Cova Pasticceria, Paragon

This is my latest hidden gem of a find. Hands up, how many of you, apart from the dripping-with-bejeweled-bling tai-tais, have ever ventured into the rear end of Paragon?

This is where you'll find Cova Pasticceria, with a heritage that dates back to the 18th century in Milan. Although the array of pretty desserts and pastries is breathtaking, this charming tea-room-styled bistro serves more than just sweets. The quality of the Italian cuisine here, albeit with a limited menu, is almost faultless.

The Mozart ($16) starter of arugula and grilled prawns dressed with balsamic vinegar was fantastic. The bouncy plump prawns, coated with a smoky sweet glaze, harmonized brilliantly with the bitter crunchy arugula leaves.


The Fiance's main of Merluzzo alla Piastra con Pomodori al Forno e Riduzione di Balsamico ($34), pan roasted cod with oven baked tomatoes and balsamic vinegar reduction. The fish was fresh, mild and creamy, topped with a generous sprinkling of ground pistachios for some crunch and a light nutty accent. Heirloom tomatoes, are simply grilled and drizzled with a balsamic reduction for a tart and juicy side.


My Risotto al Tartufo Nero ($30) of black truffle risotto with porcini mushroom and veal jus, was delicate and elegant.My only gripe is that there was flat-leaf parsley laced throughout the dish! I must have taken an hour to remove every bit of this green herb. Wait wait, I do have another gripe, the portion was too tiny for someone like me. This was about half the portion I am used to.


The veal jus lifted the creamy elements and balanced out the starchiness of the dish.


A server brought the bread baskets around and served us individual portions of the complimentary breads, refillable of course. All their pastries are made fresh daily, so they're still soft, warm and fluffy.


My favourite was the Cheese Stick, crumbly and lightly cheesy.


The Fiance's favourite was the Cranberry Foccacia, incredibly fragrant and flavoursome.


Update 29 October 2012: Cova has closed and made way for PODI The Food Orchard by the people behind Cedele.

Cova Pasticceria
290 Orchard Road
#01-20A/24/25
Paragon Shopping Centre
Tel: 6733 0777
Open daily from 9am to 10pm

Comments

ms liang said…
Mozart and harmonizing. Nice wordplay. The prawns look a little toxic though.
Bern said…
Hey you're awake! I didn't think most people would catch that!

The prawns did look a bit scary but the glaze was really quite light.
Anonymous said…
The Prof : I think this is the second truffle thing within a week.
Bern said…
And your point is????????
Anonymous said…
The Prof says : my point is that too much truffles for you means less for the rest of us. Bwahahahaha!
Bern said…
Aiya, you didn't miss out on much. This didn't have a distinct truffle scent or flavour. it was really very subtle. The egg white with truffle dish at Majestic that CC brought us to had a much stronger truffle flavour.
Bern said…
By the way, I like the Miss Liang nick. Very apt.

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