Gaia Ristorante is located at Goodwood Park Hotel and is the sister restaurant of the ever popular OSO Ristorante. Despite being pretty low key at the beginning, Gaia's quiet elegance has slowly but surely been winning them their own cult following, ranging from the traditional old guards of Italian cuisine to the younger more adventurous group of diners.

Chef Moreno Martini trained in Prosecco and honed his craft under Michelin-starred chef Mauro Fumei before moving to Singapore to take on the role of sous chef at OSO for five years before heading up Gaia Ristorante's kitchen. With such a proven track record, one can be certain that he has more than earned his culinary chops. The affable Chef Moreno hails from the Veneto region of Northeastern Italy, which is well represented by dishes such as his famous Guancha Alla Veniziana - braised Venetian style veal cheek, vacuumed packed and cooked in a steam oven and accompanied by an onion and red wine sauce. (Mar 2012)

"The pasta dish was a departure from the usual suspects - risotto and home-made noodles are available, but the in-house gnocchi al cartoccio (potato gnocchi, $26) is an interesting option for those who have a healthy appetite. The gnocchi is sauteed halfway with a sauce of zucchini, tomato and pesto, then placed in wax paper, topped with fresh prawns and baked in the oven." -The Business Times

"Singapore has seen a bumper crop of Italian restaurant openings this year; No Menu, Limoncello, Sole Pomodoro, you name it. But if it’s Italian fine dining you’re after - where top-notch service, sumptuous interior and refinement of cuisine matter - look no further than the recently opened Gaia Ristorante & Bar by the folks behind the hugely popular Oso Ristorante." -InSing.com

We would gladly partake in a meal of purely bread daily if we had a selection like the bread basket in Gaia Ristorante. The grissini was extremely addictive while the squid ink rolls were toasty with just the slightest hint of the sea, managing to be both sweet and moist at the same time.

Our first antipasto of Raw Beef Tenderloin which was delicately sliced by hand and served with homemade chive mayonnaise was simple yet delectable, that we stopped short of licking the plate clean. This was followed by our second antipasto, Homemade Terrine of Chicken Liver Paté wrapped in pancetta bacon, accompanied by warm bread & apple mustard. We were told that this dish had been painstakingly slow-cooked with much love for 12 hours so we took special care in savouring its richness. It is difficult to find good homemade paté, especially one so generously portioned, so Gaia definitely earns big points in our books for this lovely dish.

We have long been told by gourmands that a good indication of an Italian chef's culinary skill is in its simplest and most identifiable dish, pasta. And boy, do the folks at Gaia deliver! Chef Moreno's signature dish is a lovely rendition of Homemade Angel Hair Pasta with Black Truffle Puree Sauce and Raw Quail Egg. It certainly fulfilled our sense of sight with it's beautiful presentation, our sense of smell with it's unmistakeable fragrance and best of all, our sense of taste with it's rich flavour.

The angel hair pasta was not the only dish to colour us impressed though. Chef Moreno's rather unusual blend of slow-cooked pearl barley, risotto style, with prosecco wine and cipolloto baby onion leaf butter, was a clear winner.

Finally, we loved our distinctly named dessert, Le Tre Cioccolate, which incorporated a thin layer of sponge cake topped with three layers of dark, white and milk chocolate mousse. Simply delectable. (Mar 2012)

American Express: 4-course set lunch menu at S$34++, 5 course set dinner menu at S$64++. Offer valid till 31 Dec 2013.

DBS (Indulge): 15% off total bill (Lunch & Dinner), 20% off bottles of wine (Takeaway Only). Offer valid till 30 June 2013.