Friendly Portuguese culinary port of call

NEW RESTAURANT

BOCA

6 Bukit Pasoh Road

Tel: 6221-0132

Open for dinner only Mon-Sat: 6pm to 12am. Closed on Sun

WHAT happens when you live far from your homeland and the closest thing you can find to salted cod is the salted ikan kurau that the dried foods stallholder proudly proclaims comes from Penang, which he says is great in fried rice but if you really want to soak it in milk and make a Portuguese speciality, "ah, can also...."?

As three Portuguese expatriates have done, what you do is open your own restaurant and hope to spread the word about this sun-kissed land of Mediterranean bounty whose people - contrary to popular belief - do not live on egg tarts alone.

As the only full-fledged Portuguese restaurant in Singapore, BOCA (which means "mouth" in Portuguese) takes baby steps in inducting local diners to an unfamiliar cuisine with a small but carefully curated menu that's filled with classic bread soups and sauteed pork…