Group Therapy

Had a rough day at work today, so Group Therapy comes to mind; After all, what is a better balm for the frazzled soul than good food and splendid company? Group Therapy is on the 2nd level of a shophouse at Duxton Road, and it is a cafe of sort, serving food and coffee. Their coffee and food is however, not their main appeal. The concept behind Group Therapy is that it is a space for people to gather and huddle over F&B, trade stories and in the process of doing so, nourish the soul. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense because gatherings are always somewhat therapeutic when you come together and just rant about anything you want to. So yup, Group Therapy is the place to head to if you want a breath of fresh air from the CBD hustle, yet can’t stray too far, or if you just want a quaint shophouse space for a cuppa to catch up with an old pal. People don’t go there for the food, but for the simplicity and raw-ness of the place, which IMO, is quite alluring for a nuah-ster like myself!

Grilled smoked ham, mushrooms and mozzarella cheese panini

Ravioli roasted wild mushrooms in black squid ink & tumeric parcels with tomato basil sauce, truffle oil

Group Therapy serves all day breakfast items and their menu changes from time to time, so I was quite surprised to receive the menu in the form of a piece of A4 paper, with the date on the top right corner. Goes to show they try to throw in something different every other day. The space in Group Therapy is often used for dinner parties, corporate workshops and whatnot, so if you are interested, you can approach them for more details I suppose. Oh, and that was my first time trying couscous, which came as a side salad for the panini. Was quite fascinated by it (yeah, call me suaku). Heh. Oh and if you drive, there is an open air carpark near Duxton Hill, or you can park at Craig Place if you come by Craig Road. Duxton Road is a one way road, so do enter by Tanjong Pagar Road (turn into Duxton Hill) or Neil Road. And the place is above an Italian restaurant called Etna, so don’t miss it!

Group Therapy
49 Duxton Road #02-01 
(above Etna Italian Restaurant)
Tel: +65 6222 2554
Email: events@gtcoffee.com
Opening Hours
Tues – Thurs: 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Fri: 11:00 am – 11:00 pm
Sat: 11:00 am – 11:00 pm
Sun: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Closed on Mondays

OTTO Ristorante

OTTO Ristorante occupies a cosy spot at the Red Dot Traffic Building, and is not to be confused with Oso Ristorante at Bukit Pasoh. OTTO Ristorante is helmed by Italian chef Michele Pavanello, and he has countless accolades under his belt. After one visit there with Ter, to celebrate the light at the end of the tunnel of a tough week, we can see why they have garnered rave reviews. OTTO apparently represents the number ‘8’ in Italian, and it’s a lucky number in many cultures, especially in the Asian culture. I am not sure how the name of the restaurant came about (not really one of those google-able names), but I can definitely see or rather, taste how they have infused Italian cuisine with a dash of Asian flavour to stoke our taste buds. So lucky or not, they definitely did a good job with weaving in local flavour to their dishes to reach out to a wide clientele base.

Baked herbs salmon. This was the amuse bouche that was served, and with its slightly tangy tomato sauce, it certainly served its purpose of whetting our appetite.

Carpaccio di manzo Giapponese con Instalatina di Funghi e Parmigiano (Wagyu beef carpaccio with mushroom and parmesan cheese salad). Looks very red and raw but it was yummy! There is nothing to not like when you have parmesan cheese and thinly sliced wagyu beef together.

Tagliata di Merluzzo Atlantico in Crosta di Olive Taggiasche e Salsa all’Aglio dolce (Atlantic cod “Tagliata” with “Taggia” black olive crust served with sweet garlic sauce). The cod was fresh and I really enjoyed this dish. Something about the crusty exterior, and smooth cod slices beneath that melt in your mouth.

Maialino da Latte Croccante Laccanto al Miele d’Acacia e Balsamico Stravecchino (Crispy “suckling pig” lacquered with acacia honey and balsamic vinegar). This is one of their signature dishes, and I would recommend this for those who love sio ba (roasted pork). Same kind of sinful feeling eating it, but the crisp-to-perfection skin and succulent pork makes for a worthy indulgence really.

Did I mention they serve quite a wide variety of bread, which comes warm  and nice as well? I am a sucker for bread (it’s weird, I know), and I was very happy to have bread to fill hungry me up while waiting for the dishes to be served. Service there was also impressive; everyone was affable and attentive. I heard they’ve got awesome lunch sets as well, but I don’t work in the CBD area, so would be hard pressed to swing by for lunch, unless I am on leave. Would love to give it a try though, heh. After the long hard week that I had at work, the dinner at OTTO was like a silver lining to the cloud for me. Made me feel so.. lucky? 🙂

OTTO Ristorante
28 Maxwell Road
#01-02 Red Dot Traffic Building
Tel: +65 6227 6819
Opening hours
Mon–Fri 12pm – 2.30pm
Mon–Sat 6.30pm – 10.30pm
(Closed on Sun)