OChre Italian Restaurant | Bar (Orchard Central)

for photos and more reviews, http://littlemomentsofmylife.wordpress.com/ :)

ochre is a very nice italian restaurant (with some japanese fusion cos the chef is japanese) with a to-die-for view. granted, it's not on the 70th floor like equinox, but at nearly the highest floor of Orchard Central, this is a great view for a price that is relatively kinder to your wallet.

we started off the meal with the antipasti misti ($20) which is an assorted plate of 6 appetizers. the mesclun salad was fresh and lightly seasoned and helped to refresh the palate before our meal. i loved the prosciutto and mango salad - the saltiness of the ham matched with the sweet mango evened out the taste nicely. the pan fried scallop was another worthy mention! it was so fresh and well-cooked, soft with just the right amount of bite. the other three appetizers we tried were the caprese, yellow fin tuna 'tataki'  and smoked eel & horseradish cream.

the next dish we had was the saffron tagliolini ($28). i loved the thick gravy with the flavour of  crystal bay prawn, mussel & crab meat tomato cream all blended into a smooth puree. it was delicious!

the pan seared beef tenderloin 'rossini' ($36) was the ultimately decadent dish. see that fat slab of caramelized foie gras?! :D i think this is the first time i've ever tried it properly and it was superbly awesome. it simply melted and the flavour burst in my mouth. the beef was cooked beautifully too, medium-rare, just tender enough.

finally, we ended off the meal with the dolci misti ($20) which was a dessert platter with chocolate terrine, tiramisu, caramel mousse, passion fruit panna cotta, pistachio gelato. the tiramisu was AWESOMEEEE (: i am drooling just thinking about it :P teehee. the passion fruit panna cotta and pistachio gelato were really refreshing! (:

Went to try out OChre with the boyfriend yesterday. 

I am usually a lover of Italian fare, having lived in Melbourne for a long time, there is certainly no lack of good Italian food there. 

Was first introduced to OChre about 2 years back, when I met one of their business executive and was invited for a meal but never had time to go.

I must say the ambience, food presentation and service was really good. The staff were attentive, polite and accommodating. They took pride in their service.

The food on the other hand, was a bit of a let down, after an inital excitement.

We were welcomed with an exciting looking bread basket (i love bread). Looking forward to a basket of warm, soft comforting bread, I was really disappointed to find it cold, stale and really chewy. I usually end up asking for 2 servings of bread, but we hardly went through half of the between us.

We shared a soup: "Cioppino" fish stew with mussel, clam, and tiger prawns.

I must say it tasted really weird. It was grainy and somewhat bitter but yet tasteless. The seafood was also not the freshest, considering the kind of establishment they were running.

We then had the squid ink spaghetti with king crab, it was to quote the boyfriend "unexciting", I found it bland and I think I can cook better. 

The main was the caramelised ox cheek, which was tender and juicy, but the sauce was too bitter and could have done with more sugar I feel. 

The whole experience was a bit of a let down in terms of the food quality, but I am a sucker for service, which made up for some of it. Thank you Gilbert for your professionalism and hospitality. However, I don't think I will be seeing you again.

I went to this restaurant ONLY because of my complimentary membership of Palate as an AMEX Card holder.

 

I rang the restaurant on Saturday evening to check on availability for a table and was advised the restaurant was full but there was outdoor seating, which I agreed was fine for 815pm that night. I asked after confirmation of the dress standard and was told it was smart casual.

 

Upon arriving at the restaurant, I was surprised in fact the restaurant was nearly empty, but it was only 815pm, so I guessed it would fill up. However, the restaurant did not fill. When we went to leave at 935pm, I asked the Restaurant Manager what time the kitchen closed, thinking it must stay open late, therefore that would be why the restaurant was still empty and why we had not been offered the table inside. He told me it closed at 10pm and he did not know why we were told there was no inside tables, perhaps the way we were dressed. Well this really annoyed me since when I rang they couldn't know how we were dressed, and we were dressed well, my wife in a long silk dress and myself in long pants, shoes and collared polo shirt. When I looked around, I noticed other people who would have been dressed to a lower standard. Indeed the staff of the restaurant could be said to be of a lower dress standard. Also the manager Adi Putra smelt very very strongly of cigarette smoke, which I find offensive as a non smoker. So I am slightly offended by this comment, and this booking system, perhaps they are trying to appear much busier than what they are.

The food was ok, but nothing fantastic. Not somewhere I would go again or recommend. Also very hard to find it from the carpark.

for photos and more reviews, http://littlemomentsofmylife.wordpress.com/ :)

ochre is a very nice italian restaurant (with some japanese fusion cos the chef is japanese) with a to-die-for view. granted, it's not on the 70th floor like equinox, but at nearly the highest floor of Orchard Central, this is a great view for a price that is relatively kinder to your wallet.

we started off the meal with the antipasti misti ($20) which is an assorted plate of 6 appetizers. the mesclun salad was fresh and lightly seasoned and helped to refresh the palate before our meal. i loved the prosciutto and mango salad - the saltiness of the ham matched with the sweet mango evened out the taste nicely. the pan fried scallop was another worthy mention! it was so fresh and well-cooked, soft with just the right amount of bite. the other three appetizers we tried were the caprese, yellow fin tuna 'tataki'  and smoked eel & horseradish cream.

the next dish we had was the saffron tagliolini ($28). i loved the thick gravy with the flavour of  crystal bay prawn, mussel & crab meat tomato cream all blended into a smooth puree. it was delicious!

the pan seared beef tenderloin 'rossini' ($36) was the ultimately decadent dish. see that fat slab of caramelized foie gras?! :D i think this is the first time i've ever tried it properly and it was superbly awesome. it simply melted and the flavour burst in my mouth. the beef was cooked beautifully too, medium-rare, just tender enough.

finally, we ended off the meal with the dolci misti ($20) which was a dessert platter with chocolate terrine, tiramisu, caramel mousse, passion fruit panna cotta, pistachio gelato. the tiramisu was AWESOMEEEE (: i am drooling just thinking about it :P teehee. the passion fruit panna cotta and pistachio gelato were really refreshing! (:

Read the full review at http://thehungrybunnie.blogspot.com/2011/07/ochre-italian-restaurant-bar.html

The food didn't blow us away, but it was a very pleasant meal, with a fantastic chic and relaxed ambience and even better view. The restaurant was barely occupied, so it may have contributed to the private feel of the restaurant. Service was attentive but unintrusive.

We got a main from the ala carte menu, and the 4-Course Set Dinner ($68++) to share. There are 3 choices for each course in the set dinner, so it's really quite worth it.

The chosen antipasti was the Fegato Grasso 'Padellato' (add $10) pan-fried foie gras. While the foie gras wasn't the most creamy I've tasted, this was robust and tasted more like duck than it did liver, which I like.

The primo course was the Risotto con Anatra Affumicata with smoked duck, radicchio and parmiggiano reggiano. The staff had very thoughtfully separated out the risotto into 2 portions for us to share. We like!

The secondi was the Filetto di Merluzzo in Padella, pan-fried fillet of oily creamy cod matched with spicy squid ink sauce and sauteed diced zucchini. A safe but well-executed dish

For dessert, we chose the Tiramisu al Te Verde tiramisu, green tea style. This was possibly the only dish that I thought was "modern Italian"

We also had the daily special of freshly-made Ravioli del Giorno ($18 for 6 pcs), from the filled with minced pork and topped off with a basil tomato ragout. Pasta was al dente, filling was hearty and sauce was full-bodied. A dumpling version of spaghetti bolognese

 

Went there with partner and her friend  .. avoided traditional Italian pasta and  pizza etc so went for set menu.

it was ok but but not sure whether really vfm - I went for 4 course set 1. tuna part . cooked/raw spoilt by too much pesto on top 2.  Duck risotto was really good 3, pork was good but nothing special very nicely presented 4. Green tea tiramisu - poor why in asia this obsession with fusion take a classic pudding like tiramisu and ruin it with green tea

on the side my partner diapoointed with rack of lamb - lanb more fat that meat and wasnt cooked as requested

Been wrecking my brains to find somewhere to take my girlfriend who loves pastas.  Walked by OChre several times and it looked really nice and cozy from the outside.  In fact on several occasions, it looked packed.  It has an outdoor area with a bar too.  After checking out the reviews to be pretty positive from many, I thought this is it!

We opted for the eat-all-you-can pasta/pizza buffet which works out to be $22 per person.  Have to say they have a pretty decent selection of pastas and pizzas to choose from.  After reading a positive review on their foie gras (Fegato Grasso - $23), we ordered a serving of this pan-fried appetizer from their ala-carte menu.  While waiting, we were served pretty yummy bread.  Knowing we want to share the foie gras, they thoughtfully portioned for us.  This appetizer was really yummy!  If I were to return again (did I say IF?), I would order this.

Our choices included the Linguine with Seafood and Penne in Spicy Tomato Sauce.  The first was good, with fresh seafood and the linguine perfectly al-dente.  The pasta texture of the latter was undercooked.  The spicy sauce was pretty good but I thought it was funny that it was just penne with sauce.  I expected it to come with bits of bacon or seafood of some sort, so it was just penne in spicy sauce...I thought that was a little weird and it made the taste absolutely flat.  PENNE & SAUCE alone just don't cut it lah (you can see that I just can't get over this).  Maybe their strategy to the buffet plan was just to pile cutomers with carbs?  The overall experience left me with no desire to order dessert.

Surprisingly, the place was very empty today.  Despite the buffet promotion, the place was quiet with only a few tables, unlike my previous sightings.  Personally, the service didn't appear very earnest.  Though it wasn't bad, it just felt impersonable and distant.  But then again, they do not impose any service charge, or maybe, just maybe...I wasn't in my sunday best but I paid for lunch ok! I gave this place an overall rating of only 3 because the overall feel/experience is an important factor to determine if I would return and bring more friends with me. Somehow, they fail miserably in this aspect.

for the full review with photos, read it on my blog:

http://bamboopandalove.wordpress.com/2011/06/22/ochre-at-orchard-central

it was a girl friend's birthday so we had a cosy dinner for 3. overall, it was amazing. it’s been awhile since i last had foie gras & it was very nicely done. we all left with happy tummies.. if i remember correctly it was $68++ per person, subject to additional charges for the choice of food, it was a +$10 for the foie gras as well as the beef steak. a tad pricey in general but for the quality of the food in addition to awesome company, it was well worth it. :)

Having been to the Sunday prosecco brunch at least a handful of times, I'm already a fan of the OChre buffet, so it was nice to try the Saturday buffet for a change. What I like about this 'all you can eat format' is that it is a la carte, which has the dual benefits of freshly cooked dishes and less food wastage. Furthermore, the kitchen is flexible for special orders, such as pizzas minus cheese, which is a big help for me with a dairy allergy.

Pizza Prosciutto Rome Tomato, Parma Ham, Wild Rocket & Mozzarella : Stone-baked thin crust pizza with sparse but quality ingredients. It's actually parma ham, not prosciutto, which is preferable for me anyway. The tomato has a pleasant sweet flavour. A good start to the meal.

Linguine Prawn, Tomato Sauce : Excellent pasta dish, served al dente and piping hot, with a fresh tomato sauce and four large prawns. The prawns are de-shelled but still have the heads left in the dish, which I like for presentation and flavour, while still constructing an easy to eat dish. Superb!



Pizza Marinara Anchovy, Garlic, Black Olive & Mozzarella : The fishy tasting anchovies dominate this pizza. I was hoping for more garlic. I find black olives rather bland and disappointing, much prefer the green or kalamata varieties. Not my favourite, but still pleasant enough with the good quality thin crust pizza base.

Tagliatelle Bolognese Sauce : The final plate I decided to squeeze in, and pay the price of feeling bloated for the whole afternoon. But it's well worth it for a fresh tasting and well executed version of this Italian staple. Not quite as good as my nonna's, but getting close.

Overall I can give another very positive review for OChre's buffet format, this time for the Saturday pizza/pasta fest. It's refreshing to see the no service fee and transparent pricing policy (always showing the net price). Bravo to chef Kentaro and the OChre team... I will be back for more!

We ordered the 2 different kind of set menu which is priced at around $80 NETT? Couldn't remember the exact figure. But well this place does not charge service charge.

The dishes were pretty good, with extra compliments to the salmon which I thought was pretty well done considering my friend does not take salmon that is un-cooked yet she still ended up eating it.

The pumpkin soup was sweet, not too heavy on the stomach and palate and was a hit.

The palate cleanser which was Passionfruit sorbet granite was very nice. Different kind of texture from the normal sorbet, it was zesty, sweet and refreshing. Very enjoyable.

Mains were decent(Cod was fresh and meat was tender, nicely cooked)

Desserts were ordinary. But gelato was very nice, and I heard it is home-made. Not bad!

Service wise was friendly, un-trusive yet could be improved further on. Staff seems to be unsure of what they were doing, the managers look so shy and reserved, 2 glasses of wine took quite long to arrive. Other then service, great place to bring your date there. Ambience is fantastic as well with the big glass door and classy setting/renovation.

This is a long overdue review because I went there months ago, but I can still rmb how the set lunch was so worth it. I can't rmb the exact price, but it consisted of a soup, main course, dessert and tea/coffee.

Some must-tries include their antipasto (one of the choices for appetizers which my friend had), their steak, and most of their Italian desserts. I also heard that they are good for their duck risotto and foie gras but I've yet to try those. This is probably one of the better Italian restaurants in the town area.

I would think that their lunch sets are more value for money than ordering ala carte or going there for dinner. So do visit during the lunch hour! The ambience exudes a modern and minimalist feel too, which I liked.