Braci is perched on a modern 5 storey conservation house, facing the idyllic Singapore riverfront at popular Boat Quay. This 1 Michelin star restaurant is known for giving each and every diner an epic gastronomic journey in their dining experience. The roof top bar is a snazzy venue to have a pre-cocktail drink before your meal with experience bartenders creating personalized cocktails for you, base on your preferences and moods or simply choose from a selection of classic concoctions such as Old Fashion and Espresso Martini.
The main dining room highlights a captivating, well equipped, open concept kitchen that connects diners to the chefs throughout their culinary trip. Braci’s chef Matteo Ponti heads a world class team in the kitchen with sheer finesse and style. Chef’s resume carries a ton of accolades and experiences from working at noted establishments around the world. Interiors of dark wood with contrasting lighter colour wooden chairs and tables makes your dining experience a cosy one yet oozing sophistication.
Amuse Bouche consists of three types of delectable bites, each representing a different part of Italy. The cone shape choice is a must try. It has a skin outside made of beetroot, inside is a pumpkin from north Italy made into a puree; cooked very gently over night developing some fermentation, yielding a nice touch of acidity. Then topped with cheese produced and aged 2000 meters above sea level in a Roman empire cellar that is been built into a mountain. The entire area is at the same temperature without any artificial chilling. The cheese is aged for a minium of 18 months.
Mouth watering “Edible Garden” is inspired from chef’s mum side of the family. Soil on top is made with puff quinoa, seasoned with Madagascar white pepper, underneath is a light baccalà (salted codfish) espuma and beyond the soil is Jerusalem artichoke, some pickled and some roasted for a nice game of textures. Together is smoked eel for a nice burst of umami and fattiness. On top is some spicy herbs together with micro radish, sprayed with 50 year old sherry vinegar for extra dimension of flavours, all on a base of truffle jelly.
Freshly baked bread made from natural yeast, salt and pepper with yellow flour flown in weekly from South Italy, is nicely charred in the oven before serving. The smell of freshly baked bread using the special flour stimulates your appetite once again for more delectables to come. The thickness of the crust has to be 3mm which is a standard held strict for many years and still maintained today. Producer of the fruity olive oil served by the side is the owner of the restaurant Pepe, who has a family business growing olives back in Italy.
Like travelling into an Italian countryside comes the next dish, an interpretation of the Ossobuco (a traditional dish from Milano). The crust that looks like a bone marrow made out of 36 months Parmigiano Reggiano. Inside is beef tartare mixed with bone marrow. The beef is from a cow that is 100% free range and grass fed from the South Island of New Zealand. Underneath is a 100% vegetable jus, on top is saffron jelly and more saffron. Use your fingers to eat, try to grab as much sauce as possible and simply enjoy.
Next enjoy generous amounts of sliced Alba white truffle, freshly shaven table side onto Tajarin or also known as Tagatolini, complimented by aged Parmigiano fondue with root vegetable reduction that brings forth a touch of sweetness. The aromatics of the fungi is irresistible on this comfort food. Take time to look towards the open kitchen to watch the chefs in action, doing what they do best with masterful skills. It is like an art performance that teases your senses of sight, smell, hearing and taste making you crave for more food.
A special pasta course is made with spaghettoni cocasan, which is very popular in Italy and retains it’s texture even after many minutes of cooking with little content of gluten making it easy to digest. Scampi is quickly charcoal grilled seasoned with lemon oil and yuzu. Sauce is made from parmigiano dashi using the rind of the cheese infused with fermented black lime and water (chef does not waste any part of the cheese). Mixed the finger lime in before eating, for that tanginess to cut through the richness of the dish.
The most famous fish in north Italy is the river trout. The fish is poached at a low temperature in fig leaf oil. Next to it is some fig leaf ashes with Italian sweet leek that has been burnt whole in the charcoal oven, preserve in olive oil then pan seared for the final touch. Sauce is made with fish bones, bergamot juice and fig leaf oil, boiled over many hours for the flavours to come through. This highly addictive dish is simply delightful and keeps you wanting more, even for those who do not usually take fish.
At the bottom of the dessert is a juice made from fermented cocopop and white chocolate, in the center is a 75% dark chocolate nougatine from the Caribbean area, coco nips are also added. Main ingredient is premium pear from Japan, marinated in muscato overnight before charcoal grilling. The plating is so superb that it will makes guests take a longer look at the dessert before savouring it slowly. People with sweet tooth will be in seventh heaven!
Even the petit fours here are memorable with a lot of thought given in construction and perfectly executed. The stand out choice is the innovative take on the tiramisu, where you can find everywhere in Italy. The based is a cacao tartlet, filled with masala jelly and espresso ganache. Finished on top is a mushmellow made from mascarpone cheese that is torched with charcoal. Wine pairing is available for your meal, an excellent selection is COS Frappato, Terre Siciliane, vintage 2021. Beautiful on the nose with a lovely body and almost demure finish.
ADDRESS:
52 Boat Quay, #05-01/ #06-01, Singapore 049841
PHONE:
6866 1933
WEBSITE:
https://www.braci.sg/