Food review: La Taperia

SINGAPORE — The Les Amis Group is the latest to hop onto the bandwagon with a new tapas bar, La Taperia. Located just above the group’s stretch of restaurants at Shaw Centre, it is divided into a bar area, a semi-private room, a semi-open kitchen area and a balcony decked with a long communal table. This al fresco area is ideal for those who like to kick back with a sangria (the restaurant apparently boasts the largest collection of Spanish wines in town, too).

The kitchen is managed by Ng Wei Han and Dalton Fong, formerly from Au Jardin and Bistro du Vin, respectively. And they came up with some soft, sweet piquillo peppers stuffed with a mixture of tuna and anchovy remoulade (S$16) to start. You can follow that with a serving of gambas al ajillo (prawns with garlic, chilli and olive oil, S$18). Served on a hot platter, the juicy prawns were still sizzling in oil when presented to the table. Although it was not the most creative dish, it delivered in terms of freshness and simplicity.

Deep-fried items such as rockfish fritter with lemon and aioli sauce (S$16) went great with beer; these nuggets of battered fish were moist inside, not overly greasy and paired well with the creamy, tangy sauce. There’s also deep-fried baby squid (S$14) encased in a squid ink batter that seemed a little thick but thankfully still crispy. The crunchy morsels went well with the garlic mayonnaise.

Most tapas joints serve some form of suckling pig and here you’ll get the super-cochinillo confit or suckling pig confit (S$45) paired with juicy Calanda peaches, golden chips and caramelised onions cooked with sherry vinegar. Curiously, the whole pig isn’t available here, so what get is a slab of pork which can be portioned out for four to five diners. Underneath the crackling skin is a rather thick layer of fat, so be prepared to put in extra time at the gym if you are planning to have it all to yourself.

There are also three paellas on the menu. If you don’t mind splurging, the saffron-tinged lobster paella with runner beans and tomato (S$66) is a good option. Otherwise, the paella brimming with chistorra (cured) sausage and chicken pieces alongside piquillo pepper and grated cheese (S$28 or S$48 for larger portion) is a more affordable option. That said, while the rice is well cooked, the latter lacked depth of flavour, as did desserts such as the fresh goat’s milk ice cream with frozen raspberry coulis (S$12), which was light but a tad uninspiring. The chocolate marquise topped with crunchy almond praline (S$14), was a little richer and more decadent.

Overall, this casual dining spot serves food that’s probably not the most authentic in flavour, but it does offer decent pricing — cocktails and tapas start at $14. From Thursdays to Saturdays the restaurant is open till 1am, so if you’re hankering for supper after a movie, a little tapas is not too far away. NAOMI ZIYI

La Taperia

Where:

1 Scotts Road, #02-10/11

Telephone:

6737 8336

Opening hours: Noon to 3pm daily, 6.30pm to 11pm Sunday to Wednesday, 6.30pm to 1am Thursday to Saturday.