Summerlicious Dinner @ Centro

For my last Summerlicious, I was determined to try a new restaurant. After perusing through the menus, I decided on Centro. I've passed by this restaurant numerous times before and was always quite curious about it.

The interior was elegant and spacious with super high ceilings. In addition, large mirrors line the walls, making the dining room seem a lot bigger than it is. There is also additional dining space upstairs and in the basement, presumably for private functions.

The bread basket swiftly arrived at the table after we ordered. I didn't particularly care for either kind, so I tried my best not to fill up on it.

To start, Jeremy had braised pork belly with sweet apple jam, fried pickle and sprout salad. The pork belly itself reminded me a lot of Chinese roast pork, with a crispy skin and a thick layer of fat. The pork belly wasn't particularly tender, but I really enjoyed the pairing of a rich, fatty piece of meat with the fruity jam.

I could never resist a good gnocchi, so I went with smoked eggplant gnocchi as my appetizer. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't taste the eggplant itself, as it was incorporated into either the gnocchi or the sauce (I couldn't tell). However, the accompanying mushrooms, ricotta, grilled corn and wilted pea shoots were quite lovely. As with the pork belly, the portions were appropriately small for a starter.

Jeremy's main was a beautiful roasted striploin, accompanied by double smoked bacon potato gratin, sauteed spinach and fried leeks. I was totally in love with the striploin, which was achingly tender and extremely flavourful. On the side, the potato gratin was pure buttery goodness, and the bacon added an addictive savoury kick. I only wished that there was more of everything since it was all delicious!

To my own surprise, I went with a vegetarian option- polenta cake with herb breaded artichokes, roasted king oyster mushrooms, chard, vine tomato and onion soubise. I was also very content with my plate of food, despite the lack of meat. The polenta cake was delightfully rich and creamy, and the crispy crust added a great textural contrast to the softness of the polenta. The other standout element was the incredible onion soubise, which I just wanted to lick off the plate. My only problem was the fried artichoke. While it was very tasty, certain parts of the artichoke were so fibrous that I couldn't chew it down, and I had no choice but to spit it back out.

For dessert, Jeremy opted for yoghurt panna cotta with peach mousse and white chocolate feuillitine. The panna cotta was perfectly creamy and not overly sweet, and the peach mousse was quite refreshing. My favourite part was undoubtedly the crunchy clusters of white chocolate feuillitine, which reminded me of Clodhopper (which I love!).

I picked the black forest macaron sandwich with cherry sorbet. I loved the idea of a macaron sandwich, but this certainly wasn't the best macaron that I've had. The texture was on the denser side. However, any shortfall of the macaron was made up by the bright cherry sorbet. It was a bold and refreshing punch to the palate.

Compared to the other Summerlicious meals I've had this year, Centro's portions were definitely on the smaller side, even compared to other fine-dining restaurants like Canoe and Auberge du Pommier. That said, I didn't mind the smaller portions at all as my stomach capacity is quite limited anyway. The food, especially the mains, was very impressive, and I also loved the panna cotta. All in all, Centro was a very good end to my Summerlicious adventures, and I'm quite happy to go back to healthy eating for awhile.