Beachside Italian at Fico in Sentosa

NEW RESTAURANT

Fico at Tanjong Beach Club 120 Tanjong Beach Walk Singapore 098942 Tel: 9750 5323 Open daily 10 am to 8 pm (up to 9 pm from Fri to Sun)

WHERE do taste buds go on their day off?

Ours go to the beach. Where the sun, sand and a big tomato named Fico tell you now is not the time to take what’s on your plate seriously. The real experience involves lounging on a daybed and gazing at the sea, but we really hate sand in our toes so there’s a very nice indoor section to find refuge in.

Mirko Febbrile’s Fico at Tanjong Beach Club is of course an offshoot of the original Fico Masseria in East Coast Park, which also practises don’t-think-about-it eating with a coastal view. It’s been around for a while, but we never found our way there because of the distance. So is Sentosa, but “far” is relative, and crossing to another island is not that far by our logic. 

That said, just because our taste buds are taking a break doesn’t mean that the kitchen is doing the same. The menu is smaller than we’d like, and very simple – even olives count as an appetiser – but the cooking is still as assured as anything you could find downtown.

In fact, the newly spruced up space – Fico takes over from the club’s generic eatery – looks more restaurant than cafe. You’re led past the beach umbrellas and a swimwear shop to a set of glass doors that keep the air-conditioning within a very high-ceilinged space filled with a row of hanging dried plants, rustic floors and woven rattan chairs.

The narrative is Puglian cucina povera, or humble ingredients cooked without any wastage. But one Italian’s povera is another Singaporean’s not-cheap-plus-GST, so you’re not getting a bargain by eating here. 

Fico does its own version of pizza or focaccina, where ambitious flatbread raises its career stakes by puffing itself up higher than a beehive hairdo. Our San Marzano tomatoes version (S$26) is inflated enough to form a large crater overflowing with chunky, squishy and sweet tomatoes overlapping torn wedges of buffalo mozzarella. Sweet basil leaves complete its Italian passport. Bite, spill everything, enjoy.

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Mushrooms sauteed in butter and parsley (S$22) sound run-of-the-mill until you call them cardoncelli in their native language. Now, we can’t verify their authenticity, because they’re king trumpet mushrooms which have Japanese and Korean roots, too. But when chopped up, softened in fragrant fat and with intermittent crunch from toasted breadcrumbs and pecorino, we’re sold.

If you want to splurge, half a seafood platter (S$108) gets you a motley mix of lobster, octopus, crayfish and scallops cooked over a barbecue grill much like you would at home. That means smoky and over-charred in parts, but overall forgivably executed. 

The crayfish is the best, butterflied and topped with a pesto-like herb mixture. Scallops are fresh but cooked just a few seconds too long, while the octopus has been speared with its tentacle end singed. The lobster is well-protected, so it emerges from its shell nicely plumped up. There’s gremolata and marinara relish on the side, but you don’t need them. Just drizzle Fico’s signature chilli oil and get the taste of the seafood without unnecessary embellishment.

Fico wouldn’t be able to call itself Italian to its face if it couldn’t do a proper pasta, so wide, chewy pappardelle noodles (S$32) are slicked in a thick ragu that’s got all the oomph without the heavy intensity of braised beef that usually comes with a side of indigestion. It’s lighter and creamier – still a huge portion to work through – but very satisfying.

We should say the same about dessert – possibly the highlight of the meal. Tiramisu (S$18) is packed with thick sponge layers and equally thick, almost chewy mascarpone, while hazelnut bigne (S$18) is a Ferrero Rocher for grown-ups. Get a large crisp choux puff, stuff it with nutella ganache and hazelnuts, and inhale the sweet nostalgia.

It’s a simplicity that suits its environment. Easy-going, with no pretensions, it’s food you can come back for. And maybe next time, we might even risk a walk in the sand.

Rating: 7