il Lido

I know it sounded earlier like Ryan and I were generous enough to fly our mums overseas for a meal but actually it was only driving across the bridge to Sentosa. Well, we definitely made up for that by bringing them to one of the most luxurious dining destination in Sentosa, il Lido restaurant.

il Lido located in Sentosa

Located on the east side of Sentosa, the restaurant is within the main clubhouse of the prestigious Sentosa Golf Club. You will need to park your car at the free open air carpark in front of the clubhouse but be warned that you risk your shiny car getting pecked/dented by the peacocks because they see their reflections on the car’s paintwork. The stylish restaurant exudes a nice classy ambience with the clever use of designer furniture, mirrors and lighting. il Lido offers alfresco dining with breathtaking views of the South China Sea, lush greenery of the golf course and foliage.

Hand dived scallop with sea urchin and sunchoke

The ladies all went with the Mother’s Day menu however Ryan and I went with the la carte menu. I will write about the a la carte dishes since that is what you can order when you are at the restaurant but be quick as Chef Beppe tends to change his menu based on the seasons! I started off with the hand dived scallop with sea urchin and sunchoke. Hand dived scallops are scallops harvested by divers, hand caught on the ocean floor and delivered to the marketplace normally in a fresher condition than those caught by bottom trawls. It is also more eco-friendly as the harvesting method does not cause damage to undersea flora and fauna. The sunchoke and sea urchin has been blended into a thick puree like consistency and when eaten with the scallop provides a good strong base for the mild tasting scallop. The puree was both salty from the urchin and sweet from the sunchoke. The whole dish resembled crème brulee especially because of the yellow puree which they torched as well to caramelized it. I stole some of my brother’s goose liver which was served with celeriac, apricots and pistachio. Goose foie gras is larger than duck foie gras and to me it is slightly milder in taste. The celeriac mash paired well with the rich liver.

Roasted standing mini pork rack

For the mains, I had the wagyu beef which was served with morel sauce and parsley root. The wagyu beef looked like it was sous vide cooked. I doubt the cooking method made the meat tender as it was however it definitely locked in all the flavours which was sweet, nutty and earthy especially with the thick morel jus. The parsley root lended more nuttiness to the dish and the greens just made me feel a little healthier. My brother had the suckling pig which was done three ways. Perhaps Beppe got inspiration from the three little pigs. The meat from the head was pulled before being crumbed and deep fried. What you got was a crispy shell and moist flavourful meat inside. The second way was crispy skin from the belly cut into a square. As there is not much meat from the belly, meat from the legs and shoulders are braised and then sliced and put below the crispy belly skin. The third and final way was a roasted standing mini pork rack with the bones frenched. This was the best of both worlds, crispy skin with tender meat. I thought the idea and presentation of the dish was outstanding and it tasted as good as it looked.

Hazelnut coolant

For dessert, I had the hazelnut coolant which was served with Venezuela chocolate gelato. The hazelnut molten oozed out as I cut into cake and it went beautifully with the ice cream. The biscuit and bits of hazelnut added a nice crunch. Ryan had the banana brûlée with salted caramel and coconut gelato. I think you can see how yummy it tasted from the picture. The pieces of banana were coated in a sweet caramel sauce that was balance out nicely with the coconut ice cream and the dehydrated coconut flesh.

il Lido has seen a number of chefs come and go however since owner Beppe De Vito has gone into the kitchen, there has been a greater focus on the use of quality ingredients and more consistency in the food. Prices here are not cheap but neither are quality ingredients.  

~ Andre Huber
Executive Director