rosso . a japanese cafe

Café Rosso
17D Lorong Liput
Holland Village
Tel: 6466 8637
Website: http://www.cafe-rosso.com

I recall writing about Café Rosso in my early food blogging days. That was in my now-defunct food blog by the way. When I first visited Café Rosso, I loved the environment and the concept of it so much that I visited the place rather often. Having said that though, it’s been some time since I had returned. Something sparked in D somehow for us to have tea there one day and so we did. Since then, we’ve been there for dinner and we’re even thinking of having breakfast there this Saturday!

Café Rosso is opened by a Japanese couple and the food served there is Western with Japanese influences. I was just raving about the Mentaiko Pasta I had at Te from my Hong Kong reviews and I had forgotten that Café Rosso was a place where I could find just the thing I was looking for. From what I know, Mentaiko Pasta could be one of the most unhealthy pastas out there with loads of mayonnaise and butter used to make the cream. In this case, healthiness is a small trade-off for delicious food. Anyways, I couldn’t resist a taste test to compare the Mentaiko Pasta from both places.

The Mentaiko Pasta served at both places taste totally different and frankly, I don’t have a clue which is the authentic one. Well, technically Te originated from Roppongi Hills in Tokyo so there was a better shot at authenticity there but then again, it lacked the spiciness that the mentaiko should have brought to the pasta so now, I’m doubtful. Café Rosso however, did well in this section. The spiciness of the mentaiko brought a lovely kick to the creamy pasta. Speaking of which, the cream used was totally different as well. Café Rosso’s version was drier but heavier; the cream taste was pretty strong. Te’s version however was much wetter, lighter but saltier. The only similarities they probably had were that they both used spaghetti and topped their pastas off with shredded seaweed. Not to mention that I wiped out both plates with swift hands and a hungry tummy too.














Mentaiko Spaghetti

D ordered the tomato seafood spaghetti which I thought looked really good. I liked the garlicky tomato sauce but D thought that the spaghetti wasn’t al dente and would have appreciated it better if it was slightly undercooked. Sis had a hearty beef stew, one of Rosso’s specials. It was rather heavy, creamy and a little miserly on the amount of meat in the stew but nonetheless delicious, especially with the chunks of stewed carrots in there.














Seafood Spaghetti in Tomato Sauce














Rosso Beef Stew

On a separate occasion when I had tea there, D had an Aglio Olio which was flavourful but again, the pasta was overcooked. The dessert I had that day was note-worthy. Café Rosso usually displays all their cakes for customers to choose. In typical Japanese fashion, every cake that’s displayed looks like so much effort has been put in to make it look pretty. Being attracted by the asthetics, I couldn’t decide what to have and D ended up choosing the Mont Blanc; a chestnut cake which I loved. You’d have to eat the chestnut paste with the cream within and the sweet biscuit base to realize that flavours have been well balanced and not overly sweet. Definitely worth a try…














Aglio Olio Spaghetti


















Mont Blanc

I’m looking forward to breakfast this Saturday. That’ll be a good time for me to relax, take my time to read the papers and enjoy my Tuscan breakfast (which is yummy by the way) and scones. With good company of course.