Be warned: your ears will be assailed by the deafening chirps of the staff as you walk through the doors of Bene Spaghetti at 84 Circular Road.
And throughout your meal, you will continue to suffer rude shocks from the staff’s shouts of welcome or acknowledgement of a customer’s request for service. While the service is friendly and prompt, we felt that the jarring noise marred our experience. It doesn’t help that Bene is a small place, and the echoes of conversation and the staff’s loud voices got somewhat irritating after a while.
For an idea of how cosy Bene is: there are just two more rows of tables to the left of hte below picture, and my back was up against the wall:
The food was fusion Japanese-Italian, which meant that it was neither the best type of Japanese nor Italian cuisine. While there are many authentic Italian restaurants owned and run by Japanese this one attempted to mesh both styles together.
What resulted was a Clam and Mussels Risotto in Tomato Sauce presented Japanese style – like kamameshi (釜飯) - that didn’t quite have the full bodied flavour that Italian risottos have from the slow-cooking of the rice. Bene also gave customers the choice of eating the risotto like ochazuke – by pouring into the pot some soup with herbs mixed in – but I felt that further diluted the flavour of the risotto.
The restaurant’s signature dish is mushi pasta (蒸しパスタ) – or steamed pasta – which is said to make the pasta soft without being wet. It’s also meant to be healthier and lighter as the pasta is cooked without oil. We ordered the Smoked Pork with Blue Cheese Cream Sauce Mushi Pasta, which scored points for its presentation:
After waiting for 5 minutes as the pasta continues to cook at your table, the dish itself was unearthed. It was indeed quite light, although the pasta was not al dente and was too soft. I felt that the pork ended up a bit too wet and lost its smoky flavour from the steaming. Boo.
A more satisfying dish was the Chicken Thigh and Bacon in Tomato Sauce Gnocchi Gratin. Though it looked a bit oily, the tangy tomato sauce was delicious and we enjoyed soaking it up with the bread given. The gnocchi was also soft and tasted great with the bacon and chicken flavours. The crunchy vegetables added a healthy touch to this dish.
My favourite dish, however, was the wonderful Bacon with Onsen Egg Pizza. I absolutely loved this as the flavourful bacon slices were fairly thick with a good bite, there was a generous amount of runny egg white and the yolk, though a tad overcooked, was still moist on the inside. I also loved that the thin crust was just the right thickness to taste substantial.
While the food wasn’t the most authentic or the best tasting around, Bene wins on its value for money. Their dinner sets cost $25 and are accompanied by a salad, a plate of assorted antipasto (olives, greens, parma ham) or homemade focaccia, a main and a choice of dessert or drink. The bread is replenishable and servings are big - our party of 6 were stuffed with four dinner sets, an assorted antipasto platter and a serving of garlic bread.
The salad is quite large:
And their Assorted Antipasto Platter ($26++) wasn’t too bad. (From left: mozzarella and tomatoes, thic omelette, grilled chicken thigh, smoked salmon, vegetables in tangy thin tomato sauce, parma ham, and olives and assorted vegetables.)
I really liked their Garlic Bread ($8++) too, as the thick slices of bread soaked up all the olive oil and garlic flavour. While Bene terms its bread accompanying the sets “homemade focaccia”, it’s the same bread that’s used for the garlic bread, which is anything but focaccia. No complaints though, as it was soft, fluffy and complemented the sauces.
All in all, I have mixed feelings about Bene. The food was okay, the service was good but had some really annoying aspects, and they have some nice quirks like presenting a frozen hand towel upon arrival and writing your name down at your table for reservations:
While this warmth of service extended to two members of staff standing outside the door to wave goodbye and hand you a complimentary slice of homemade bread each, we got slightly self conscious at the loud volume at which they said “Goodbye Simon! See you again! Thank you! Have a nice time!!”. It’s a bit too genki and over zealous, and I wonder if the staff go home with a sore throat from all that shouting.
That said, I’m not sure if I’ll return to Bene again, and if I do, I will need to be mentally prepared for the full assault on my ears.
For a look at their menu, check out Bene’s Facebook page.
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