Restaurant Review: boCHINche

There has been a sprouting of new restaurants in Singapore over the past year and I’ve been dying to try all of them!!! Having heard rave reviews about boCHINche, I decided to try it out. boCHINche labels itself as “An Argentinian Dining Concept” and serves most dishes in a tapas style. Tapas has always been my favourite because that means I can try a lot more dishes than if I were to just order one main dish. Now, I’m sure some of you may be thinking, “Argentinian food? What’s that? Slabs of meat?” But I (or rather, boCHINche) am here to banish this myth. So let’s go!

First off, I LOVE the restaurant’s interior!!! Its dark woody accents and warm lights are just so inviting and I knew I could sit there all night to chill. I was given a choice of either the bar seats or a table seating and I jumped at the bar seats immediately because I love watching the chefs work behind the counter. 

The bar seating at boCHINche, which is dimmer in reality (Photo Credit: Bochinche's Facebook Page)

We ordered a few cocktails and aperitifs since we heard they had a pretty impressive list. But since I only took a picture of my cocktail and not my friends', I will not talk much about them. I tried a sip of everyone's drinks and I must say they were pretty average and forgettable. However, I must also admit that I'm not a fan of cocktails and would choose a beer or wine over cocktails any day.

My Chamame cocktail which comprises of Santa Teresa Claro Rum, pressed limes, Chambord, mint leaves and sweetened mate tea. 

Provoleta, almonds & honey

Our first dish was the highly raved about provoleta with almonds & honey. Provoleta is an Argentinean variant of Provolone cheese and is typically eaten as an appetiser in Argentina. As recommended, we ordered a basket of house baked bread to go along with the cheese. The house bread was ordinary, in fact a little stale and I didn't think it was worth a picture (oops!). But the provoleta was pretty delicious, with a perfect balance of sweetness and saltiness. The almonds provided a nice crunch to the entire dish, adding to its chewy texture. However, the heat while grilling the cheese seems to have produced some oil, making it slightly oily. Also, I would have liked it more if the cheese was creamier, giving it a smoother texture. Another thing to note is to eat this dish fast as the cheese tends to harden when cooled and becomes less appetising.

"Queso de chancho" (Braised pig head croquettes & quince)

This dish was fantastic! I know pig head sounds disgusting to most of us but really, this was made from the pig's cheeks, which is one of the tastiest and most tender part of the pig. The croquettes were crispy and light on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside. Coupled with the quince dip, your tastebuds will be in for a treat! I absolutely love this dish! Also, if you come in a group of 4 like I did, you can always request for the chef to prepare 4 pieces instead of 3! The chef kindly delivered an extra piece after this photo was taken. Thumbs up for going the extra mile!

Scallops, sweet potato, soy-honey roasted pork belly & chorizo

This dish was both a hit and a miss. The scallops were perfectly seared, golden brown on the outside, slightly translucent on the inside. It was firm and sweet, definitely very fresh. The sweet potato puree was velvety smooth and went really well with the scallops. The rest of the dish however, seemed like a separate dish altogether as they just simply did not complement the scallops. The pork belly was also overly sweet and slightly too tough for my liking.

Grilled rump of lamb, white quinoa, Romanesco, golden raisins & anchovies

The lamb was perfectly done. It was tender and juicy and went really well with the quinoa and raisins. However, I found the anchovies too overpowering and would have preferred it without the anchovies.

Roasted and pickled beetroot with goat's curd and garrapinada.

This was my favourite dish of the night. It is such a simple salad but yet so delicious. The goat's curd was deep fried to golden brown perfection, having a crispy and light exterior but a soft, warm and creamy interior. Break it apart and eat it with the rest of the salad, with the garrapinada giving it extra crunch and the pickled beetroot bringing a refreshing taste to your palette. This dish was simply a joy for my tastebuds.

Blow torched prawns, avocado, shallots & capers

This was another nicely done dish. The main factor contributing to the success of this dish was the freshness of the prawns. The prawns were firm and sweet and would have tasted amazing even without the garnishing.

Grilled octopus, smoked leeks, purple potatoes & tuna mayo

This was an average dish. Nothing much to find fault with but nothing much to praise about either. The octopus was tender but lacked flavour although this was compensated by the tuna mayonnaise.

Beef “chimichurry” burger

With provolone cheese, grilled tomato, caramelized onions & aioli.

The beef was alright, but the buns, just like their house breads, were pretty stale. However, the caramelised onions and aioli were the saving grace of the dish, making it more palatable.

Veal sweetbreads, onions, preserved lemon & hazelnut crumble

While this dish was highly raved about by many, I was disappointed by it. The composition of the entire dish itself was good, with the preserved lemon and onions going really well with the veal sweetbreads. However, the sweetbreads were pretty ordinary. Instead of being soft and tender like how quality sweetbreads should be, these tasted just like your average chicken fillets. 

House chips Provenzal

These chips smelt heavenly, but the taste did not measure up. Starchy and under-seasoned, it was difficult to eat more than one piece each. Definitely do not order this.

After the House chips, we were too full to order any desserts and so we decided to leave. 

Summary

Cost: $85/person, including one alcoholic drink each (There were 4 of us)

Food: Hits and misses

Service: Slightly slow but polite

Ambience: FANTASTIC. LOVE IT!!!! Perfect for dates or just to hang out over decent food.

Will I recommend it? Definitely worth a try but it's not one I will frequent considering the number of new restaurants I've yet to try!!!!

Remember to make a reservation as they can get pretty crowded on weekends!

boCHINche

Address: #02-01, 22 Martin Road

Hours: Tue - Thu: 12:00 - 15:00, 17:30 - 00:00

                       Fri: 12:00 - 15:00, 17:30 - 01:00

Sat: 11:00 - 01:00

Sun:11:00 - 00:00

Closed: Mon

Contact: 62354990