THE shimmering body of liquid blue just beyond the dining area at Dolce Vita may be a far cry from the Mediterranean Sea - it's actually the decidedly less romantic but still-inviting outdoor pool at The Oriental hotel - but yet, it doesn't require all that much imagination to transport diners to the South of France.

Thanks to the casual elegance and contemporary charm of Dolce Vita's interior design and the strong Mediterranean influence in chef Alex Lozachmeur's cuisine, there is a distinct European resort feel to the place, which benefits from being a little removed from the rest of the dining outlets in the hotel. Over the last year or two, it has carved a niche for itself as a hotel restaurant with a difference.

A pleasant dining experience doesn't hurt either and Dolce Vita - which emerged from a previous life as a contemporary Italian restaurant - now offers more of a culinary edge. It has evolved into one of the few places in town to go for produce-driven Southern European cuisine, with a little North Africa thrown in for good measure.

Chef Lozachmeur, 27, who grew up in the historic town of Antibes on the Cote d'Azur between Nice and Cannes, arrived at Dolce Vita in late-2006 by way of the At-Sunrise culinary academy, where he had been an instructor for several months.

Prior to that, he earned his culinary stripes working at several restaurants run by celebrity chef Alain Ducasse, including the Spoon brand and a flagship restaurant at the Plaza Athenee in Paris.

The uncomplicated menu offerings at Dolce Vita straddle the line between traditional Mediterranean dishes, such as bouillabaisse (the popular Provencal seafood soup, $40), Greek moussaka ($25) and lamb tajines (a stew of North African origin slow-cooked in a special clay pot, $45), and dishes with a more contemporary touch, such as The Duck (consomme in a cup, $22) and The Tomato (seasonal tomatoes presented several different ways, $32).

At a recent dinner tasting, The Tomato starter comprised gazpacho in a shot glass, bite-sized, deep-fried mozzarella nuggets, a concasse topped with jellied tomato essence, and a small salad made from five types of tomato. Lozachmeur says in recent months, he has been ordering up to seven different types of tomatoes on any given week. Another starter of white and green asparagus proved to be equally impressive.

The Duck, a clean-tasting consomme accompanied by a thin strip of toast topped with duck liver and parma ham, proved to be equally well-executed, while a zucchini flower soup ($19), blended with olive oil and marjoram, was simple and hearty. In fact, everything up to this point was both tasty and beautifully presented.

The seafood courses - pan-fried monkfish ($52) and bouillabaisse ($40) featured the traditional characteristics of these seaside dishes, although the soup stock was a little too thick for my liking.

The meat courses of lamb tajine ($55) and confit of suckling pig (($47) were both on the slightly dry side, although the flavour could not be faulted. Finally, the desserts of a panna cotta fruit trio ($20) and a parfait-like pina colada concoction ($24) were nicely interpreted, with the latter being a trifle on the sweet side.

All in all, the cuisine at Dolce Vita is young, vital and assured, well suited to the dining environment. It is not fine dining in the traditional sense - perhaps lacking that final element of finesse - but it works well under the circumstances by delivering the familiar while giving a sense of uniqueness at the same time.

Dolce Vita
The Mandarin Oriental
5 Raffles Avenue
Tel: 6885-3551
Rating: 7/10

This article was first published in The Business Times on Jul 2, 2007.