The Place Located just above Common Man Coffee Roasters, Bochinche is the Spa Esprit Group’s answer to Argentinian cuisine – which lack options in Singapore. I was really excited about having the opportunity to savour and find out more about Argentinian food,  since my best impression stops at just Argentinian beef.

The setting of Bochinche is open yet it feels surprisingly cosy, which I attribute to the warm interior lighting. It is very spacious as well, with clearly defined dining sections, giving diners maximum privacy.

The restaurant’s main area would be the dining counters and the bar, where you can sip your pre-dinner drinks while keeping an eye on the busy kitchen. Being part of the kitchen’s action and looking out at the way the food is being prepared has always a visual treat for me, likewise for many food enthusiast as well!

If you love the weather in Singapore, there are plenty of outdoor seats as well.

The Food The bar menu boast a wide selection of cocktails which is perfect before our dinner.

We tried the Harvest Punch ($19) which is very refreshing, thanks to the pisco, grape juice and lime juice components. We do recommend this if the weather turns alittle too hot while you are at Bochinche.

For a mix of beer and fruit juice, I would recommend the Bemberg Fizz ($19) which mixes lemon and beer. Would be a hit if you ain’t that big a drinker, but wouldn’t mind a glass at a social gathering!The real excitement came with the food menu: Snacks, Empanadas, Sea, Land and Others. This was as concise as a menu could be, perhaps it was also good that there were not many choices within each category for the clueless individual like myself. We began with Snacks by trying the Pan & manteca ($7) which is Bochinche’s house-baked bread. The bread was so good that I couldn’t resist taking another bite, especially with the salted butter. The other snack not to miss out is the Classic Provoleta, almonds and honey ($17), a classic Argentinian cheese grilled till half-melted. This tasted really good when taken with the bread, which was great for sharing.

I loved the Grilled ox tongue, pickled Japanese eggplant, Parmesan & gremolata ($15) served next, which was tenderly sliced for easy sharing and went well with the parmesan.
From the Sea selection, we tried the Yellow fin tuna, grilled pak choi, spicy humita & crispy “aji molido” tofu ($30), which I thought was an interesting fusion of ingredients. From the Japanese inspired Yellow fin tuna to the Chinese Pak Choi to the Argentinian aji molido (red pepper) tofu, the combination might seem random or unique depending on individual but at least we felt that it was a fairly creative dish. I especially enjoyed the fresh tuna the most.

For pork lovers, the Caramelized pork belly, grilled prawn, sweet potato & crispy chorizo ($29) should be a dish which you would take notice of. For a main, the serving was quite small which would be fine if this was not the only dish of the night. Ultimately, most of the mains on the menu were meant to be served in a more tapas fashion to encourage more food sharing. For tRP, the pork belly was relatively disappointing as we felt the flavour a tad too normal – the pork belly resembles the local Singapore Lor Bak (Braised Pork). The saving grace of the dish was the fresh prawns instead. The Land section of the menu was my favourite as I am more of a meat’s lover. The Bife angosto (sirloin) ($49) was a must try for me as I have heard so much about the awesome Argentinian beef steak. I expected the texture of the steak to be more tender, but ended up a tad too tough for my liking. Like to add that the taste was overly singular and was not well cooked resulting in the pool of red blood. Given the price of this dish, I was disappointed that the quality of the steak did not quite match up to my expectations.Finally, it was time for desserts after trying so much food. My favourite was the Bitter chocolate tart, chili flakes yogurt & chocolate ice cream ($16), which was made with such rich chocolate that I could not resist another mouth. The chocolate ice cream was one of the best I have had in a while from a restaurant, and no, I am not bias simply because I am a chocolate lover!For crème brûlée  lovers, you would not miss the “Dulce de leche” crème brûlée & banana split ice-cream ($17) from the desserts section. I am not a fan of banana split and would much prefer a vanilla ice cream. The caramel layer was too soft while the custard base was not rich enough, which was a pity.As for the Milk cake, passion fruit sorbet & toasted almonds ($14), I love the refreshing passion fruit sorbet but less so for the milk cake, which I would prefer to have it dry than moist.

Rants The prices at Bochinche is definitely on the high end, which may not be as wallet friendly as other restaurants.

Will I return again? There were some hits and misses on the menu but Bochinche is overall a fresh dining concept which I find lacking in Singapore. The Argentinian theme menu certainly added more variety to our local culinary scene. For authentic Argentinian food, Bochinche is definitely one of the only few good ones in Singapore.

Bochinche (relocated to Amoy Street on 23 June 2016)
115 Amoy Street, #01-02
Singapore 069935
Tel: +65 6235 4990

Opening Hours:
Monday to Thursday: 12pm to 2.30pm, 6pm to 10pm
Friday:  12pm to 2.30pm, 6pm to 11pm
Saturday: 11am to 3pm, 6pm to 11pm
Sunday: 11am to 3pm,

Ranted by The Ranter