The curtained dining room at the Julien Bompard Restaurant did not have a great view but it was warmly lit with an open kitchen glowing brightly at the back.

The menus and cutlery trays were clad in bright orange for a cheerful and modern tone. There were just six appetisers and six main courses to choose from in the a la carte selection. But there were 14 tapas or small bites that you could share between courses.

I went twice for dinner and the food was equally good both times even though chef de cuisine Jason Tan had the day off during the first visit and chef-owner Bompard was not around both times. Obviously, consistency was not a problem.

Among the starters, the ravioli of osso bucco veal ($28) is a good bet. The velvety pasta parcel came in an intensely flavoured caper and chianti sauce, and the filling was delicious. But the dish that hit the spot was the cappellini pasta with duck meat stew and foie gras with truffle ($32 for appetiser, $42 for main course).

I had the appetiser portion,which was generous. The truffle shavings were paper thin and disappeared into the shredded duck meat once I tossed everything up. I couldn’t even see the foie gras but that was no matter. The combined flavours were rich and satisfying. Among the tapas, check out the seared foie gras on truffle toast ($12). The small but thickly sliced piece of goose liver melted in the mouth and contrasted nicely with the crispy toast.

Another palate pleaser was the seared sea scallop with Iberico ham ($14). The natural sweetness of the shellfish was evident but the ham came from Australia and fell short of the aromatic Spanish original. There were disappointments too, such as the flat-tasting sable fish with curry madras ($12).

Among the main courses, the paella ($48) was merely passable. But I found magic in the papillote of cod with yellow wine sauce ($42).

Baked with chopped bell pepper and onion in a transparent sheet made from corn, the fish fillet was smooth and came sitting in a pool of delicious juices.

For something heavier, check out the braised pork belly with apple and cider sauce ($38). The pork was diced and rather oily but it was covered with a galette of potato that had a nice crisp. It looked pretty too, like a golden quilt. Desserts here were merely serviceable though. My combination platter ($28) failed to yield anything outstanding among the Spanish churros, French baba and chocolate dome.

The verdict?

Go to Forlino for pasta and desserts, but you are likely to be more satisfied with the overall cooking at Julien Bompard