Tanzini

We delved deeper into Tanzini's menu, hoping it would yield hidden gems.

Click here for earlier entry on Tanzini (August 10).

To be sure, the food here would leave us contented if we were at Delicious or Alexis. Most of the offerings are less run-of-the-mill than, say, Italiannies', while prices and portions are reasonable. Service is sunny and pleasant.

But the bar has been raised too high. With a setting like this, we'd love to see a menu that truly ignites the imagination and thrills the taste buds, especially since this is a full-fledged restaurant, not a bar or a club.

Rigatoncini with lamb ragout & pencil asparagus. The pasta was well-prepared, while the accompaniments tasted fresh and tangy. But this would still be one of the lesser dishes at restaurants like Il Lido and Favola.

Saffron risotto with pan-seared scallops. The scent of saffron was absent in this pale concoction. But if you ignore that setback, this was decent enough, since the rice wasn't porridgey and the scallops were meaty.

Red mullet with shellfish guazzetto. Kinda overcooked and oversalted. Not a memorable fish _ nearly indistinguishable from sea bass, taste-wise.

Orecchiette with smoked duck pancetta, broccoli, rosemary & parmesan. The tastes and textures on this plate never truly came together. Maybe the slivers of meat were to blame; they were tough and sodium-packed, like Chinese Peking Duck leftovers.

Desserts fared better. The tiramisu with freshly toasted Lavazza coffee beans was soft, creamy and aromatic _ pretty much as satisfying as non-alcoholic tiramisu can get.