Al Forno
400 East Coast Road
6348 8781

The restaurant is a tad hard to find for those who are not familiar with this area. I got off the bus a stop too late; the birthday girl and her "guide" alighted way too early; and the other 2 are smart enough to google the location before leaving home. Finally, everyone arrived safely in one piece and it was dinner time!

The Linguine all’ Aragosta ($28++) was, hands down, the best dish of the day. It certainly deserved its title of "Chef's Recommendation. Al dente linguine was tossed with half a lobster in cherry tomato sauce and a dash of chilli. This was really delicious! I liked the sauce which had tons of coarsely chopped tomato and the lobster meat which wasn't too tough.

Labels: Italian

8:15 PM

Donna Carmela / Caipirinha
2 Greenwood Ave
6463 4206

Judging by the full house on a Saturday night, this place seems to be very popular, more so with the expatriates than the locals. Both Italian and Brazilian fare are served here so you can get both carbs and protein.


Unremarkable bread was served while we waited for our 1st course to arrive.

Complimentary appetisers comprising of pickled onions, capsicums and sliced mushrooms were also served. These were quite good to nibble on!

Labels: Italian

7:30 PM

Pasta Brava
11 Craig Road
6227 7550

I didn't expect the place to be fully packed, what with it being a Monday. But to my surprise, it was a full house tonight and we could only have the table till 8pm since I didn't make any reservation in advance.


As its name suggests, pasta and other traditional Italian fare is Pasta Brava's specialty. My Manicotti Ripieni di Zucca ($21++) was excellent. Perfectly al dente and filled with pumpkin, the moon shaped ravioli in red capsicum sauce was bursting with sweetness in every bite.



The Linguine Ai Frutti di Mare ($26++) looked real appetising. Flat spaghetti was tossed with a generous amount of prawns, clams, scallops, squid, crayfish, garlic and tomato sauce.


The scallops and prawns of the Stracci Ai Gamberie Capesante ($21++) were very fresh and went well with green peppercorn, white wine and saffron cream sauce.

Labels: Italian

7:08 PM

Cugini
11 Unity Street
#01-27/28 Robertson Walk
6836 9541

I think I just had one of the best Italian meals ever. Cugini was chosen over Tovolo as the place to celebrate my 21st birthday since it's been in my to-go-list for quite awhile.

Complementary bread was served while we waited for our orders to arrive. It was unremarkable to me since it was very soft and not the dense type of bread I like. Yee Hwee liked it alot though!


We did away with starters and ordered 4 mains to share. The Ravioli al tartufo e patate con burro alle noci e grana ($25++) was fabulously good! Translated into english, it's simply freshly made truffle and potato ravioli with walnut butter and parmiggiano. The infusion of truffle gave a unique fragrance to the ravioli and the pasta skin was nicely al dente.


The 2nd pasta dish we picked was Fettuccine al nero, con seppioline, piselli freschi e bottarga di muggine ($25++) which was freshly made squid ink fettuccine with baby cuttlefish, fresh pea and mullet roe. I requested for the cuttlefish to be replaced with prawns and the owner graciously obliged us by agreeing. Now, I'm normally not a pasta fan (unless it's ravioli!) but this was good! The otherwise bland fettuccine took on the distinct sea tang and deep black glow of the squid ink while the prawns were large and so fresh.


From the Mains section, I liked the Melanzane alla Parmigiana con basilico e dadolata di mozzarella ($19++). The parmesan oven baked aubergine with basil was served with marinated mozzarella cubes. Baked to perfection, the soft aubergine and cheese simply melted in the mouth. This may very well even convert aubergine-haters.


Since the tuna fillet was not available that day, we had the Scaloppa di branzino Mediterraneo con schiuma di mozzarella ($33++) at the owner's suggestion. The Mediterranean sea bass was very fresh and simply grilled with salt. I liked the cranberry reduction which played on the taste buds with its sweet and tangy flavour.


The sea bass also came with a cup of mozzarella foam which I felt was quite redundant since the cranberry reduction was already a nice complement to the fish. I didn't like the foam as, though interesting, it had a strong cheesey-buttery taste that put me off.


My SUPER DUPER NICE friends arranged for a birthday surprise for me. I think we were all quite startled when the soothing music playing from the restaurant's stereo was cut off abruptly and replaced by a birthday song suddenly. My Tortino caldo di cioccolato con culi' di amarene ($13++) was delightful. Though the hot chocolate fondant cake was the lead star, I prefer the accompanying soaked cherries more as they were slightly sour and had a strong tint of alcohol.

I'm always excited when I see hot chocolate oozing out! The cupcake look-alike fondant was a tad too sweet though.

Lastly, how can we not have tiramisu at an Italian restaurant? The Tiramisu con salsa di cioccolato amaro ($11++) looked slightly deconstructed as it was unlike any other I've seen so far. This is one nice messy lump covered with smooth mascarpone cheese and bitter chocolate sauce. It's a pity that the alcohol taste was too mild and subtle but hey, they always say "a little goes a long way" right?

Labels: Italian

7:52 PM

Forlino
#02-06, One Fullerton
6536 9965

Lunch was at this restaurant which has an excellent view of the waterfront area. All of us had the set lunch ($38++) which consisted of an amuse bouche, starter, main course and petite fours with coffee/tea.


The foccacia bread was nothing to shout about; I've definitely had better ones elsewhere. It was quite bland and lacked the fragrance of olive oil.

The amuse bouche of smoked salmon was beautifully plated.


The smoked salmon was great! Not too salty and went well with the small bed of salad it was sitting on.


I also enjoyed the starter of pumpkin soup. It had the right consistency and not watery at all. Now, this is not the ultra smooth type that some people may prefer. Instead, there was very minute chunks of pumpkin which suited me just fine since I prefer contrasting texture.


Another choice of starter was the cold tuna salad. This has to be my favourite dish of the day. The tuna slices were seared perfectly and not tough at all. Portion was also generous for a starter. My only grouse was that it was a little under seasoned. Otherwise, this was close to perfect.

I chose the squid ink pasta as my main course. This was quite a disappointment as the pasta lacked the intense flavour of squid ink which I was looking for. The scallops and mussels were alright, nothing fantastic.

Labels: Italian

6:38 AM

Ristorante De Parma
14B Kensington Park Road
Serangoon Garden Estate
6281 3380 / 6280 1096

Wanting to satisfy my sudden craving for a good tiramisu, I made my way to this small family-run restaurant after reading rave reviews about its homemade tiramisu.



We ordered two set lunches ($15.90+ each) which came with a starter of either a salad or soup of the day, choice of the pasta or pizza of the day as the main, and a drink. The complimentary foccacia was so good and fragrant with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip that Sis ate my share of it!


The soup of the day was the cream of potato and leek. I liked it as it's thick and not too creamy. The tiny chunks of potato gave a good bite and texture to the wholesome soup. One thing that bothered me was that the waiter asked "Would you like black pepper in it?" immediately after serving the soup even though we had not even taste it yet!



The colourful salad was a pleasure for the eyes but ordinary tasting for the mouth.


The pasta of the day was tuna pasta in a spicy tomato sauce. This was wonderful! The smell made my mouth water even before the waiter set it down on our table. Perfectly al dente spaghetti was tossed with tuna chunks in homemade tomato sauce. The degree of spiciness was perfect too as it's hot enough to excite the taste buds but not fiery enough to leave me gulping water.



The pizza of the day was the garden pizza. Mixed greens are topped on a tomato based thin crust pizza. It didn't sound very exciting but all of us enjoyed it! Whatever the style, the crust is undeniably a major factor in good pizza. This rendition is one of the best pizza crust I've ever eaten--perfectly balanced with an outstanding slightly chewy texture and a crispy nature. One word of warning though: Forget using the fork and knife as it's very difficult to cut through the crust. Tuck in with your hands!



Now now, it's the highlight of the entire meal. I was so looking forward to the tiramisu ($12.90+) as previous reviews have rated it as one of the best (and even the best) tiramisu in Singapore. But it fell short of my expectations. Not that it wasn't nice, it was just not mind blowing enough to knock my socks off. I prefer tiramisu with a more generous splash of alcohol but this leaned towards the sweet side with a distinct espresso taste. This was not an issue as I understand that there are people who prefer it this way. However, I have a bone to pick with the bottom layer of lady fingers. It was definitely over soaked as the sponge was too soggy and limpy. See the pool of liquid at the base? That's how wet it was. I did raise this issue with the owner but she said that their version is the wetter type. But it was TOO wet (in the extreme) to me.


Overall, this is a very good value restaurant with more hits than misses. Service was great and portions were generous enough to feed the 3 of us happily. My disappointment with the dessert was more than made up for by the delicious thin crust pizza. Oh, I just found the perfect excuse to come back here again! The only way to finding out whether the tiramisu is a slight inconsistency on their chef's part or it's truly the way it's served is to order it again on my next visit!

Labels: Italian

1:36 PM

Da Paolo Gastronomia #2
#01-01, 501 Bukit Timah Road
6468 7010

Christina drove us to Serene Centre on her motorbike and we didn’t get lost! Since it was already past lunch hour, we opted for a simple takeaway meal at one of my favourite Italian places.

My Spinach Lasagna ($8.50 nett) was surprisingly tasty even though it may not look very appetizing.

The staff thoughtfully microwaved it for me and it’s rather good when eaten steaming hot. I like that the oven baked lasagna didn’t fall apart when I dug into it. The spinach fillings are quite generous and the pasta sheets are nicely al dente. This is really value for money because I was full even before I finished two-third of it.

Christina had the Roast Beef and Feta Pizza ($6.50 nett) which was nothing special. Like the lasagna, it was very filling and she couldn’t finish the whole slice.

There are some tables and chairs outside the store for patrons to have a quick meal. I don’t really like dining al fresco style because of the hygiene factor. While we were eating, the dust from the nearby construction site made us finish our lunch faster than usual.

Nevertheless, I like all the stuff I’ve tried at Da Paolo so far. How I wish they will open a branch near my house. Maybe then, I won’t mind eating takeaways instead of home cooked food.

Labels: Italian

3:11 PM