Seta ; Mandarin Oriental Milan ; 2 star Michelin dining ; best meal in 2017

           

My wife and I had a superb meal in Milan, Italy recently. The restaurant is Seta in Mandarin Oriental,Milan and the foodie writeups on it were giving it reviews beyond excellence. I am putting up this post in the after lunch glow of a truly satisfied patron who has had an extraordinary gastronomic experience. 

Mandarin Oriental Hotel is an exclusive 5 star (5 storey) building tucked away at via Andegari 9, 20121, near the Piaza del Duomo district is the 5 star Mandarin Oriental Milan.It is within 10 minutes walking distance from the Corsa Vittoria Emmanuelle II or the famous walking street.  

Reservations must be made well in advance (I did mine almost 1 month beforehand), as they are almost fully booked (only about 12 tables) on the weekends, I was fortunate in that we  managed to secure a table on 4th December monday at lunchtime. 

Berlucchi Prosecco 

The first thing when you enter the hotel's unobstrusive entrance is that you step into a hotel of understated luxury. Seta itself was set up in 2015 and within 2 short years, it has gained 2 Michelin stars for its dining excellence. Helmed by Antonio Guida, his team of chefs, the maitre 'd and the service staff are all well groomed, and well versed in their craft.  

Seafood Spaghetti 

We opted for the 3 course set lunch, for EU 65 each. I also had a Berlucchi Prosecco to go with the seafood antipasti (starter above). The starter was a show stopper, the spaghetti was done 'al dente' or chewy which I thoroughly enjoyed as compared to our Singapore version of boiled to extreme softness. It had some prawn mince dumpling on the top and a beetroot - tomato gravy. Very tasty. 

  

Free nibbles 

Seta delights its patrons by offering fusion Italian food mixed with Asian influences (chef Guida worked in Japan for a good number of years before starting Seta). On top of that, the sommelier (wine expert) and the wait staff are excellent in their service standard, world class, very skilled in their craft, never pushy and available whenever you want them.

  Lamb Roulade 

The main course lamb roulade was sensational, the meat was very tender, flavourful and the fusion was in the vegetables with radish, carrots on a pistachio nut sauce. Very innovative.

Pantanonne Bread 

The Pantanonne bread is a Seta original, and it was rich (raisins, cranberry etc.) and came with a side of cream. 'Perfecto' as the Italians would call it.  But no, they went one better and offered us there additional desserts gratis.

Calorie counters please step aside 

The grand finale,  which would keep anyone with a sweet tooth thoroughly satisfied, is the ultimate sweet fruit fantasy. 5 different pairings of sweets for anyone ranging from cherries, to chocolates, to avocado to walnuts. The devil will be in the weighing scale when you get home (OMG ! I put on ...... kg !!! ).

A final review of Seta, based on my rather simplistic forumla :

a) Food Quality and Presentation : 4.8 / 5

b) Service Quality   :  4.8 / 5

c) Ambience           :  4.9 / 5 (very quiet setting with plenty of privacy corners)

d) Satisfaction        :  4.9 / 5  

Overall : 4.85 / 5 ;  Really a class meal worthy of the term 'fine dining'. 

Will we go there again, of course. But we must start saving our monthly earnings for a long while yet. 

Cheers !