Besides Little Bali, there is another gem of a place at Lock Road which I think few have yet to discover going by the number of people who were there on a Tuesday night.
The Turquoise Room is an Italian restaurant situated at Blk 7 Lock Road, a short walk away from Little Bali.
At night, one can enjoy al fresco dining under the stars amidst lush greenery. It was a lovely setting the evening I was there—the sky was clear and blue, but it was getting a lighter blue as the evening slowly slipped into the night. A few of the brighter stars were already starting to make their appearance in the late evening sky. A cool breeze was blowing through the air, rustling the leaves of the many trees that surrounded the place. In the background, breezy Bossa Nova tunes filtered through the air, bringing to mind lazy days and nights spent by the beach. The white and blue interiors and furniture of the restaurant would have been perfect for a café by the beach. All that was missing yesterday were the presence of a beach and the soft sound of waves lapping onto shore...
For starters, we had the garlic bread and crostini with a sun-dried tomato and pesto dip. The bread was served warm (nothing like warm bread) and the two dips were very tasty. For mains, I had the aglio olio prawn & arugula cooked al dente. I love eating arugula (also known as “rocket” by Americans) even though it has a slightly sharp and bitter taste. The prawns were big and fresh, and the aglio olio dressing had just the right amount of garlic, oil and fresh chilli to give that extra zest to the dish.
olduvai felt my dish could have done with a bit more chilli but I was pretty fine with it as I don't take food that's too spicy anyway. She in turn had the pork loin with a slice of apple and proscuitto served on a bed of baby asparagus. Though she found it just a tad oily, both of us thought the pork was delicious as it was nice and juicy with the sweetness of the apple balancing out the saltiness of the proscuitto.
And what’s dinner without dessert to end it off? We shared a chocolate mousse which had traces of coffee and maybe a hint of lemongrass/lavender in its taste. We couldn’t quite figure out what that flavour was…
We looked at their wine list and found that the wines there are pretty expensive. So perhaps you might like to bring your own bottles there. Corkage is $20. Service is alright...just that you might find it a little difficult to get the attention of the wait staff when you're seated at the patio. Without wine, expect to spend about $30 - $35 per person. There's also a brunch menu and I think it's something that would be nice to go for on a weekend to just chill.
It's a good place to go for a date and obviously we weren't the only ones privvy to this knowledge because the rest of the people who were there (however few there were) were all couples!
It’s bizarre—my girlfriends and I always suss out such lovely places that are perfect for dates, but since we have no dates, we end up "dating" one another. Haha.