Osia
Warning - this is going to be a mini-rant: I HATE Resorts World Sentosa. There, I've said it. I've never been to Resorts World Sentosa ("RWS") before, so the first time I had to get to a restaurant deep in the bowels of the modern-day labyrinth that is RWS, I got bloody lost. It actually took me half an hour from the time I first parked, to get to the restaurant. Mind you, that's excluding the time I had to look for the first parking lot. So, the story goes: I'd printed out directions from the restaurant's website to get to the restaurant by car. Although the directions stipulated parking at the red or blue zone, I parked at the green zone; the red zone's apparently meant for VIPs and members of RWS (neither of which I am), and the blue zone was completely full. After parking, I went up the nearest flight of escalators, and ended up somewhere at Universal Studios, with no determinable through path to the main RWS. After walking around in circles, and chickening out halfway through a long dark tunnel, I got back into the car, and waited for a lot at the blue zone to open up. After finding a lot and parking at the blue zone, I headed up the nearest escalator, and it was still a good 8 minute brisk walk, in the sweltering humidity, to the restaurant.
Suffice to say, I was a sweaty puddle of angry goo by the time I got to the restaurant. A word of advice for first-timers to RWS: allocate half an hour parking time ahead of your restaurant reservations, or be prepared to lose the reservation.
Service was excellent at Osia though. Our waiter, a calming counter to my flustered frustration, didn't flinch at the string of curses streaming out of my filthy mouth, and scrambled to get me iced water to "cool"me down. He was so empathetic, so cheery, downright nice, that it wasn't long before I was back to being my happy and ladylike self (yes, I am ladylike, okay!). And despite a couple of serious cock-ups (the restaurant's power tripped which caused the credit card facilities to fail, so after 20 minutes of trying to swipe our cards, we were then told that only cash was accepted, and there was this faint stench of the sewage that reeked through the restaurant towards the end of the lunch dining hour), service recovery was fantastic. Apologies were profuse and sincere, and reparation efforts were made to provide us a better dining experience by way of a discounted return visit.
Food-wise, Osia's modern Australian, seafood-centric menu was excellent. Fresh, clean flavours abound, and cooking styles were deliberately kept delicate. Perhaps it's the lack of a dining crowd during lunchtimes, but Osia's set lunch menu, at only $45 for a 3-course set ($35 for 2-courses), is probably one of the most value-for-money ever. A competitively priced set lunch in order to draw in the customers, I suppose.
We started off with a Mixed Flatbread ($11), a chewy confection burnished half with Truffled Kalamata Olives and the other half with Macadamia Pesto.
A starting option on the set lunch menu, the Black Angus Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio, dusted with dukkah spice and topped with creamy egg mayonnaise, was scrumptious.
Another appetizer, the Cardamom Citrus-Cured Yellowtail Amberjack, was crisp and refreshing, complemented by the mild sweetness of fennel and the fruity bite of a thick orange-ginger foam.
The Pan-Fried Foie Gras (supplement $12), a mainstay in their rotating stable of appetizers, was stellar. The melty richness of the liver was balanced with a whipped light-as-air banana mash, Jamaican rum and Madagascar vanilla.
Onto the mains, the Chicken Leg Confit, set atop a velvety garlic potato mash, was slathered in a luscious red wine sauce, and contrasted with the subtle bitterness of charred radicchio.
The fork-tender Braised Compressed Oxtail was laden with ratatouille and blanketed in a caramelized onion puree and robust red wine sauce.
For a lighter entree, the flaky Grilled Perch, stewed with boiled potato and fennel in a tomato fish broth, was flavourful and exquisite. This was served in an earthernware and then ladled onto a bowl for consumption.
For dessert, there was just the one option of a sublime Valrhona Hot Chocolate Soup with black pepper-spiked vanilla ice-cream and sesame crisp. Great textures and wonderfully balanced.
The set was finished off with a coffee or tea, and not just plain ones at that. There's a decent cuppa Latte, which may be a little weak, but still palatable.
So, was the hassle of getting to RWS worth the meal at Osia? Absolutely! $14 carpark fee notwithstanding.
Osia
Resorts World Sentosa
Level 2, World Square
8 Sentosa Gateway
Open Thursdays to Tuesdays from 12noon to 3pm for lunch; 6pm to 10.30pm for dinner;
Closed on Wednesdays
Tel: 6577 6560
Website
Suffice to say, I was a sweaty puddle of angry goo by the time I got to the restaurant. A word of advice for first-timers to RWS: allocate half an hour parking time ahead of your restaurant reservations, or be prepared to lose the reservation.
Service was excellent at Osia though. Our waiter, a calming counter to my flustered frustration, didn't flinch at the string of curses streaming out of my filthy mouth, and scrambled to get me iced water to "cool"me down. He was so empathetic, so cheery, downright nice, that it wasn't long before I was back to being my happy and ladylike self (yes, I am ladylike, okay!). And despite a couple of serious cock-ups (the restaurant's power tripped which caused the credit card facilities to fail, so after 20 minutes of trying to swipe our cards, we were then told that only cash was accepted, and there was this faint stench of the sewage that reeked through the restaurant towards the end of the lunch dining hour), service recovery was fantastic. Apologies were profuse and sincere, and reparation efforts were made to provide us a better dining experience by way of a discounted return visit.
Food-wise, Osia's modern Australian, seafood-centric menu was excellent. Fresh, clean flavours abound, and cooking styles were deliberately kept delicate. Perhaps it's the lack of a dining crowd during lunchtimes, but Osia's set lunch menu, at only $45 for a 3-course set ($35 for 2-courses), is probably one of the most value-for-money ever. A competitively priced set lunch in order to draw in the customers, I suppose.
We started off with a Mixed Flatbread ($11), a chewy confection burnished half with Truffled Kalamata Olives and the other half with Macadamia Pesto.
A starting option on the set lunch menu, the Black Angus Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio, dusted with dukkah spice and topped with creamy egg mayonnaise, was scrumptious.
Another appetizer, the Cardamom Citrus-Cured Yellowtail Amberjack, was crisp and refreshing, complemented by the mild sweetness of fennel and the fruity bite of a thick orange-ginger foam.
The Pan-Fried Foie Gras (supplement $12), a mainstay in their rotating stable of appetizers, was stellar. The melty richness of the liver was balanced with a whipped light-as-air banana mash, Jamaican rum and Madagascar vanilla.
Onto the mains, the Chicken Leg Confit, set atop a velvety garlic potato mash, was slathered in a luscious red wine sauce, and contrasted with the subtle bitterness of charred radicchio.
The fork-tender Braised Compressed Oxtail was laden with ratatouille and blanketed in a caramelized onion puree and robust red wine sauce.
For a lighter entree, the flaky Grilled Perch, stewed with boiled potato and fennel in a tomato fish broth, was flavourful and exquisite. This was served in an earthernware and then ladled onto a bowl for consumption.
For dessert, there was just the one option of a sublime Valrhona Hot Chocolate Soup with black pepper-spiked vanilla ice-cream and sesame crisp. Great textures and wonderfully balanced.
The set was finished off with a coffee or tea, and not just plain ones at that. There's a decent cuppa Latte, which may be a little weak, but still palatable.
So, was the hassle of getting to RWS worth the meal at Osia? Absolutely! $14 carpark fee notwithstanding.
Osia
Resorts World Sentosa
Level 2, World Square
8 Sentosa Gateway
Open Thursdays to Tuesdays from 12noon to 3pm for lunch; 6pm to 10.30pm for dinner;
Closed on Wednesdays
Tel: 6577 6560
Website
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