Osteria Francescana

Dress Reformation Heels Aldo Chunky Ring Mom’s

After Cinque Terre, Mr M informed me that we’re heading towards a mysterious location. WoOo, I do like a good surprise.

I didn’t have an inkling about where we were going until we arrived at a rather charming town at dusk. My heart was filled with delight as my eyes darted greedily at our surroundings. There were rows of light-filled shops that screamed ‘check me out I’m cool!’ and I was giddy with excitement. We had arrived in Modena.

The roads were packed with vehicles and we had a bit of trouble getting to our hotel due to various traffic restrictions. Our spirits, or at least mine were not dampened though because I was anticipating that good meal that Mr M had promised me even before we left for our honeymoon. After checking into the cosy Hotel Cervetta 5, we frantically freshen ourselves up before making our way by feet to the special restaurant that I still had no idea about.

Like a blindfolded person, I obediently followed Mr M until we were standing outside a grey door. Feeling a a tad nervous, Mr M rang the doorbell. Within seconds, the door swung open and there stood 3 serious-looking Italian men in impeccable dark suits. Imagine walking into the unknown, that was how it felt at that time.

We were led into a room that only housed 6 tables. Before I got to interrogate Mr M, a suave looking man in chef’s whites and groovy sneakers called Massimo Bottura (surprise surprise) came out and greeted us. I looked at him blankly (how dare I BUT I was still clueless at that time!) and couldn’t quite utter a single word except for the standard ‘hi’. Silly silly silly I say.

When Mr M finally revealed the location, I couldn’t believe my ears. There we were, at Osteria Francescana, crowned no.3 in the 2014 S. Pellegrino Top 50 Best Restaurants about to partake in one of the best meals we have ever had to date. Instead of enjoying the moment, I started having a brain fart and worried about costs and the likes. Mr M assured me that he had everything under control and at that point I couldn’t have felt anymore blessed. I was seriously in (hopefully not too snooty) princess mode.

The food and matching alcohol came out at a really comfortable pace and I remembered sitting there savouring everything I put into my mouth. I’m not a food critic and I haven’t done fine dining all that regularly but I’m able to tell the effort that had been put into each plate of food. Each dish presented right before us was so thoughtfully pieced together and I especially loved the concepts and ideas behind them. There were heaps of unexpected elements within the different courses and I was in awe with the abundance of creativity within the restaurant.

That maxi dress I wore that night is by Reformation, my current go to brand for special occasions. I don’t do florals all that much but I just love the colours on the fabric. The off-the-shoulder cut and slit are some of the features that I indulge in this season (I even included a slit in my wedding dress!) and I don’t see my love for them weaning anytime soon. I had actually forgotten to take my clutch with me on this trip but I wasn’t too fussed about it.

After a few hours of unbelievable gastronomic experience, we wandered around the quiet Modena square before retiring back to our hotel with bucketful of wonderful memories. Thanks Mr M for your love and generosity <3

Photography| Mr M