Festive lunch from Il Lido

Il Lido (Sentosa Golf Club, Bukit Manis Road) is up again this year end with a festive menu for Christmas. Apparently, this festive menu has been ongoing since the 5th of November and will continue until the 28th December before the switch into the New Year Menu. I haven't had the opportunity to visit before so we decided to try the 4 course festive lunch ($58 before tax) just to go with that festive mood. The restaurant is located at the not so accessible spot in the golf club at Sentosa. Which can be a hassle if one is not driving. On the other hand, it was a pleasant place with a rather scenic view of the sea looking past the blistering sun or the sweltering humidity or both. I wisely requested for an indoor seat near the al fresco area to get both the air conditioning and most of the view which was far from the stunning portrait that it is often imagined to be.

complimentary bread crisps

These dry bread crisps are surprisingly quite enjoyable to munch. They were served in a coral patterned metal bowl which I've noticed have turned up in photos everywhere. The crisps were lightly flavoured with a hint of olive oil and bits of garlic. A fresh bowl was brought out just as we were a third done with the first. I'm not complaining though.

insalata di granseola con avocado e salsa di agrumi siciliani
blue swimmer crab salad with avocado and sicilian citrus sauce

These crab salads felt overdone, but there wasn't anything else I could choose. Does the minced crab salad with avocado and orange slices look familiar to anyone? I didn't think that these things would be the "caesar's salad" of starters in restaurants everywhere. I thought this felt quite uninspiring. Light flaky crab meat over creamy avocado that was abruptly interrupted by a boring diced local tomatos. I don't know what went into the sicilian citrus sauce, but I was glad it did contain enough of the citrus.

tagliolini con fegato d'oca e pere al marsala
homemade tagliolini pasta with goose liver, pears and marsala wine sauce

This was the most enjoyable course for me. It wasn't a very fanciful plate of pasta. What was like-able about it included the poached pears which was not overdone. The diced pears had both a light residual crunch and the soft texture of cooked fruit. The complement flavours between the goose liver and the pears was enjoyable. Pasta was al dente. I haven't figured out the marsala wine sauce which was well flavoured without being overbearing. Now if only the portions were bigger...

involtino di tacchino farcito al tartufo con puree di mele e castagne
roasted turkey stuffed with pancetta and truffle, apple and chestnut puree

Tiny pieces of turkey breasts that Il Lido serves. The mixed stuffings tasted mostly of the pancetta. The rest flavours were mashed up and lost. Credit though goes to the meat for retaining a measure of succulence and a rather delectable flavour on the surface. All in all, quite enjoyable.

merluzzo nero con porcini, crema di patate e salsa al vino rosso
chilean seabass with porcini mushroom, potato cream and red wine sauce

What was remarkable about this chilean seabass were actually the char grilled mushrooms on the side. Nothing so much about fish here. This was certainly one of the more delicious enjoyable grilled mushrooms that I've had. I thought the creamy potato bed was rather good as well, light in flavour and texture. As for the chilean seabass, it's just a chilean seabass. Fresh enough, firm and soft but otherwise a very regular small piece of fish. The red wine sauce was mostly aesthetics since it didn't contribute much in the way of flavour for that small drizzle.

sorpresa natalizia
traditional italian festive pudding

I'm not sure how far this tradition goes back for the making of festive pudding or if tradition has changed for puddings over the years for the Italians. It certainly did look quite contemporary for a traditional pudding. This was a heavy layered mousse clad in a super thin chocolate shell and dusted with a very fine chocolate powder topped with a meringue. According to the server, the three different layers of the insides were chocolate, coffee and vanilla. I thought I had tasted mascarpone in there. There were some bits of candied chestnuts on the side with a golden brown drizzle which was distinctively bitter-ish sweet which that the server insisted was just honey. Hmmm......