Italian food in Singapore

Christmas parties are everywhere. And I’ve been attending some since the start of December, and honestly, if I see another attempt to kiss under the mistletoe, I’ll surely puke. Seriously, how old are we guys? Those kinds of things only happen when you’re in high school anxious to have your first kiss. Now that we’re old, that’s called desperation. Good thing that these parties serve great food. The other night, one department party that I attended was serving Italian food.

Wow. There was so much food at that party. Gone are the days when office parties mean a cup of iced tea and a wrapped sandwich. These days, the more food they have, the better. Some of these parties are even catered. Aside from the exchange gifts and raffle prizes, food is one reason why I attend these parties. Plus, it’s always nice to see your superiors getting drunk.

My friend and I were discussing during lunch today what we should do for our group’s annual Christmas party. We always do themed parties every year and my friend and I are always in-charge of the food. We’re eating at this nice Italian restaurant that’s known for its wood-fire oven pizzas. I also heard that all their ingredients are flown from Italy. I don’t usually to around this neighborhood since it’s far from where I live, but I love eating here because they really serve good Italian food.

For an Italian restaurant, the prices here are a little bit higher than where we usually hang out. I did order their salad with artichokes and sun dried tomatoes. My friend and I just shared it because we’re making room for the pizza and pasta.

What I like about Italian food is that you can recognize the ingredients. I mean, if it’s mozzarella cheese, you’ll see a mozzarella cheese. They don’t hide or pretend to be something else. I was a little bit disappointed with their gnocchi. I couldn’t really taste them with the tomato sauce and the mozzarella cheese. Their seafood pizza was the usual. What I like about the pizza more than the toppings is that you know that the dough was freshly made.

I think we both agreed that we’re definitely cramming for this party. Finding a caterer who’ll say yes last minute will be a nightmare for the both of us. And still we couldn’t decide if we’re doing classic Italian food or western, or maybe we could go Indian this time? By the way, no one told us yet what the theme of the party is.

Whimsical Italian Food

This is what the owners of this restaurant want us to believe. That dining in their restaurant means catering to our utmost desires of Italian food. We were so intrigued by it, and honestly for all my years in Singapore, this is the first time that I’m eating here. It was supposed to be a great gastronomical experience.

The restaurant is found at the Tahjong Pagar area. My friend reserved for us, because we don’t want to go all the way there and finds out that we don’t have a table. It was lunch time when we arrived. They only open at specific time so for people who are interested, make sure to have your reservations. I’m lover of Italian food. I eat and breathe anything Italian. I can’t say that I’m an expert, but when it comes to pizza and or pasta, I can honestly say that I can distinguish great pasta to a second-rate one.

The place is nice. Shabby chic is what I would describe it. It has a homey feeling, even though everything looks so expensive. I get it why Italian food in Singapore is very popular. Aside from it being simply delicious, it has a sexiness appeal to it. Just like this restaurant, it looks like everything is put up together in a way that it’s not too over-bearing.

We were looking at the menu and it was simple. They do have a degustation menu, but we’re not here for that. I love their prawns and avocado salad. A nice touch for something rich was that they used citrus-based dressing.

I came here for pizza and pasta, and I ended up ordering risotto. I haven’t had risotto in awhile and I keep on forgetting that part of Italian food is risotto. Italians make the best risotto. The one with the pan-seared scallops was really divine. The risotto was cooked perfectly. It was creamy and the lemon zest was a nice touch.

My friends ordered Tagliolini Primavera, squid ink fetuccini, and Sous-vide cod fish. The fish wasn’t dry at all. I actually got to taste each dish, and yes, it’s true that the Primavera was a little bit on the average side, but the squid ink fetuccini was beyond expectations. Because I’m used to tomato based pasta sauces it would really take a phenomenal sauce to knock me off my socks.

Overall, the experience was ok. If you ask me, wherever place you’ll bring me, as long as it’s great Italian food I’ll be there, regardless of what the surroundings look like.

Tapas or Appetizer?

When I go out, I usually order appetizers first. It’s a way to jumpstart my dining experience. But when I’m in a European country, there are restaurants that serve only appetizers, or what they call tapas. I’m actually confused? What’s the difference between Tapas and appetizers? Honestly, their serving sizes are the same.

Even now in Singapore, a lot of Tapas restaurants can be found all over the place. I didn’t know that the locals are interested too. My friend suggested this tapas place in Vivo City and true enough the food’s great. It’s like a small serving of their entrees.

A must try in this place is their Sangria. I know it’s not part of their tapas, but since you’re in a Spanish place, might as well try it. Besides, it’s either Sangria or wine for Tapas. I would rather have Sangria. Spanish food is almost similar to Asian cuisine. Because it uses a lot of spices and rely on local ingredients. Their food is their heritage, each dish tells of a story. Just like our local cuisine, we are all proud of them because each has its own personality.

We ordered the flat bread with cheese, anchovies and paprika. The saltiness of the dish came from the anchovies but just enough, none of that fishy taste. We couldn’t help too but to order the grilled octopus. Not that we haven’t tasted one yet, but how many times can you eat an octopus in a tapas bar?

It was very filling. We wanted to order paella, since it’s a Spanish restaurant but we just couldn’t resist the other yummy looking tapas. It wasn’t cheap though. I mean for a small serving, we need to pay the amount of an entrée.

I think tapas are literally just small plates of what they serve on entrees. It’s just that they put some variations into it. While appetizers, they’re really food you can nibble on. You don’t usually see them being served as main courses because, they’re just not.

I still get confused to what’s a tapas and an appetizer, but one thing I get straight is that it’s still food that’s waiting for me to devour.

A must try!

Ok. So this is not your typical pizzeria in Singapore. It’s a little bit on the expensive side but it really is delicious. It’s been a few months since I ate here and already forgot how good my meal here was. My friend’s asking me to eat here again this week, and I can’t wait. It is a must try if you’re in Singapore.

One of the best restaurants I say, it’s authentic pizza at its best. The thin crust is very naples-like, or so they say because I haven’t been to Naples. But seriously, it’s that good. I’ve always like thin crust pizzas so I remembered really enjoying this one.

We ordered this special pizza with mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes with potatoes and sausages. It sounded as if it was a heavy pizza, but it didn’t taste like that. I can’t believe that they’ve used sun-dried tomatoes. I’ve always thought that sun-dried tomatoes are such an understatement in Italian cooking. Don’t get me wrong, I love freshly made sauce on my pizza, but I also like sun-dried tomatoes. They taste different. It’s like there’s summer in every bite.

The place is not hard to miss. I also recommend the parma ham with melon. It’s quite refreshing for summer days. In my book, anything with parma ham tastes better. But seriously, try it. It’s a must have. They have other typical appetizers, but do not order much of it, because you don’t want to miss on their fresh-made pastas.

I remember my friend ordering their lasagna. It was so creamy. I mean, the beef ragu was cooked perfectly. We couldn’t really say anything bad about it.

I couldn’t really remember dessert. I know we ordered Tiramisu and a soufflé.

Singapore has really the best of both western and eastern cuisines.