paired with cream sauce. Looked most boring with such a bland outlook. Unlike the usual chinese dumplings, these are more of dough pieces with ingredients kneaded in. Not too bad but by the end of the plate, it was a tad cloying.

Think sandy clams and undercooked linguine. We requested for a replacement but was advised to choose another dish since the clams would be "as sandy."

I really wonder if enough washing would remove all sand particles or it was pure insolence on the part of the chef to re-cook another plate.

Papardelle ($26)
Signature

I was in awe of this the last visit but all that was reduced to sheer disappointment. Pasta sheets rolled too thick hence giving this a tougher bite rather than the previous effortless slurping. Crabmeat and spinach are my kind of combination, second time proven tasty!

Tortelloni ($26) 
Signature

Now now, as close as you can get to chinese dumplings with pasta sheets wrapped around porcini mushroom stuffings and served with parmesan cream sauce. All the cream could have gotten to us by the time this arrived rendering it over-the-top jelard though on its own it was the most outstanding of the night.

And finally it was dessert time. We opted to order the cakes from the Deli outside and had them consumed within.

White Chocolate and Lemon Grass Mousse ($6)

Joyful find! As light as K Ki though this lacked a certain finesse about it. Lemon grass was so light, I barely tasted it.

Apple Pie ($6)

Limp tart base with apple chunks.

Pistachio Macaroons and Raspberries ($6.80)

Ispahans must have gotten to me and this was an instant call...despite knowing well I probably cannot find one similar to Cohier Jean Pierre's. I'm not even talking about the legendary Pierre Herme here. The dining companions already warned me that it would not be close to the French yet I willfully opposed. Sugary shells coated with white chocolate, these were too sweet and crumbly...nary the chewiness at all. Raspberry buttercream and sour raspberries made this sorrier than it should. One bite later, I regretted my choice. How could I ever hope to find an equivalent locally?

Second attempt at Ristorante Bologna made me rethink if it is so deserving of another return. The drop in standard was appalling, save for the yummilicious onion croissants. Service-wise, they could do with a bit more training of their young staff who needed to "check with my supervisor" at every single request. Once, twice I can wave it off...but every single time? That hit the limit somehow.

Ristorante Bologna
Marina Mandarin Singapore