Motorino (now in HK)

Good news! There is a new NY-imported pizza place in town – Motorino. Yay!

Motorino serves up neopolitan styled pizza or for some it is the “soggy” styled pizza. Whilst this leans towards being authentic, I’ll be the first to admit that it really isn’t my style of pizza. Eating with a knife and fork is more appropriate than getting all stuck in with your hands and somehow with pizza that just seems too proper for this causal food.



As compared to the pizza places around the city, Motorino offers interesting toppings - their signature brussels sprout with pancetta, and cherry stone clams - gives them a slight edge and to make it a complete meal, they recommend Gragnano perfect pizza to wash it all down. Whilst what tops the pizza does matter, the dough and the crust is something that I’m still trying to come to terms with. The crust is very puffy. Puffy, puffy, puffy that when we first ate it my dining mate described being naan-like (less the ghee and garlic that is usually slathered on) and someone else said to me that it was like pita bread and all they needed was hummus, so not really pizza crust-like descriptions. To me, it was just too puffy and too much dough that even though it did have marks of the wood fire oven char – although some just were outright burnt – it lacked character is flavour and mouth feel texture.

Not a big fan of the crust but happy to have this pizza option in town.
 
Motorino
14 Shelly Street
Central, HK

Keep Stirring

“These days, one of the most important stages of making a risotto is considered to be the mantecatura, which comes from the Spanish word for butter, mantequilla. It means the beating on of butter and cheese right at the end of cooking, to give the risotto that fantastic creaminess.”

- Giorgio Locatelli, Made in Italy

I love this book. It is so generous and honest in wanting to pass on the knowledge that Locatelli has acquired over the years. I haven’t read it from cover to cover but I’ve read sections of it and reading the risotto section made me feel loved. As result, I've been trying to pass on that love and I’ve been stirring a lot of risotto. I’m still learning about it.

Risotto is a beautiful thing. The sheer simplicity of it demands that you pay attention to the quality of ingredients and patience that you invest in the process. You can’t rush it; you have to coax it gently with your wooden spoon, slowly encouraging each grain to soak in as much it can manage.

I’d admit risotto seems intimidating but it really isn’t. You need to keep stirring but can blink and you can even walk away from the pot for a brief period and it’ll forgive you. But if you need to keep your dinner guest occupied, standing conversation around the pot with people taking turns at stirring works as well.

Is there a real technique behind the stirring? I don’t know. Someone said we could only stir in one direction for a reason I cannot remember. Someone else advised, we should stir in a figure 8, I have tried both of that and stirring in both directions and I don’t see any major differences. At least I think the risotto turned a blind eye to my inconsistencies.

And for a dish that has intimidated many, it is ironically something that is very adaptable, you can put anything in it – there are plenty of variations in the book but the for the last risotto I stirred, I used Locatelli’s basic risotto recipe and added roasted butternut squash – delicious!

Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto
Serves 6

Ingredients
1 butternut squash
1 tablespoon olive oil
2.5 litres vegetable stock
50 g butter
1 onion, very finely chopped
400 g Arborio rice
125ml dry white wine
75g cold butter, cut into cubes
100g Parmesan, grated
salt and pepper

Method:

1. Slice squash in half, remove seeds, and rub with olive oil. Roast face-side down in a 180 degree Celsius oven for 40-45 minutes or until tender when pierced.
2. Scoop out the flesh and mash and set aside.
3. Melt the butter in a heavy-based casserole over medium heat. Add the onion and cook very slowly for 5-7 minutes until soft.
4. Add the rice and stir for a few minutes until heated through and well-coated with the butter.
5. Stirring continuously, add the white wine and cook for a few minute to allow the alcohol to evaporate.
6. Add a ladleful of hot stock and stir until absorbed. Continue to add the stock a ladleful at a time, stirring continuously, until all the stock is absorbed - about 15-17 minutes. When cooked, the rice should tender but firm in the centre.
7. Stir butternut squash then leave to stand for 1 minute.
8. Add butter and Parmesan, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. Season to taste and serve.

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

Revisiting some Italians

Over the past months and few weeks, I’ve been doing ‘comfort’ eating. I’ve been eating at familiar places and in particular I’ve been eating at the same Italian places. Whilst I love trying somewhere new, sometimes nothing beats knowing exactly what you are going to get even before you open the front door of the restaurant. Here’s the rundown.

Valentino's

I’ve been back for three different types of sittings in the past few months. Once for a no-holds-carbs-evening-out with the girl friends, second for a private party for a friend who turned the big three-O and lastly for a lazy Saturday lunch. And on all three occasions and after all these years, I still think the food and the ambience is amazing. Have a bowl of pasta, split a pizza, nibble on the menu seasonal anchovies or settle down with the grilled to perfection steak Florentine (this is really awesome!), you can’t go very wrong.

Buko Nero

I have been a bit of a manic with this hole in the wall. After my first meal there, I made sure I had a table for every month of the year. I’ve dined there with all sorts of permutations. A table for two, three, four, five and six persons but I’ve never eaten there by myself. I’ve had their set lunches, the set dinners, the daily special pastas, the regular menu, ordered my own and nibbled at other people’s courses, ordered almost half the menu and sharing it and after all that experimenting, I’ve settled for my own ‘menu’ – a soup (either the soup that is on the board or the default porcini mushroom soup laced with truffle oil), a pasta (a toss up between the specials, default choice of spicy prawn spaghetti and the other rival pasta on the printed menu) and a serving of ham and cheese crostinis to share. Dessert is optional. The rational behind my mania: I like what they do and I like what it stands for: small, intimate and food made with love. There are some things that sometimes irritate me, in particular the long almost irrational waiting time between courses, but I overcome that with good company and some patience.

Da Mario's

Since it’s re-opening on the opposite side of its original location, I’ve been there three times on three consecutive weeks and I’m very sad to report that Da Marios has lost its ‘al dente’ touch. Visit after visit was a downhill tumble, and so I don’t think I’m going back for a long long while. On my first visit, we were served tepid appetizers and limp pastas and the waiter almost looked shocked at my replied, “to be honest, the soup was under seasoned and tasteless and the courses were tepid” to his question on how our appetizers were. After our pastas, I decided that my dessert allowance was better spent elsewhere (even though I remember that they have a gorgeous tiramisu). On my second visit, my pasta was still too soft but the bruchetta gave me a slight glimmer of hope. On my third and final visit for this year, our pastas were still limp but I had the wisdom to stay away from the capellini that was close to gloppy on my first visit and to stick with its fatter and flatter cousins – spaghetti and linguini – but they were still cooked beyond the point of al dente. I can’t figure it out. Are they cooking these to ‘Asian noodle’ standards? Why can’t I get some al dente pasta here? But maybe there is a way around it, I can tell them to undercook my pasta and it might turn out ok but seriously, I trust not the service here - on my third and possibly my last visit, a seemingly innocent request to get our bread warmed, where I was left irritated with the stupid answer they gave me and cold bread and was the final straw. This was third time, not so lucky and I’ve had it here.

Valentino's
11 Jalan Bingka
Tel: 6462-0555

Buko Nero
126 Tanjong Pagar Road
Tel: 6324-6225

Da Mario’s
60 Robertson Quay
The Quayside #01-05/06
Tel: 6235-7623

La Strada and their Carbonara

La Strada
#02-10 Shaw Centre
1 Scotts Road
Tel: 6737-2622

La Strada and their carbonara. Or maybe it is just me and the a few weeks of a slight manic obsession with la strada carbonara. I’m an eggy person. I usually can’t resist not ordering any dish off a menu that reads “… with a poached egg”. And whilst gleaning through the usual blog roll I came across a picture of La Strada’s Carbonara and I was sold. I love pasta. I love ham and the truffles were a bonus. But it was that precariously perched poached egg on the mount of tangled noodles that really what caught my attention.

But it was not meant to be. For two weeks in a row I’ve gone to La Strada but in vain. Out of sheer determination, I’ve been suggesting La Strada as the dinner location to friends for dinners but alas, I haven’t ordered the carbonara.

Just last week I suffered a bout of sickness that is a little gross to describe so let’s just call it a bout of sickness. Sick I was but I had a dinner appointment with people whom I really wanted to meet so I still went out to dinner with strict instructions from the doctor, for the next few days you cannot have any chilli, dairy and eggs and porridge is the best form of food. To which I replied, “NO EGGS?! I love eggs.” After which the nurse just laughed at me. Oh well. So to La Strada but no eggs and no dairy, hmm… ok no carbonara for me.

As for this week, I am well and healthy and consuming a healthy amount of an egg a day but ivn ordered it for his pasta dish … so for variety sake I ordered the hand-cut pasta with mud crab that is sautéed in olive oil, garlic, fresh chillies and white wine, a worthy substitute.

I, however my second visit, have finally tasted this pasta that I have been coveting. I had two generous forkful twirls of the pasta that had a smooth mouth feel and truffle scent that then easily glided down my throat.

Ok, that was worth the wait and a return.

* credit to ivn for the photos.

Da Mario

Da Mario Pizzeria
60 Robertson Quay #01-10
The Quayside
Tel: 6235-7623
Closed on Mondays

Here’s a great Italian place that has been under the radar. Based on its appearance, you wouldn’t expect too much from this place (and that’s if you notice it at all) but this hole in the wall rustic Italian place is a discovery.

Kudos to Mario, the chef plugs in his ipod and works in a tight space with his cooks. The handmade pizzas that they make are slight different from what is served in Singapore. Not thick crusted but not exactly paper thin either, it is slightly puffy but thin enough to have a good crisp and topped with cheese, Mario’s homemade sauce and your choice combinations. We went with the Rustica with was Italian sausage and mushrooms and it was good.

And the pastas, homemade goodness and portions that will make sure you are well fed. His creation such as the today’s special of crab cappelini that was delicate and yet powerfully featured the sweetness of the crab.

Pizzas and pastas aside, the proof of the restaurant is really in its salad. The chef’s salad of fresh tomatoes, crisp salad greens, simply sautéed mushrooms and creamy mozzarella and drizzled with balsamic vinegar, so simple so fresh and so good. The calamari that we split was also fabulous, ethereal light batter that coated the squid rings it was a great way to start eating.

There is much to love here the smallness of the place that creates comfort and the personality, the passion and the warmth that all comes through in the food.

Buono!

27 Lichfield Road
Tel: 6733-5646
www.buonopizzabar.com



If you like Italian food for these reasons for the main reason of the family-comfort feel, Buono is perfect.

The first thing that you will probably notice is the leopard print slip covers that are on a random number of chairs among the eclectic selection of furniture. They are really cheesy, but (and I hate to admit this) I really like them. To me, it gives the whole place some character and a very unpretentious feel about it.

The second thing I liked about it is the personality, Chef Salvatore Buono. He has got a warm smile and is personable. And he makes good food!

The menu is rather large. On our first visit, to the amusement of Chef who took our orders, we ordered a hodgepodge of dishes from all sections of the menu: calamari, seafood soup, sausage platter, buono pizza, curry seafood pasta and lamb rack with gorgonzola sauce.If you want to go all out and have an antipasti, a first course, second, side and dessert or either just a serving of pasta or pizza, the menu is large and flexible to accommodate your preferences.

Take note that the kitchen includes a fire wood oven, produces lovely fresh bread and thin crusted pizzas, hence this place already has the right foundation to be a good pizzabar.





The menu has accents of Salvatore’s imagination. The signature buono pizza, topped with both mozzarella and cream, along with sausages and rocket is deluxe comfort food, but a little too heavy for me to stomach on my own, so have this but share this. Intriguing ‘fusion’ dishes such as the curry seafood pasta, spaghetti along with a generous portion of prawns and scallops is tossed in a mild creamy curry sauce, is again comforting and perhaps a potential differential dish for the restaurant.

Along side the more imaginative and distinctive menu items, Buono also present good versions of familiar and classic dishes. The fried calamari, simple but well fried to produce a good crisp with no odours of stale oil is good, and their seafood soup that they should hold up with pride is simple divine.

The food is good enough reason to go back, and another good reason is that the prices for a good meal here will not break the bank. What I like most about this place is that it has got a nature of a good friend. This place is not stocked with designer furniture or starched white table cloths for that matter, but its down-to-earth nature and the personality has got my attention, and I think this is one of those places that I’m going to make mine.

*See the whole set of pictures here.

Il Lido

Il Lido
Sentosa Golf Club
Bukit Manis Road
Singapore 099892
Tel : 6866-1977
www.il-lido.com



Since it has been open, I’ve heard mixed reviews from food proxies and hence was not in away great way compelled to make the distance but the news of the new resident chef helped to sway the decision. That being said, I never made it there whilst the ex-Pontini-now-Pontini’s-Chef de cuisine-again was there, I cannot provide a before and after picture.

The food is good, well crafted and fresh quality ingredients, but I was a little disappointed. I had higher expectations for the menu seemed rather conservative and against the hip and stylish décor, and it is probably for this lack of distinctiveness that I honestly do not find a big push-factor to cross the bridge and to make a return. We ordered the menu “classic”: pan roasted goose liver with green apple, honey & hazelnut sauce, home made tagliolini with live spiny lobster and green asparagus tips, USDA prime beef tenderloin, white asparagus, anchovy & garlic sauce and molten lava dark chocolate cake, white chocolate & coffee gelato, deep-fried zucchini flowers with goose liver and robiola cheese, classic Italian antipasto platter, fettuccine with crab, porcini mushrooms, pachino tomatoes and grey mullet bottarga and spaghetti with sea urchins and spicy zucchini.

Whilst the view, service and the food were agreeable, the menu prices seemed to have factored in a large cost of rental of your table for the evening. In fact, was most memorable of the night was the couple beside us that sat uncomfortably, whom seemed too shell shocked by the prices, ordered plate of pasta each—the fettucine and the spaghetti—and that was all they had that night, no starters, no desserts. That dining experience lasted somewhere between 30 to 40 minutes and did cost them something between $70 to $80. That is some expensive real estate, no?

La Strada

La Strada Ristorante
1 Scotts Rd #02-10
Shaw Centre
Tel: 6737 2622


potato and fontina cheese tart with porcini and celery salad

As I continue on my Italian binge, my indulgence was at the spanking new Italian joint by the Les Amis group, La Strada. First of all, if you plan to go, make a reservation. The Les Amis Group has adopted a new, and very American-style, reservation system where there is a central hub that takes all reservations, hence you have to call during working hours, that is the only time they seem to pick up the phone, and even when I did leave my name and number, no one returned my call. I was prepared to wing it, chancing that they would have a table on a weekday lunch, but my lunch date, firmly said “no, it gets crowded”, and he was right, it packed a full house for lunch.

The menu offers classics with a slight fuss. On the other spectrum of home-styled Italian food, La Strada offers a spectacle interpretation on some classics. Who knew the foam would find its way into the Italian cuisine as well? With today’s obsession about El Bulli, molecular gastronomy and the espuma, this is actually the first time I have had flavoured foam served to me in an Italian ristorante. Antipastos come elegantly plated, while with regards to secondi, there really isn’t much you can make fancy with pasta and risotto, unless you employed extra kitchen staff to make twirl pastas and to pile them in a “jenga" vertical stacks, but after that labour, the food might arrive cold.


strozzapretti with duck sausage, rabe, shaved parmesan and a hint of chilli

The food spoke with clarity and confidence. The plates had straightforward flavours that have integrity that not masked or hidden by any overpowering sauces. My nonconformist interpretation of broccoli consisted of: a single ravioli that encased a creamy purée that was boiled to al dente and then pan-fried for a slight crisp, a crispy tempura of broccolini and a goat’s cheese foam, working together to create a variety of textures and gentle flavours, excellent. And the other entrée of potato and fontina cheese tart with porcini and celery salad and was fresh tasting. Following that we had a serving of pasta each, where we tried the duck sausage and rabe, which was delicious and hearty tasting with the slight bitterness from the rabe, but the sausages were slightly overcooked and dried out, and a special vegetarian request for a pasta of the chef’s choice of penne with a vegetable ragu, perhaps unimaginative but nonetheless well executed.

My lunch date, H is a fellow avid foodie, is someone I thoroughly love dining out with because I can be a shameless greedy person, I have come to realise that we have different stomach capacities. Although I was satiated after my 2 course lunch, he needed more, and he was unwilling to eat alone, so for this visit, after our 2 courses, there was no more to come that is, no dolce.

I like this establishment, La Strada much more than its former occupant, The Canteen. That being said, what question comes next is that, seeing how it is still a Les Amis Group Restaurant, how much is it going to set you back? It does come with a hefty price tag; you pay for a package, quality food and location. Lunch alone, with 2 courses and a cup of cleansing ritualistic Japanese tea cost me $60, I would say, it's worth it for a special occasion.

Borgo

Borgo
789 Bukit Timah Road.
Tel: 6466-7762


Beef carpaccio

Previously from La Braceria, Chef La Mura Dominico has brought along his old menu to his new venture. Grilled meats still take up a sizable portion of the menu, along side offerings of pastas, pizzas, antipasti and dolce, and his delicious signatures offerings have stayed on the menu.

I realised that I am a creature of habit and comfort, and have unconsciously ordered almost the same dishes as what we had at La Braceria. The appetizers of baked scarmoza with a delicious mushroom sauce, tripe, beef carpaccio and sautéed clams in white wine were well put together and tasted close to what we had when we first tasted the chef’s cooking. Electing to go with the grill dishes of lamb chops and grilled homemade sausages, since after all they did build the kitchen to feature the char-grilling moves of the chef, they did not disappoint. With no thick or rich sauce to accompany the grilled meats, they were simple, straightforward and satisfying.


Baked scarmoza with delicious mushroom sauce

Only sampling one dish of baked orecchiette with eggplant and homemade sausages from the pasta section, it echoed the same feeling of homely hearty food that the grilled dishes evoked.

Although not as charming or cosy as La Braceria in terms of ambience, but bring good company or wine and chances are if you liked the food there, you will like it here.

Papi

Papi by Colleoni and Chiarini
5 Mohamed Sultan Road
Tel: 6732 6269



This is the second restaurant “attempt” by Colleoni and Chiarini, the dynamic duo behind Oso (which means try in Italian). Located along the stretch of newly opened eateries—Azhang, What’s the meaning behind PaPi? In my opinion, I think it represents what their menu is about, Pastas and Pizzas, hence Papi. I stress again, this is my own speculation, I could be horribly wrong.

The menu is very similar to Spizza, where perhaps the two might have had a hand in developing in their stint at Senso, the main difference is that there is a larger pasta selection. My lunch here was more like a quickie-in-and-out-event, which started out well with “Vitello tomato” classic roasted thinly sliced veal served with tuna fish and caper sauce, but disappointed with their pasta plates of “Frutti di mare” linguine with seafood in white wine sauce, “Papi” Tagliolini with shrimp in A.O.P (their acronym for Aglio Olio Peperoncino) with lemon skin, “Nero di Seppia” Tagliatelle with fresh squid ink sauce, that were really decent at best. Thankfully, we finished off with a redeeming crisp wood-fire “Infuriata”, Pizza with fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella, peperocino and spicy salami.

My call on this place is, come here for a pizza fix but skip the pasta section.

Is it worth the wait?

Buko Nero
126 Tanjong Pagar Road
Singapore 088534
Tel: 63246225



After a few attempts at trying to get a reservation at Buko Nero, I was very frustrated and gave up. Attempt one, I called, but they were on holiday and they had such complicated opening hours that I couldn’t figure it out. Attempt two, I called and got the answering machine, I left a message, but no one called me back. Attempt three, I called and was received by the answering machine again and so I simply I hung up and decided that I couldn’t take anymore rejection. How then did we get a reservation at this seemingly exclusive place? I’m not sure. A friend of mine from our informal Sunday kopitiam kopi-teh group asked if I had ever been to Buko Nero, my reply naturally was, “Nay”. She then went on to relate that me that she had a pretty good meal there, and so I suggested that if she could, she should try to get us a table, and so, that’s how I eat at Buko Nero. But more importantly, was it worth all that hassle?

The space is small but cosy. The white walls and soft lighting gives the place a warm and casual homeliness that you might even forget that you are in a restaurant. The food here is good, value for money and unpretentious. Set lunches and dinners ($35+++ for 5 courses) are available and the a la carte menu changes frequently with a few regular items that stay such as the signature tau-kwa tower and covers quite a lot of ground for a one man show.

We sampled the set dinner and a bunch of a la carte dishes. As weird as it sounds, some items that sounded interesting tasted average and items that sounded ordinary tasted impressive. The signature Buko Nero tau-kwa tower with sautéed vegeteables was to me rather disappointing other than sounding and tasting healthy but on the other hand the predictable dishes such as the mozzarella and tomato crostino topped with parma ham and creamy porcini mushroom soup with white truffle oil are definitely worth ordering. And for pastas and risottos, everything we sampled that we sampled, on and off the menu, were (in order of my preference) risotto with strawberries balsamic vinegar and parma ham, spaghetti with spicy prawns and crab meat and rigatoni with artichoke and Italian sausage ragu and, were perfect for an after work meal—nurturing and gratifying. Almost full bellied, we ended with some set dinner desserts and a sticky date pudding with a caramel sauce. It was a lovely dinner, and at the risk of sounding like a pig, I confess, there was nothing more wanted to do after all that comfort food than to lie down and pass out for the day.

Is it worth the hassle of having to book a month in advance and to attempt calling this phone that never seems to have another person on the other side? Yes, (they have already penned down my next reservation) but with that I recommend sticking to comfort food here, pastas, risottos and dishes with a stronger Italian inclination and be prepared to wait between courses because there is only one person behind the stove.

Da Paolo Il Giardino

Da Paolo Il Giardino
501 Bukit Timah Road, Cluny Court
Tel: 6463-9628

I’m not such which came before which among the many Da Paolo instalments around the island. For the sake of speculation and trivia, this is what I think the history of Da Paolo group. I think the original was Trattoria Da Paolo in Tanjong Pagar, which has now moved and is named Da Paolo e Judie, Da Paolo Il Ristorante at Club Street, followed by Da Paolo La Terrazza at Jalan Merah Saga and then this one at Cluny Court, followed by the Gourmet Deli and then the Pizza bar, also along Jalan Merah Saga. I dined at the Ristorante at Club Street a while back, from what I remember from dining there is that it shares the same or a very similar menu to the one at Cluny Court. The Deli is a great place to pick up sauces and fresh pastas if you are in the gourmet but lazy mood. You might just walk out with more than what you stepped in to get. The island of breads and pizza fill the little gourmet shop with an aroma that just makes you hungry and crave a slice. If you can resist that, you will have to then resist the other sweet temptations­­ of gelato, cakes and desserts. The Pizza bar just down the lane offers a laid back place for Sunday brunch and I’m guessing that the La Terrazza that lies between the Deli and the Pizza bar shares the same or similar menu to the one at Club Street and Cluny Court. Now that I have rambled on about my thoughts about the Da Paolo, here’s the exposition on my recent visit to the restaurant at Cluny Court.



Da Paolo Il Giardino at Cluny Court offers a great al fresco option, only if it is not blistering hot in mid-afternoon, like the afternoon I was there, where we took refuge in the very clean and modern furnished restaurant. Like the pizza bar, it has an “open-concept” kitchen, where you can watch some of the kitchen work through the glass wall that separates the dining room and the kitchen.

While studying the menu and listening to the Today’s Specials the waiters bring warm crusty bread and olive oil to start with. For starters we had the Fritto di Calamari e Granchi Con Salsa Tartara (deep-fried calamari and soft shell crab) and the Fegato Grasso e Insalata all’Arancia (mixed salad with duck liver, cherry tomatoes and orange). The former arrived first, batter of the seafood was wonderfully crisp and flavoured, which was wonderful to enjoy on its own or with the creamy mayonnaise that it was served with. The latter however was rather disappointing, the hero of the dish, the duck liver, was horribly over-cooked, well, enough said.

We elected to go with the homemade pastas and the half-and-half option that they have here, where they will help you in portioning your pasta if you would like to share yours with someone else. We shared the Linguine Vongole, Tagliatelle Aragosta al Rosmarino (homemade eggpasta with lobster meat, rosemary, Prosecco and cherry tomatoes), Tagliatelle al Granchio (homemade egg pasta tossed with crab meat, cream, tomatoes, vodka and Parmesan cheese) and the Today’s special, homemade ravioli stuffed with ricotta and pumpkin and tossed with pesto and prawns. Everything tasted good. I had the half-and-half plate of two creamy pastas; I was in comfort food territory and soon after in a lazy full bellied afternoon sleepy land.

Chef Diego's Oso Ristorante

Oso Ristorante
27 Tanjong Pagar Road
Singapore 088450
Tel: 6327-8378
Website: www.oso.sg


Bresaola

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of meeting one half of the dynamic duo behind Oso Ristorante, Chef Diego Chiarini. After globetrotting and honing his skills in France and heading the renown kitchens of Carpaccio, Paris and Bice, Tokyo, this ex-Senso chef ventured out with his friend and current Maitre’D Stephane Colleoni and established this exquisite Italian Ristorante Oso, which translates as “try” and has been thriving since September 2004.

I requested for Chef Diego to put together a chef’s menu for our dinner which he was more than happy to oblige. Keeping with the main characteristic of Italian cooking – to use excellent basic ingredients, cooking simply and to bring out the original goodness – Chef Diego explained over the phone that his menu would be dependent on what was fresh and available that day and what we fancied. However, seeing how we were celebrating a birthday, he would prepare a tiramisu cake for our celebration.

The chef’s menu was such: the first course would consist of cold cuts, second would either be pasta or risotto, main course and then dessert.

We started off with an amuse bouche of poached salmon mousse with orange. Following which we had a platter of bread, where the foccacia was extremely fluffy and the bread sticks were good and savoury, which kept us occupied until the our cold cut course came. While we chatted, sipped our Chianti and watched Chef Diego work his meat slicer in his uber cool cold kitchen, where he works his magic with his homemade cured meats and houses his cheese. For cold cuts, we were served a plate of paper thin Bresaola (air-cured beef, or commonly known as beef prosciutto) with grapefruit, rocket and parsley oil. The bresaola as I have discovered is not as fatty as the prosciutto, due to its defatting process that it undergoes, but it produces the same depth in terms of richness and saltiness.

For our pasta course, we had squid ink pasta with a spicy tomato sauce and prawns. The delicate taste squid ink pasta was brought out by the slightly spicy but not overpowering tomato sauce, however, although it tasted good, it was nothing spectacular.

The main course was the show stopper. Chef Diego informed us that he has received a fresh Barramundi earlier in the day, and hence he proceeded to roast the whole fish for our main course. The fish was cooked to perfection. The sweet was suckling sweet and the black olives added the salty contrast that intermittently brought to live the freshness and sweetness the fish.

To finish off, we had the classic Tiramisu, but instead of having four portions, they had prepared a tiramisu cake instead for the birthday boy at our table. Fortunately (or unfortunately), the waiters did not break into song, however it would have been a rather memorable sight, if they did break into Happy Birthday in Italian. The Tiramisu was fantastic, rich from the mascarpone, but light enough for you to stomach at the end of your meal. Sweets has never been big with me, so I packed the rest of the tiramisu and ordered an additional cheese plate, which a few Italian numbers - a knob of Parmigiano-Reggiano, young gorgonzola, Taleggio, a truffle infused cheese and a goats and sheep’s cheese which names I cannot remember.
The service was outstanding. Attentive, sensitive, helpful and funny, the service staff helped to enhance the experience by putting their guest at ease, creating an exceptional dining experience.

On top of the service and the food, what draws me to this place is the personality of Chef Diego. Having experienced success in his culinary careers, Chef Diego actively “pays it forward” through pro-bono cooking for charities, and is featured in Hot Chefs, Hip Cuisine, where royalties from the book sale is donated to UNICEF. So I’ll probably be back here soon.

Pay: The Chef’s menu was $78 +++ a person.

Another Suburban Gem: Ristorante Da Valentino

Ristorante Da Valentino
11 Jalan Bingka
Singapore 588908
Tel: 64620555

Having left Cantina, Valtulina Valentino, has set up his own suburban Italian dining joint. It is a lot smaller compared to Cantina, bringing a very cozy and homely ambience. The restaurant is seemingly family-run and where everyone pitches in – Valtulina (the executive chef) is frequently weaving in and out of the kitchen with the piping hot dishes himself.

We are greeted with crusty warm bread with a pesto that punches you in the face with fresh coriander, basil and garlic, and slightly mellowed with a nutty olive oil. A perfect start, now I’m ready to order.


Linguine all’Aragosta

Nosh: We start off with a zuppa di mare (seafood soup), which fumes are enough to whet your appetite. The broth is incredibly sweet from the clams, mussels, scallops, fish and squid that swim around in the bright red broth. It leaves a rich but a clean taste in my mouth and I am amazed at how tender the squid is. Cooked to perfection, it is not the least bit rubbery, probably one of the best tasting squid I have ever had.

Next comes the pizza papa’ di valentino (artichokes, prawns and garlic). The prawns are crunchy and the artichokes are nutty and the crust with nearly thin and crisp. It was good pizza, but the pastas to come were better.

From the pasta selection, we had the Linguine all’Aragosta (Lobster Pasta in Pink Sauce), Aglio Olio ai Frutti di Mare (Seafood in Olive Oil Sauce) and Tornarelli all Granchio (Squid Ink Spaghetti tossed with Crabmeat Sauce). The portions were generous and filling. The Italians here really love their garlic, all the sauces had a garlic tone and you could see all the garlic bits in the sauce. The Linguine all’Aragosta and Tornarelli all Granchio were both creamy and luxurious but not overwhelming, with the sweet lobster meat/crabmeat, needless to say, there was silence at the table while we focused on eating and conversation took the backseat.

For dessert, they wheeled the dessert trolley over and introduced the variety of desserts that they had – citron tart, crème caramel and profiteroles. We ordered the tiramisu from the menu and the citron tart. The citron tart was terribly disappointing, the pastry tasted like lard (and I’m afraid to imagine what it was made off) but the tiramisu was divine. I’ll just stick to tiramisu the next time.

It was a fantastic lunch, the service was prompt and helpful and I liked the homely feeling of this place. The ambience is warm, and the constant Italian conversation between the wait staff makes me feel like I’m in an Italian home and I’m a guest of this Italian mama.

Price: S$30-S$40 a person for 3 courses.
Service: Warm Italian homestyle.

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.