Back on the Italian Trail: Garibaldi’s New Menu

I haven’t been to Garibaldi’s in a while and was hardly a regular there but perhaps that is about to change.

With the recession and some love from the restaurants with their shrunken prices I feel a little encouraged to dine out and to visit places that are not on the usual eat list.

Garibaldi’s has launched a new menu. What’s new? More pastas and risottos at more accessible prices; with the expansion of these sections of the menu, it is big and it reads well.

Some of the new choices read beautifully - Homemade Noodles with Slow Cooked Castricum Lamb Ragout and Dried Ricotta, Homemade Crab Meat Tortelli with Mussels, Zucchini and Saffron Sauce and Homemade Pasta Tubes stuffed with Wagyu Beef, Cheese Sauce and Leeks Confit – a combination of luxurious comfort and elegance, it is tempting to slowly eat through this section of the menu. The Trenette with Sardinian Vongole and Grey Mullet Roe in White Wine Sauce was a kicked up version of a classic vongole – strictly speaking, the bottarga is not necessary but a wonderful addition to elevate it and to set it apart.

Moving further down the menu, the risotto menu is the largest I’ve ever seen. Risotto with something from the land or the sea, they’ve got most of the bases covered. Even if you didn’t want to eat a risotto, you’ll be tempted to. One of the new additions that was something that I wanted to try even though I’m not a big fan of carbonara was their risotto carbonara. Seriously, a risotto carbonara – served with parma ham. The only carbonara that I really eat now at this point in time is one with a poached egg. I’ve tasted this carbonara and I think it is an interesting idea. It taste like it but different, it tastes good and is fun to eat but if I had to choose between the two forms, I think I chase the twirl in my fork because combining the desired creamy risotto texture with an already relatively rich, I could only stomach a limited number of spoonfuls.

Whilst the other sections of the menu have expanded as well, it is the expansion of the comfort carbs that sit closest to my heart. That in my books translates simply: I can go in for a plate of delicious comfort plate in some of my favourite forms and pair that with something from the other sections and I’m can be a happy camper.

Garibaldi
36 Purvis Street
#01-02
Tel: 6337-3770

the Grrrreat GARIBALDI.

Garibaldi
36 Purvis Street, #01-02
Singapore 188613
Tel: 68372468

Our friends have been commenting that this is probably one of the best Italian restaurants in Singapore so we decided to go there for lunch. The al-carte menu looked really interesting and they have a degustation type menu for $98+++ per person. But seeing how it was lunchtime, we decided to try to set lunch menu instead.

The ambience of the restaurant is nice, the dark walls makes it intimate but yet it isn’t too stuffy that you have to watch your ever move at the table. Service was not too impressive initially since I had to wait for 5 minutes just to get an answer to my simple question, “Excuse me, would you be able to tell me what the soup of the day is?” Seriously, for a restaurant of such high standings, you would expect ANY waiter to have the answer. But we were soon pacified with a delightful serving of parmesan cheese bread, and so since our mouths were distracted, we stopped complaining and we excused the waiter. Service later was prompt, but not fantastic.


Roast Veal with tuna sauce

There are probably enough options on the set lunch menu ($26+++) to satisfy everyone. I had a porcini soup for starters among the other choices of roast veal with tuna sauce and a salad. The soup was good, but my roving fork also poked at my brother’s veal which was really really interesting for the tongue. They served very thin slices of veal with a creamy tuna sauce, imagine that! I’ve never had tuna sauce, as strange as it sounds it tastes really good together. As an entrée I had the grilled tuna served on a bed of mashed peas and capsicum sauce. I don’t like peas. But I gave peas a chance this time. The harmony of the dish was good, I would have never eaten the mash peas on its on, but the slight bitterness in the peas went nicely with the tuna and the sauce. There were pretty good sweet endings too, we were served a panna cotta and coffee or tea which was a nice finishing touch.

All in all, the food was good. I can’t wait for the return visit to explore the other options on the menu.