Zero Zero, The Central

The night after indulging in a lovely anniversary dinner at Dozo, I was back in a very familiar territory for yet another multiple-course dinner (!) While my stomach doth protest, I was keen to sample what this new restaurant under the Tao's restaurant group had to offer (and therefore completing the holy trinity :P)

Zero Zero is located on the 4th floor of The Central at Clarke Quay. My family seemed to be the only diners on Saturday night, which made the spacious interior of the restaurant look even bigger. We had a cosy little private dining room to ourselves with nice views of bustling Clarke Quay and the river.

 We all went for the 6-course Signature Set, usually priced at $89.80++ - but there was a 50% discount for UOB cardholders, so it was pretty good value! Along with this promo, we also got glasses of house wine for $10 each.

I thought it was nice that our waitress explained the menu to us using an iPad to show how each dish looks like.

{ Amuse Bouche : Assorted Platter }

 To start off, we had a small shot glass of plum juice (pictured on the far left above, if you can see it) and the amuse bouche of 3 items: wee bit of foie gras on thick toast, potato croquette and scallop on watermelon. Loved the presentation!

{ Cold Dish : Smoked Duck Breast with Apple Slice }

 I chose the smoked duck breast as my starting cold dish. This was pretty good - the duck was soft and went well with apples.

{ Side Dish : Grilled Escargot with Cheese Gratin }

 Couldn't resist the escargot.. I had exactly the same thing at Dozo just the night before! Each grilled snail came atop a small cube of thick toast. Not too chewy and had the right amount of cheese - yum! It paired nicely with the crispy toast.

{ Soup : Cream of Pumpkin }

 Pumpkin soup was sweet and creamy. Would have liked it better if freshly ground black pepper was offered. I didn't ask, and the soup is really nice as it is, but I think that additional depth and aroma of pepper would have made it perfect.

{ Main : Beef Loin on Magnolia Leaf }

 Almost everyone at the table went for the steak. And it was a good choice! The pieces of beef continues to cook as you are eating, and you can decide on the doneness. I think my stone was extraordinarily hot though - it continued sizzling until the magnolia leaf was burnt to a crisp. So my steak was well-done but it was still really good. Beef was tender and lean, and the accompanying mustard sauce (not in picture) along with our glasses of red wine was a wonderful complement. Must say the portion was quite generous too!

{ Dessert : Macerated Pomelo Orange and Mango Pannacotta }

 By now we were stuffed, but happily gobbled down dessert anyway. I loved this panna cotta - it was like a denser and more decadent mango pudding. Also came with bits of orange and pomelo, so there is my fruit/fibre intake for the night :)

ZeroZero has lots of potential, given the success of Tao's and Dozo and also its accessible location. Personally I somehow slightly prefer the food here to Dozo, but the service seems better at Dozo. Still, I highly recommend this place (especially if you're a UOB cardholder until end of July, lol.)

Zero.Zero

6 Eu Tong Seng Street, #04-86 The Central

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Main website : http://www.zerozero.com.sg/
HGW Link (77% recommended at time of posting) : http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/Zero_Zero/
Rating (out of 4) :