Chris D's enjoyment of traveling is second only to the love affair with food and luckily for him, his job has allowed him to combine those two passions. Everything from six star, fine dining experiences in Europe and pork lau lau cooked in an underground oven in Tahiti to fried scorpions in China and catfish in the US; he has rarely met a food that he didn't like.
"I'm forever in search of 'THE meal'; the one that combines impeccable service, a unique ambiance and that ever-so elusive perfect combination of ingredients, cooking technique and at least a pinch of culinary passion. Be it back street food cart or Michelin rated restaurant, until then, I'll continue to enjoy the journey."
- Chris D.
My friend Anna had been asking me to show her around Resorts World for a while, so I invited her to join me for lunch at Italian Restaurant Palio yesterday. I had heard about the great set lunch options they had, so thought this would be a good excuse for me to try them for myself.
It was Anna's first time driving into the resort and coming from the CBD, she commented on how surprisingly convenient coming to Resorts World was. I met up with her at the entrance to the resort and we took the short walk to the restaurant.
Upon reaching the restaurant, we had to wait for a couple of minutes for the host to escort us to our table. The restaurant is an open-kitchen concept, bright and spacious and the decoration is very modern, yet interestingly eclectic.
While the service between entering the restaurant and getting to the seats could be improved, once seated at our comfortable table overlooking the open kitchen, the service was efficient yet friendly. I love good bread and the fresh loaf served with oil and balsamic was a great way to start the meal.
Our appetisers arrived within minutes of ordering. The creamy mushroom and truffle soup was everything you could hope for; rich and hearty with bits of mushroom that gave it nice texture. The rucola salad with poached scallops was okay, but the scallops could have been a bit more flavourful.
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| Rucola Salad tossed with Lemon dressing served with poached Scallops and Orange wedges |
Being a fan of anything-parsnip, I really struggled with whether to order the snapper with parsnip puree or the rigatoni in tomato sauce.
The rigatoni won and I wasn't the least bit disappointed. The pasta was a perfect al dente, the sauce was very smooth and the cherry tomatoes added a bit of variety to the dish. The strips of crispy parma ham proved to be a nice addition and were very tasty, but my one request would be for the chef to be a bit more generous with the parma.
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| Rigatoni in Tomato Sauce served with Crispy Parma Ham and Fresh Cherry Tomatoes |
Luckily for me, Anna ordered the snapper and I didn't hesitate to try the parsnip puree. Parsnips hold a certain place in my heart; as a kid, it was one of the few vegetables that my mom didn't have to heavily bribe me to eat. While I had never tried it pureed, the flavour complimented the perfectly cooked white fish and was quite an interesting change from boring mashed potatoes that have become all-to-standard at many other restaurants.
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| Grilled Red Snapper served with Parsnip Purée in Spicy Tomato Sauce |
And as the saying goes; save the best for last. Gelato all around. Anna opted for the tiramisu gelato and seemed quite impressed. I’m not a fan of tiramisu to begin with, so I couldn’t give a fair opinion of it. I had the chocolate gelato and being a self-proclaimed chocolate snob, I’m not that easy to please when it comes to chocolate. I found their version divine! Not too sugary-sweet but just right.
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| Tiramisu and Chocolate gelato |
My only regret was that we didn’t bring Anna’s kids as it would have given us an excuse to order the pizza which I would have loved to try. From the nice, doughy crust to the generous toppings, I’m pretty sure it would have found favour at our table.
In a city spoiled for choice for quality lunch at a reasonable price, Palio succeeded in spoiling us further. Whether looking for a quick business lunch or a relaxed family dining experience, Palio seems like the perfect solution. The great variety of quality food is sure to please any palate and the convenience to the CBD and special lunch time parking rates make the fast business lunch not only pleasing to the discerning palate, but also easy on the wallet.
Palio is located at Resorts World Sentosa. Enjoy lunchtime parking rates from 12pm to 2pm on Mondays to Thursdays (excluding PH) at S$1 for the first hour and S$2 thereafter.
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