Marking a decade of serving up Spanish cuisine, UNA has launched a new menu featuring Rubia Galicia beef and other prized proteins from Spain, crafted by chefs Diego Grimberg and Tom Kung — both of whom have worked in Michelin-starred restaurants. With such stacked talent at the helm, we enter the second floor of Alkaff Mansion with expectations high and stomachs growling.
Our meal begins with a toasted pan de cristal and tomato puree ($7++ for two pieces, $12++ for four). It’s simple, yet effective, with the plainness of the bread allowing the tomato’s natural sweetness to shine. We also have slices of savoury, moreish “5J” jamón ibérico ($46++), which we thoroughly enjoy. Our server informs us that the dish doesn’t take well to having a “paiseh piece”; indeed, after a few bashful back-and-forths, the bread’s crispness has already started giving way to plasticky staleness.
The UNA team’s disclaimers as they present each dish, well-meaning as they are, seem to betray a sense of uncertainty. A gazpacho with prawn tartare, cherries and ham jelly ($26) is served with not one, but two warnings that it’s “quite fishy”. And while that may be the case, we can’t help but feel our senses have been unfairly prejudiced.
Rounding out the tapas is a plate of grilled octopus ($36++), served with potatoes and two sauces: one made of red pepper, and the other made of cilantro. The octopus is intensely smoky, with a flavour slightly reminiscent of katsuobushi. We particularly like the sauces, and wish there were more on the plate.
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Our first main dish is a seafood paella ($62++/$82++, which we’re told is made with a thicker pan and special recipe to accommodate local tastes. While the display of clams, mussels and prawns atop the rice is impressive, we miss the socarrat that would have provided a crispy textural contrast in a more traditional preparation.
By this point, we’re slightly wary of what’s to come, but things pick up in the second half of the meal. Slices of Asado-grilled lamb leg ($46++) arrive with cauliflower served three ways: in florets, sheets and as a puree. This quickly becomes an easy favourite; the delicate cauliflower provides a sweet backdrop for the perfectly cooked and tender lamb.
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Then comes the star of the show: prime rib from 12-year-old Rubia Galicia cattle ($138++). On its own, the beef — which required special approval from the local authorities to import — is decadent, for sure; a thick layer of fat provides loads of flavour, which is well tampered by the much-needed accoutrements of fricando sauce, pumpkin puree and oyster mushrooms.
Finally, for dessert, we have the crèma catalana ($16++), a Spanish crème brûlée topped with strawberries and blueberries, and the almond nougat cake ($22) with a lava centre and a side of raspberry sorbet. Anyone watching their figure may quickly throw out their diet plans for these sweet treats; both are a great way to end the meal.
UNA’s new menu no doubt shines best when things are left simple. The most successful items, we find, are those that make the most of excellent ingredients without too much flotsam and jetsam or the need for a lengthy introduction. Perhaps the lesson here is that when you’ve got a solid base, let the goods do the talking.
UNA
10 Telok Blangah Green, Alkaff Mansion
Singapore 109178
Tel: +65 8126 8844
Email: [email protected]
Opening hours: Tuesdays to Fridays, 12pm – 2.30pm; Tuesdays to Sundays, 6pm – 10.30pm
