{"id":33159,"date":"2015-03-17T07:49:45","date_gmt":"2015-03-16T23:49:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/?p=33159"},"modified":"2020-10-19T20:13:33","modified_gmt":"2020-10-19T12:13:33","slug":"boca-restaurant-singapore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/zh\/2015\/03\/17\/boca-restaurant-singapore\/","title":{"rendered":"CLOSED PERMANENTLY: Boca, Outram: Interim of Portuguese Chefs, Limited Menu But With Potential"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"bocaBoca is a rare restaurant in Singapore to serve Portuguese cuisine. Although Boca (meaning “mouth” in Portuguese) is only 2 and a half months old, the waiter informed us that the previous chef was homesick and had returned to Portugal for good. The previous chef is replaced by Chef Luca Bordino<\/strong> (from Ritz-Carlton Penha Longa Resort) and Chef Franciso Vaz<\/strong> (from Pateo do Petisco), both natives of Portugal. They are still finding their feet, and therefore the menu is limited.<\/span><\/p>\n

I understand it is not easy to open a restaurant, finding chefs to replace another. But as a customer, after hearing so many rave reviews on Boca, I was very disappointed at the limited menu–5 starters, 7 mains, 3 desserts. We had no interest in any of the starters, and when I wanted the Portuguese egg tart<\/strong> ($4.50) for dessert, they couldn’t produce it. So in the end, the four of us ordered 5 mains to share.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"bocaWhen the knowledgeable server said, “The bacalhau codfish<\/strong> ($28, above) is not for the faint-hearted,” I replied, “I’m sold. You made your sale. Don’t need to explain the rest of the menu.” But when the dish came, we didn’t understand why it took courage to eat it; there was nothing exotic about the dish. It was a nest of fried onions, potato strips, and cod. Very tasty, praise all round the table for it. But too little fish! Be generous.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"bocaThe other star was the grilled octopus leg<\/strong> ($38), simply seasoned with salt, olive oil, paprika. Tender and tasty.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"bocaThe coffee steak <\/strong>($48, above) was redolent of coffee aroma, and was creamy, but the texture of beef wasn’t good: powdery, like hastily defrosted frozen beef. The special of the day, stewed chorizo, potato, clams<\/strong> ($28, below), with a tomato base tasted like food from a caifan <\/em>stall, the ham-and-potato in ketchup–not a bad thing, though I wouldn’t order it again. Lagareiro cod<\/strong> ($42) was simply pan-seared cod, and to be honest, it was bland. I can do a better cod at a quarter of the price.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"bocaIn addition to the limited menu, my other complaint is the food came in tiny portions. Not all of us are Victoria Secrets models. We need to eat.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"bocaLagareiro cod ($42)<\/span><\/p>\n

The service<\/strong> was knowledgeable and friendly, although two waiters couldn’t handle the rather crowded room. The decor<\/strong>, full of motifs of birds migrating to Portugal for winter, is quirky and lovely. The food<\/strong> was not bad but what a pity we came at an inopportune moment when few items were available. I wonder if it is better to close the restaurant for a few days, figure out the menu, taste the dishes, and re-open when ready, than to keep it open, disappointing guests during this interim.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sigh, it could have been a marvelous experience for us. Boca has much potential–the food was not bad–but in the end, it was just not ready to take on customers. Including alcohol, we four spent about $70 a person<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Boca Restaurant Singapore<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

6 Bukit Pasoh Singapore 089820
\nT: +65 6221 0132
\nM-F 12-2pm, M-Sat 6pm-midnight
\nfacebook<\/a>
\nRating: 3.438\/5
\n<\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Written by A. Nathanael Ho.<\/a><\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The food was not bad but what a pity we came at an inopportune moment when few items were available. I wonder if it is better to close the restaurant for a few days, figure out the menu, taste the dishes, and re-open when ready, than to keep it open, disappointing guests during this interim.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":263488,"featured_media":33172,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"NEW POST: 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