BoCHINche
Restaurants in Singapore are increasingly offering a selection of menus for different times and days of the week. I’ve noticed this particularly with the set lunch options that have inspired me to try several great new restaurants in the last few months, and also with brunch menus. Particularly on the weekend, customers like to experience a little more variety on their menu (and indeed, finding somewhere good to go for lunch on a Saturday can be particularly challenging if you want more than eggs). So it’s great when you find somewhere that’s managed to become adept at fulfilling your cravings no matter what time of day it happens to be.
Now if you had suggested to me three months ago that BoCHINche on Martin Road was such a place, your comment would have met with a disappointed look. My first visit there was mediocre to say the least. Ask me now about a great place for lunch during the week or brunch on weekends, or for a relaxing dinner with friends, in a great location with a sleek fit out, and BoCHINche jumps straight to mind. And as you may have guessed, there’s a bit of a story behind my change of heart.
It’s another twitter story too. Where circumstances led to the Diego Jacquet, chef owner of BoCHINche, to reach out and make me realise (yet again) how initial opinions can be so wildly wrong, especially at a start up. It turns out that Diego runs a couple of highly successful London restaurants; Zoilo and Casa Malevo, and a friend of mine in London frequents these restaurants and therefore suggested to me (on twitter) that I should give BoCHINche a whirl. I sadly explained that I had and that I’d been very disappointed. Diego spotted my tweet and was quick to make efforts to put the situation right. He offered to host me for lunch when he was visiting Singapore in a few weeks. Now regular readers will know that this doesn’t mean I’d then pick up my proverbial pen and wax lyrical about how wonderful BoCHINche was.
Clearly it was wonderful when the owner himself was overseeing my experience. But what’s the point in me telling you that when you might then visit and find the experience less than average? So over the past couple of months I’ve visited BoCHINche a few more times, just to make sure that the experience I had with Diego wasn’t a fluke. And let me tell you that it wasn’t. I’m not saying it’s perfect but the staff are doing a good job and the food is very good. Not only that, but I’ve become addicted to the Cream of Mushroom soup that Chef Fabrice Mergalet has perfected. I’ve watched the action in the open kitchen and the skilful preparation of meals for the next sitting. And I’ve seen the multi dimensional nature of the restaurant (hosting a DJ on Wednesday nights for instance) and the more I see the more I like it. And there’s quirky little touches too, like the coasters with Argentinian sayings on them like, “Bochinche means ‘ruckus’ in the Lunfardo dialect – an Argentinian Spanish spoken only in Buenos Aires.” So here’s what all the ruckus about.
Brunch
The brunch menu runs the gamut from Eggs to Steak Sandwiches to Ricotta Pancakes. My Braised Ox Cheeks with Chorizo ($25++) were totally brilliant. The Ox Cheeks had obviously been slow cooked to the point of literally melting in my mouth.
The rich gravy wasn’t overpowering, just perfect for mopping up the yummy toast. The homemade chorizo was flavoursome, but the texture was a little fine for my liking, I like a chunkier chorizo to sink my teeth into. Still, it added a great flavour to the ox cheeks.
My dining partners at brunch both loved their Steak Sandwich ($29++, top photo), succulent beef that had been cooked perfectly, combined onto crusty bread and topped with BoCHINche’s home made chimichurri. The wine list for brunch includes a smashing Chimichurri Bloody Mary ($22++) that will knock the socks right off your hangover. Then you can get back on track with a bottle of Laurent Perrier for $88++. For a place to sit and relax on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, away from the throngs at street level, it’s hard to go past BoCHINche.
Lunch
The set lunch menu (Tuesday to Friday) is another great option at BoCHINche. The Cream of Mushroom soup I mentioned above is divine, there’s a base of hazelnut crumble in the bottom of the bowl, its crunchy texture and slightly sweet flavour complement the creamy but substantial mushroom soup perfectly. There’s also a cooked Portobello mushroom in the bottom to add further texture and flavour. We added Empanadas to our lunch order ($16 for 2), the chicken and beef were both good, although nothing to rave about. Interestingly we had these again for dinner and they were much better, not as dry as the first time around.
The choice of two courses for both starter and main is a little limiting but the choices are good so you can’t really complain. On the day I visited for lunch the choices for starter were the Mushroom Soup or a Ceviche. Based on my previous experience I just had to try the soup again and I was not disappointed. For mains we chose between Mackerel with a potato salad side or a Lamb Sandwich. We tried both and I’d have to say the Mackerel (photo second from top) was the winner. Nicely seared and soft and tender inside. And the side of creamy potato salad went really well to offset the sharpness of the lemon sauce with the Mackerel. The Lamb Sandwich was good too, the lamb was shredded and beautifully soft and tender, with the tasty addition of baked peppers. I’m not used to eating so much bread at lunch so I did find this a bit heavy but it was certainly tasty. The set lunch is $28++ per head for two courses or $35++ for three courses.
Dinner
I was a bit nervous about dinner at BoCHINche after my initial experience. Bravely I invited some good friends and hoped all would go well. One downside is that we were seated outside, which I personally enjoyed, fans made it comfortable and the service was still good, BUT we couldn’t see a thing. We even needed our iPhone torches to see the menu! Hence my truly terrible photos that I apologise for. So really, sitting outside is great, but it’s dark. That didn’t stop us enjoying a very good meal. We went with the sharing concept and ordered seven dishes between four of us which was just the right amount.
The stand outs for me were the Provoleta with almonds and the Ox Tongue. The cheese was rich and divine, the small serving was ample for four to share, too much would really have pushed us over the edge. We ordered fresh bread to soak up the cheese and aside from Husband who thought it was a bit rich, we all licked our fingers in delight. The Ox Tongue wasn’t a hit for the table but I enjoyed the soft texture combined with the cripsy parmesan slivers and the bruschetta that it was served on was crunchy and well seasoned. For the second time I tried the octopus and again it was tender and tasty.
The Sea Bass Ceviche was fresh and light but a touch on the limey side. Lamb was cooked beautifully and the quinoa matched well. We also tried the Green Peas with Iberico ham as a side dish and enjoyed the contrast of icey pea shavings alongside the peas and Iberico. With a sharing menu sometimes there’s a danger of everything arriving at once, or everyone pouncing on one dish when it arrives alone. In this case we were served at good intervals to allow us to enjoy the meal wholeheartedly. We shared a bottle of wine, (after an initial bottle was returned corked – and the waiter and sommelier handled the situation very well), it was a well rounded Malbec and good value at $66++. We paid just over $75 per head for dinner including an apertivo each and one bottle of wine between four.
The space at BoCHINche is a mix of bar seating, indoor tables and outdoor tables, plus a terrace for drinks and/or snacks.
So after four independent experiences at BoCHINche, plus one visit overseen by Diego, I can confidently say that BoCHINche has really come into its own after the initial teething problems. It can’t be easy operating a restaurant from another country but Diego has a great team in place here and I hope to see them continue the good run.
So what’s stopping you booking at seat at BoCHINche?
You can click the HungryGoWhere icon below right now! Please be aware that when you book through HGW (through my site or anywhere else) the restaurant will request credit card details to confirm the booking. If you’re not comfortable with this then just call the number below to reserve a table.
And then let me know what you think. It’s good to keep tabs on these restaurants. I’ve recently had some interesting comments about service at Cicheti going downhill. By commenting I can draw the restaurant’s attention to the problem in the hope that they pick things up before the situation affects their business too badly.
BoCHINche
22 Martin Road, #02-01, 239058 (the restaurant is above Common Man Coffee Roasters and the entrance is around the corner though a glass door on Arnasalam Chetty Road)
phone +65 6235 4990
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