If you’ve been celebrating your anniversary with your other half at the same restaurant every other year, it’s about time to shake things up a little this year. Surprises never get old, especially when you wanna impress the love of your life.
The overwhelming crowd and relentless chatter of Orchard just completely kill the romance. If you’re looking for a place quiet enough to hear the clinking of red wine glasses, with the privacy to whisper sweet nothings, look no further than Portico Prime – to make your date night a memorable one.
And there’s no better time to head to the idyllic hills of Dempsey for that romantic meal, because Portico Prime has introduced a new menu that’ll send your tastebuds into disarray, and of course, step your date game up.
A strong, beefy aroma wafted to my nose as soon as I cut into the steak, so I was all ready to dig into Japan Kagoshima Sirloin A5 Grade ($98), knowing that it’d leave me crying tears of joy. Yes, tissues were definitely needed for this, and they weren’t just to wipe my mouth. Char-grilled to perfection, the beef is best served medium rare so that every bite is as succulent as beef of this quality should be.
Dip your bovine into the sea salt served at the side, before dunking it into the thick savoury brown sauce, which is the result of slow-cooking various parts of the cow for hours on end. Unlike some of the wagyu beef we’ve tried, this one is not too soft or mushy. Tender, with just the right firmness, you can tell that on top of using top grade meat, a highly-skilled chef is the key ingredient to such a glorious dish.
Check out the marbling on that premium beef directly imported from Japan.
If you’re a foodie, you’d know that the more marbling on your beef, the better. ‘Cause that just means what you’re about consume is TOP GRADE meat from the cows.
When it comes to burgers, we go big or go home. Portico’s Signature Burger ($32) definitely agrees with us. Sandwiched between the crispy buns is a heaping pile of ingredients like truffle sauce, melted gruyere cheese, tomato, mushroom, onion marmalade, and a sunny side-up.
With a cut of the knife on the burger, a stream of sunshine bursts forth, flowing downwards to blend in with rest of the ingredients, so that every bite releases an explosion of flavours. As the portion is massive, we highly recommend sharing the dish with your loved ones.
A new addition to the menu, Baked Cod Fish ($38) first captivated us with its tasteful presentation. If you wanna snap a photo, you gotta be quick, before the yuzu foam dissolves into nothingness. A huge slice of delicate, snowy white cod fish sits atop creamy cauliflower puree, broccoli, and carrots. Hazelnut matcha bits are sprinkled around, lending some crunchiness to the dish, and killing any trace of fishiness.
To get a better appreciation this dish, don’t eat the ingredients separately. Instead, pair each bit of the fish with every single element on your plate. If you do it right, you’ll taste a slight bitterness from the hazelnut matcha bits, countered with the freshness of the cod fish. Overall, the dish carries a light flavour, retaining the natural sweetness of the fish.
Featuring live mussels stirred in white wine sauce, alongside celery and onions, Live Scotland Blue-Lipped Mussels ($18) is spiced up by chilli, which also gets rid of fishiness. A pinch of sea salt is all the seasoning required to let the freshness of these shiny blue crustaceans shine through. Seeing that the pot is overflowing with mussels, we unanimously agreed that the portion easily feeds 2 to 3.
Be gentle with deshelling the mussels, ‘cause you don’t wanna spill any juices onto your fancy evening gown. And you’d wanna mop up the essences of the mussels at the bottom of the pot with the toast, or top your toast with the mussels – no hard and fast rules here, just go with whatever floats your boat.
PS: Mussels are only available in limited portions daily.
Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the city, Portico Prime is perfect for date nights with bae. Red bricked pillars and dim lighting ambience gives the place an air of romance, and the tranquility allows for quiet conversations. You can choose to dine at the mini bar, take a seat indoors, or be one with nature on cool, breezy nights.
Every relationship requires a lot of effort and commitment to keep the love alive. That means taking every milestone of your relationship seriously by celebrating anniversaries and birthdays with your love, and giving him or her the best that you can.
A date night at Portico Prime certainly helps you to do just that. With a revamped menu boasting of exquisite dishes and a classy ambience, you’ll be taking your relationship to a whole new level here.
This post was brought to you by Portico Prime.
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