Nuvo – Italian-Japanese Fusion Restaurant

Nuvo is a contemporary restaurant that serves Italian food with strong Japanese influence. Both my doctors are avid food-lovers and both of them have been singing praises of this restaurant which made me really curious about the restaurant that opened not too long ago at Marina Sqaure. 

The draw of Nuvo is really this $15 Set Lunch. Can you imagine spending just $15 and you get to enjoy a three-course Italian-Japanese fusion cuisine?!

We were served breadsticks with butter. The breadsticks are warm and delicious.

The flower-shaped butter is served in a teardrop-shaped saucer.

We ordered a Nuvo Tea to share. It is basically just iced lemon tea, but the good thing is that is not overly sweet and the taste is well-balanced.

Mugi Cha Smoked Salmon is an interesting dish served in an interesting design. Smoked salmon is sprinkled with furikake (dry Japanese seasoning) and served with wasabi cream, resting on a piece of baby spinach. The smoked salmon is fresh, but it is a little messy to eat. 

Tempura Soft Shell Crab is a delicious starter. When you bite into it, you not only taste the freshness of the soft shell crab that reminds you of the sea, you also taste the thin tempura that reminds you of homely Japanese food. Togarashi spice sprinkled on top gives the tempura the saltiness it need. The tomato and cucumber salad with crab roe aioli is a perfect for washing out the oil.

Braised Miso Osso Buco is an interesting fusion recipe. Osso Buco, which is Italian for “bone with a hole”, uses veal shank which is the meat of a young cattle. Hence, the meat is very tender after braising. Thickened miso is poured over the meat and mashed potatoes, giving the dish a Japanese twist. 

I know there are many people who loves wasabi, but I still and will probably always feel that wasabi tastes like petrol, or at least how I imagine petrol will taste like. Wasabi Smoked Salmon Pasta is not as bad as I thought it would be. The pasta is well-cooked but still has a good bite to it. The sauce is creamy and the wasabi baby green peas gives just the slightest hint of wasabi. Goma furikake adds a sprinkling of flavour to the dish.

Wild Honey Panna Cotta is a variation of my new-favourite dessert panna cotta. The panna cotta is smooth and creamy, it is even better than the one at Marco Marco. The dried fruits is an interesting concept but I think it would have been better if fresh had been used instead. The addition of wild honey gives this dessert a sweet aftertaste.

The $15 Set Lunch menu is changed every month, with 3 starters and mains to choose from each time, that means that I need to dine here at least 3 times a month in order to try every item and I am definitely not complaining. If the food from $15 Set Lunch menu is already so good, I believe regular items on the ala carte menu should be even better.