I've just come back from the One Fullerton party and my boss' farewell dinner at Forlino. I'm slightly inebriated so I hope that what I write makes sense (you wouldn't believe how many typos I corrected in that sentence alone). In any case, I've discovered what I suspected all along - I'm definitely more a red wine person than a white wine one and prosecco is fine by me but champagne turns my tummy upside down. I think the bubblier it is, the worse my stomach feels.

So anyway, I'm a firm believer of responsible reviewing. Which means to say that if I liked a restaurant, I'll say it but if I wasn't blown away (or, God forbid, I had a terrible experience), I would just not write about it. People's rice bowls (pun unintended) are on the line here and I think it would be irresponsible to ruin a restaurant's reputation just because you didn't enjoy your experience there. Like they always say in Singapore - nothing good to say don't say.

So I was at Forlino (and the very fact I'm writing about it means it passed). Let me just state from the start that Forlino is perfect for a romantic tete-a-tete in the evenings. Take your better half there for dinner. Even if the food doesn't do it for you, the view certainly will. You get a lovely view of the marina with sparkling lights, courtesy of the moon and the 5-star hotels fronting the bay. Very romantic.

Inside, the decor seems just a tad eclectic, with an blend of baroque and contemporary styles but I have to say it works. I took a hydraulic lift for the first time in my life and was so thrilled by it! But I digress.

Food. To start, I had the Culatello Ham with Peach and Spicy Fruit Preserve. The ham was very thinly shaved and went well with the fruit. Interestingly, Forlino has their own cure room where they cure meats and cheeses. You can even peek in through the glass window to check out the cheeses on the blocks.

For mains, I had Deep-fried Pork Leg with Stewed Ribs. Was not what I expected at all. There were 2 slices of deep-fried pig skin, 2 little ribs and a patty of sorts. Think I was expecting more of an Oktoberfest-type pork knuckle. I know, some of you are probably shaking your heads in disdain that a girl like me would dig meats so much. But I must say that I'm very much a carnivore. And a seafoodivore. And a durianivore. I'm an unhealthyfoodivore.

Dessert was half a baked peach with amaretti but I didn't enjoy it because I'm not an almond person. Chestnuts, yes. Hazelnuts, yes. Brazil nuts, yes. Almonds... not so much. However, they did give us a plate of sweets to end of, which consisted of 2 tiny dark chocolate ganaches, teeny meringues and shortbreads. Nice touch.

All in all, the food wasn't amazing-knock-my-socks-off fantastic but there is definitely potential there. Maybe they still need a little time to settle in but once that's done, I think they'll give the other restaurants a run for their money.

Ok, and you know it's time to sleep when you've spelt 'money', 'monet', more than once and when the alcohol's making you punctuate everywhere.

Nite, eoplep. I mean, people.