Met my former dua tao for dinner this evening. He's been really good to me ever since the day I met him, so it's always a pleasure to catch up with him when I'm in town. And he sure does know his food. He picked Osvaldo for dinner, in part because it's close to my old office, and, I suspect he remembered that I really love Italian food, even though I didn't mention any preferences when we arranged to meet up.

However, because he's my old big boss, I didn't take any photos. After all, I didn't want to annoy him, or cause any embarrassment by taking loads of photos like I tend to do. And I probably would have annoyed the rest of the restaurant too, as it's not that brightly-lit, which would have led to my using the flash for each of the dishes we ordered.

I'm a little sad I didn't do so though, as the food was incredible, both in terms of taste and presentation. I opted for a full-size burrata appetiser to share (the waitress offered to halve it if I was the only one eating it, but we decided to share) while my old boss chose the asparagus with poached egg. The burrata cheese was incredibly fresh and delicious, infinitely better than mozzarella, while the parma ham was very tasty. But, man oh man, the portion was huge. I'm sure a half-portion would have been more than sufficient for the two of us. The asparagus appetiser was good as well. Nice and crunchy, and good for getting the taste of cheese out of my mouth.

Both of us opted for the tagiatelle with wild boar ragout as our mains. Thankfully, the portions weren't as monstrous as the burrata appetiser. In fact, the size was just right. The ragout was soft and tender, and incredibly tasty. The pasta was nice and al dente. In short, perfect.

I was initially thinking about skipping dessert, but chef and owner Osvaldo came over to speak to us both, and recommended us peaches which had been grown on his farm in Italy. There'd been a good harvest this year, and his mother had taken the peaches, boiled them in sugar and water, and sent over 650 jars to Singapore for him to use. It sounded interesting, and, as any regular reader knows (if there are any!), I am incredibly attracted to anything new and interesting, so, of course, we had to try them. The other thing is that I love peaches - not fresh ones - but those in syrup, so this was right up my alley. And, man, they were really nice and juicy. I probably shouldn't have slurped up the syrup as well, but, hey, you only live once.

So once I'd sated my longing for Italian (yes, so what, I love Italian even more than I love Singaporean food), I took a look around. Osvaldo's is really nicely done up as a rustic, homely Italian restaurant. And it's clear that the staff are dedicated and incredibly friendly as well, with Osvaldo and his wife walking around and talking to various customers. It was amazingly busy for a Monday night, and very heartening to see as well, as I love it when people who have put all their heart and soul into something are rewarded.

There you have it. My first restaurant review in a long, long time. And no pictures. You'll just have to imagine it. Or perhaps check out these blogs for some photos.

Osvaldo's
32 Maxwell Road
#01-03 Maxwell Chambers
Singapore 069115
Tel: +65 6224 0978

Lunch: 11.30 am to 2.30 pm
Dinner: 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm
Closed on Sundays