Pizza is one of the most recognized food in the world today. There used to be only one place for pizzas when I was still young, and that was Pizza Hut. But as I grow older, I found satisfaction in seeking new places for something new. Having said that, I still love my Hawaiian pizza from Pizza Hut.

Whenever I want to explore a new place, I am thankful of the fact that there are so many Pizza restaurants in Singapore. Be it Pizza Buffet, Gourmet Pizza, Italian Thin Crust Pizza, Skinny Pizza, American Style Thick Crust Pizza, 1-for-1 Pizza, or the best Pizza promotions in Singapore — we’ve got them covered in this post.

Here is a list of the best Pizza Places in Singapore:

I think Pizza is the best excuse for having beer. The fact that you can have Pizza at any time of the day is also a bonus. Without further ado, let’s see which are the pizza restaurants.

Bella Pizza

Having been to Bella Pizza on several occasions, their pizzas have never disappointed me. This is definitely my favourite Pizza Place in Singapore!

30 Robertson Quay #01-14
Riverside View Singapore
Tel: +65 6734 0139

California Pizza Kitchen (CPK)

Conveniently located in Orchard road, California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) is a good place to go for American style thick crust pizzas.

583 Orchard Road #01-42
Forum The Shopping Mall Singapore
Tel: +65 6836 0110

Casa Verde

All you need to know about Casa Verde is their ongoing weekday 1-for-1 takeaway pizza promotion – $21 to $24 for 2 wood-fire oven baked pizzas – where else can you find such a good pizza deal in Singapore? Note: the pizza promotion is available from Monday to Thursday, 11am – 9.30pm.

If you are having a headache over what food to bring for picnic, now you have your answer.

1 Cluny road
Singapore Botanic Gardens
Tel: +65 6467 7326

Da Paolo Restaurant & Bistro Bar

Not sure where to go for dinner if you are in the Rochester Park or Chip Bee Gardens area?

Da Paolo Restaurant might just be the right place if you are craving for pizzas. With an extensive pizza menu to choose from, everyone will be able to get a pizza that they like. Oh yes, you must have their famous tiramisu for desserts too!

3 Rochester Park Singapore
Tel: +65 6774 5537

La Nonna Singapore Italian Restaurant

La Nonna Italian restaurant has an ongoing lunch promotion – 50% off their ala carte menu for their weekday lunch. Try the La Nonna Signature Pizza ($19.0 before 50% discount). This is definitely one of the best Pizza promotions in Singapore!

76 Namly Place
Tel: +65 6762 1587

26 Lorong Mambong
Holland Village
Tel: +65 6468 1982

Peperoni Pizzeria

Pepperoni Pizzeria is the perfect place to go if you have a big group of friends eating together. Their famous XXL pizza is surely the highlight of the meal, but this is not for the faint-hearted (or those with small appetite).

6 Greenwood Avenue Hillcrest Park Singapore
Tel: +65 6465 6556

7 Binjai Park Singapore
Tel: +65 6463 7800

Osteria & Pizzeria Mozza

You like big and crispy pizza crust? You’d like the pizzas from Pizzeria Mozza at Marina Bay Sands. For a celebrity chef restaurant, the pizzas are reasonably priced between $18 to $38.

Is Pizzeria Mozza the best pizza restaurant in Singapore? I don’t know… It is really hard to say since there are so many good pizzerias in Singapore. But I think it is definitely amongst the best.

2 Bayfront Ave #B1-42/46
The Shoppes @ Marina Bay Sands Singapore
Tel: +65 6688 8522

OChre Orchard Central

Looking for a Pizza Buffet in Singapore?

During Saturday lunch, OChre Italian restaurant at Orchard restaurant has an Eat-all-you-can pasta & pizza buffet. At $22+/pax, I’d think that it is a fantastic deal. There are 10 selections of pastas (like Carbonara, Linguine Seafood, Tagliatelle Bolognese, Spaghetti Aglio Olio) and 8 pizzas (Margherita, Salmon, & Quattro Formaggi) to choose from.

181 Orchard Road
#11-03/04 Orchard Central
Tel: +65 6634 0423

Skinny Pizza

I’m sure you will agree with me that skinny pizzas are the ladies’ favourite – thin, healthy and not too filling. Skinny Pizza has three outlets in Singapore: Raffles City, Wheelock and Suntec City. Otherwise, you can always get them from Barracks Cafe at Dempsey road.

501 Orchard Road #03-04
Wheelock Place Singapore
Tel: +65 6235 7823

Timbre

And how can we miss out the signature Peking Duck Pizza from Timbre? If you can’t make it to any of the Timbre outlets at The Substation, The Arts House or at Old School Mount Sophia, the popular music restaurant and bar also offers Pizza delivery services.

1 Old Parliament Lane #01-04
The Arts House (Old Parliament House) Singapore
Tel: +65 6336 3386

For more recommendations, read my list of Best Italian Restaurants in Singapore

To celebrate its 30th Anniversary in April this year, Pizza Hut Singapore has come up with a brand new menu with 25 additions. A whopping selection of brilliant dishes created from the finest ingredients and a passion for food excellence, Pizza Hut is sure to wow you with all the exciting goodies in store for you.

Here is a countdown of 10 reasons why you should go to Pizza Hut:

#10. 25 new additions to the menu – 6 appetisers, 3 pastas, 2 pizzas, 6 Western favourites, 1 baked rice, 2 desserts and 5 beverages.

Scroll down, read on.

#9. I wanted Pizza, and they surprised me with Crispy Chicken Chop.

OKAY DON’T PANIC. Pizza Hut still has their awesome Pizzas on the menu, but they are going to spoil you with more choices.

There are six options under the ‘Western Favourites’ menu: Hut’s Chicken Steak (S$14.5), Crispy Chicken Chop (S$13.9), New Orleans Chicken Wrap Wraps (S$10.9), Cheez Shroomies Wrap (S$10.9), Beefy Delight Wrap (S$10.9), and Fish ‘N’ Chips (S$13.9)

Amongst them, I like the Crispy Chicken Chop. Fried to a gorgeous shade of golden brown, it was surprisingly tasty. If you are a fan of cheese, be sure to try the Cheez Shroomies Wrap.

As the brand strives to be the favourite casual-dining restaurant in Singapore, Pizza Hut has embarked on expanding beyond its current menu to give customers more reasons to celebrate and gather at its restaurants, and of course, to spoil them with the wide array of food choices. Ladies and Gentlemen, a warm welcome to the new Pizza Hut!

#8. Cheese + Mussels = Cheesy Mussels.

Pizza Hut has 24 full-fledged restaurants, and they deliver to almost every Singapore household from 30 delivery stores. I am sure you already know this, so let me tell you something you don’t know.

Cheese + Mussels = Cheesy Mussels. That’s right, Cheesy Mussels (S$7.9).

It seems to be a trend to have a middle name nowadays, so let me think of one for Pizza Hut’s Cheesy Mussels. How about Cheesy-Wonderful-Mussels? I think it sounds more than wonderful, in a tantalising way. And oh yes, the cheesy mussels were really cheesy, in a good way of course. No pun intended.

PS. I can almost smell the cheese once again as I type this blog post.

#7. Fries are always good for you, and it tastes even better when you eat it with pizzas.

Pizza Hut served so many dishes that day, and amongst all, we could not stop eating the Thick Fries On Dip (S$6.50) which came with the Salsa and Grilled Cheese sauce.

#6. Sweet ‘N’ Spicy Drumlets, Sweet ‘N’ Spicy Drumlets, Sweet ‘N’ Spicy Drumlets.

Everyone loves Sweet ‘N’ Spicy Drumlets. Pizza Hut has make-it-best with the Hut’s Platter (S$13.9) – Tempura Prawns, Calamari Rings, Criss Cross Fries, and of course, Sweet ‘N’ Spicy Drumlets.

#5. After Stuffed Crust, Crunchy Cheesy Bites, Starzbites and Cheesy 7, Pizza Hut is going to rock your world with Captain’s Catch.

I don’t know about you, but I have never imagined using fillet as the key ingredient for Pizza. You know what is the best part? There were sour cream and onion potato chips on the pizza too. HOW EVIL!

Try to picture crispy Sour Cream and Onion Potato Chips, Fillet and melty cheese on a pizza – you get the idea of Captain’s Catch.

#4. You like wraps? There are three wraps on Pizza Hut’s new menu.

Amongst the three wraps under Pizza Hut’s ‘Western Favourites’, we tried the Cheez Shroomies wrap (S$10.9). Let me try it again: Cheeeeezeee Shroomies Wrap! How cute. Pizza Hut obviously knows their customers very well because the tortilla wrap is filled with grilled cheese sauce. There are also Button Mushroom, Onion, Garlic, and it comes with Criss Cross Fries and Salad on the side.

#3. Pizza Hut has Spanish Paella. Oops! I meant the ‘Seafood Fiesta’ on the new menu.

As we were trying the Seafood Fiesta (S$13.5), we couldn’t help but notice the resemblance to the typical Spanish Paella. And true enough; the dish is really inspired by the classic Spanish symbol. This is definitely one of my favourite dishes on the new menu.

#2. Honey, I love you Pizzas. I really do.

Will you, Brad Lau, take Captain’s Catch as your ___? For better, for worse, for richer for poorer; in sickness and in health; to have and to cherish… Yes I do.

BUT I want the Turkey Bacon ‘N’ Shrooms Pizza too. Oh, Oh, Oh, Pizza Hut also has a new pizza for dessert (SEE PICTURE #1). Can you believe it? A savoury-sweet pizza dessert!

Drizzled with chocolate sauce, the Choco-Berry Banana (S$6.5) has fresh bananas and strawberries on a crispy thin pizza base. Honey, let me finish the Pizzas first.

#1. See Number 10 to 2.

Woah, we are at the end of the post already? I wanted to tell you more about Pizza Hut’s new menu, but there’s only so much I can say here.

See you at Pizza Hut, and Happy 30th Anniversary to Pizza Hut!

Chef Mario Batali’s first foray into the Singapore food scene is with the opening of Osteria Mozza & Pizzeria Mozza at Marina Bay Sands.

Pizzeria Mozza is probably the most affordable option amongst the Marina Bay Sands celebrity chefs’ restaurants. The pizzas on Pizzeria Mozza’s menu are priced between $18 to $38. I’d think this is extremely good value given that most of the pizza restaurants in Singapore charge around the same price for a pizza.

My foodie friend visited Pizzeria Mozza a while back, and he told me that they have the best pizzas in Singapore. I was sceptical initially, but I finally managed to try it for myself during a recent media tasting at MBS.

The Italian restaurant has two different dining concepts. Pizzeria Mozza comes with a wine bar and it has a variety of pizza selections. Located just beside the pizza bar, the upscale Osteria Mozza features a Mozzarella Bar, and it serves pasta, seafood and meat dishes.

Pizzeria Mozza has quite a few interesting choices on the menu. Amongst the antipasti (priced under $20), there are Bone marrow, fried goat cheese. While some of the pizzas (ranging from $20-30) that caught my eye were the Yukon gold potato & cippolini, and the Burrata with slow roasted tomato.

There are many people who refuse to touch foie gras or pig liver, but I absolutely love it. Naturally, I was quite excited when they served us the Chicken liver bruschetta. Acquired taste was probably the best way to describe this appetiser. The chicken liver was kind of overwhelming and we did not really fancy it.

On the other hand, I thoroughly enjoyed the Cauliflower Fritti which was essentially deep-fried Cauliflower. It was brilliant.

The special thing about the pizzas at Pizzeria Mozza is definitely the big and crispy crust. I know most food lovers in Singapore seem to prefer thin crust or skinny pizzas. But trust me, Pizzeria Mozza’s pizzas are worth a try.

We had the Margherita Pizza (with mozzerella, tomato and basil), Fennel Sausage Pizza, Funghi Pizza (with a generous spread of mushroom) and the Tomato & Oregano pizza. The Funghi pizza was definitely one of the best pizzas I’ve had, while I thought that the Margherita was exceptionally ordinary. But still, the light and airy crust was good.

For desserts, we had the famous Butterscotch Budino which was way too sweet for my liking. This is coming from a guy who has an incredibly sweet tooth.

If you want the experience of eating in a Celebrity chef restaurant without breaking a hole in your wallet, both Daniel Boulud’s DB Bistro and Mario Batali’s Pizzeria Mozza are your best bet. They are the only casual dining options out of the 7 Celebrity Chef Restaurants in MBS.

Is Pizzeria Mozza the best pizza restaurant in Singapore? I don’t know… It is really hard to say since there are so many pizzerias in Singapore. But I think it is definitely amongst the best. From what I heard, it is quite difficult to get a table during weekends, reservations are required at least a week in advance.

In your opinion, which restaurant has the best pizza in Singapore?

Singapore Food Blog Review
Osteria & Pizzeria Mozza
2 Bayfront Ave #B1-42/46
The Shoppes @ Marina Bay Sands Singapore
Tel: +65 6688 8522
Note: This was an invited media tasting.

“Have you tried Da Paolo’s tiramisu? It’s the best tiramisu in Singapore!”

I have always wanted to go Da Paolo Restaurant & Bistro Bar because of the tiramisu. All my friends who had it before have nothing but praise for their tiramisu.

Like the other Rochester Park restaurants, Da Paolo Restaurant & Bistro Bar offers a superb al fresco dining option. It’s great for dinner (maybe not for lunch under the scorching sun), otherwise you can always choose to dine indoor.

Da Paolo Bistro Bar at Rochester Bar is a cross between their restaurant and pizza bar. The restaurant has two open kitchens, with the pizza bar being positioned near the entrance of the restaurant and the main kitchen on the further end.

It has a very extensive pizza menu which includes selections: Pizza Bolognese with tomato, mozzarella, minced beef, béchamel and parmesan – Pizza Salmone with tomato, mozzarella, smoked salmon, mushrooms and pesto – Pizza Napoletana with tomato, mozzarella, capers, anchovies and oregano; and folded pizzas: Calzone Prosciutto e Funghi with mozzarella, mushrooms and cooked ham.

My brother chose the Pizza Mozzarella di bufala e crudo ($25) which has buffalo mozzarella, parma ham, sliced tomatoes and basil. We also shared the Pizza frutti di mare ($20) with tomato, mozzarella and seafood. Out of the two pizzas that we had, I would pick the latter as the spread of seafood (calamari, salmon, prawn and mussel) was more appealing in taste and flavor.

Da Paolo’s Tagliatelle al granchio ($26) was excellent. The home made egg pasta with crabmeat, tomatoes, cream and vodka was creamy yet not too heavy, and every slurp of the pasta was so good.

I felt powerless when the waiter brought the famous Da Paolo’s Tiramisu ($10) to our table. Thankfully, the tiramisu didn’t disapppint. It was fantastic, and wasn’t soggy like ordinary tiramisu and the marscapone was light and airy. I scrambled to lick my dessert spoon clean.

* * *

The pizza at Da Paolo is good, but not great. I won’t go all the way just to have them, but it’s a different story if I’m in the Rochester Park area. When it comes to Italian-style Pizzas in Singapore, my pick will still be Bella Pizza at Robertson Quay. While they are both Italian restaurants that specialized in Pizza and have a similar price-point, it’s not fair to compare them since I didn’t order the same pizza.

Da Paolo Restaurant & Bistro Bar at Rochester Park is a nice chill out place after work, and you must order the tiramisu! Which is your favorite Italian restaurant for Pizza?

Singapore Food Restaurant Review
Da Paolo Restaurant & Bistro Bar
3 Rochester Park Rochester Park Singapore
Tel: +65 6774 5537

// Da Paolo group has other dining concepts like Da Paolo La Terrazza, Da Paolo Pizza Bar, Da Paolo Dolci, and Da Paolo Gastronomia at Chip Bee Garden.

In the local Singapore food scene, there are always new restaurants opening and it is good since we have more options to choose from. Dempsey road restaurants is probably one of the most happening food destinations in Singapore. The Disgruntled Chef is the latest restaurant to join the crowd at dempsey hill, but when it comes to choosing a place for dinner – I would head back to Barracks Cafe, House Dempsey road.

This post is a continuation of the food that we had during the high tea buffet. We had so much food in an afternoon, and I blamed everything on the Barracks cafe.

Many people raved about the skinny pizzas at Barracks Cafe, and I will talk about them in a minute. If you are too lazy to travel all the way to Dempsey road, they are also available at the Skinny Pizza Cafe which has branches at Wheelock, Raffles City and Suntec.

We tried three skinny pizzas ($25): Salt Cod Brandade, Grilled Figs With Parmesan Crumble, and the Ahi Taki. Half the time, I wasn’t sure which one I was eating, but I finished all of them anyway. All the pizzas were not bad, but they were somewhat too healthy and wholesome – not exactly my idea of pizzas.

The famous truffle fries from Barracks Cafe, House Dempsey.

All the other food bloggers love the Truffle fries ($9). They had it while having the skinny pizzas, they also had it while having some of the items from the afternoon high tea buffet. And you know what? they ate it with the desserts too.

We had at least four-five servings and there wasn’t any left when we were done. The fries were drizzled with truffle oil, which gave them a smokey aftertaste. It had a gasoline smell, and while I had my fair share of it; I’m not convinced to pay nine bucks for fries. Give me a dessert anytime!

Now, the cake in the picture above, is the popular Strawberry Shortcake ($9.50) from Barracks Cafe, House Dempsey. If you ask someone (who has been to House before) for recommendations on what desserts to order from Barracks Cafe, chances are, they will tell you: strawberry shortcake.

I couldn’t quite possibly describe it, but the strawberry shortcake at House Dempsey was very different from the ones we usually have. For a start, it wasn’t as fluffy and soft like the ones from the Japanese patisseries. Filled with fresh (but sour) strawberries, and poured over with vanilla bean cream — oh honey, I’m in love.

Everyone loves strawberry shortcakes, I mean does it even make sense that you will not want to eat it?

Anything and everything can be made better with hazelnut. Take the chocolate cake for instance, it’s a lovely thing on its own, yes nobody can resist it, but the cake is often too sweet and people always struggle to finish the whole slice. But with the addition of hazelnut, it becomes something more than that. It’s no longer an ordinary death-by-chocolate cake. The Chocolate Hazelnut Gateaux ($12) is much more sophisticated, preferably enjoyed with a glass of cold milk. I’m not sure if it’s because we had too much desserts, but the chocolate hazelnut cake wasn’t my favorite among the ones that we tried.

My favorite dessert was the Lemon Cake ($12), and no, it’s not the one in the picture.

I don’t remember having much of the Pandan Jelly Sponge (above picture) and the Passionfruit Kachang, but I absolutely love the Barracks Cafe’s lemon cake. It was sour, and I mean it in a good way. Most of the food bloggers preferred the Passionfruit kachang, and they only took a small spoonful of the lemon cake as they found it to be too sour. But I love citrus fruits, and I managed to finish most of the lemon cake by myself.

Tell me, which dessert are you? I’m a lemon meringue tart. Or maybe a chocolate hazelnut praline cake. Wait, I think I’m a chocolate souffle too. Oh whatever, just tell me about you.

Restaurant Review
Barracks Cafe House Dempsey
8D Dempsey Road
#01-01 to 06 Tanglin Village
Tel: +65 6475 7787
Note: This is an invited tasting session.

“Shall we go and have the best Har Cheong Gai in Singapore?”

When I saw this conversation between my friends on twitter, I knew that I must try the best chicken wings in Singapore that they were talking about. We even created a blackberry group nicknamed: har cheong gai to discuss and plan for our assault at No. 5 Emerald Hill Cocktail Bar for their famous chicken wings which are marinated with shrimp paste.

‘Food Blogger conned to No. 5 Emerald Hill with the lure of best chicken wings in Singapore.’ After praising the chicken wings to the sky, my friend was a little worried about my expectations of it, and teased me with this headline.

When the waiter brought the basket of chicken wings ($17 for 6) to our table, my brain was whispering to the stomach: you know what, this better be good!

“Dear god, or whoever that is listening, please, please let the No. 5 Emerald Hill’s chicken wings be the best prawn paste chicken in Singapore.” I prayed. I took one by the side, and placed it carefully into my mouth. At that point, I did not care whether or not the wings would burn my tongue and make me go oww. As sadistic as it might sound, I’d probably remember the har cheong kai better if it burnt me.

Anyway, No 5 Emerald Hill’s Har Cheong Kai was extremely crispy. It wasn’t oily, nor was it too dry. The wings were great as finger food, the perfect snack to wash down with a jug of cold icy beer. While they were excellent as chicken wings, one would probably not classify them as Har Cheong Kai since the prawn paste flavor wasn’t strong enough.

While the pizza wasn’t outstanding, it was not too bad for pub grub. Thin-crust, light and not too filling: the excuse for you to eat again after dinner.

The fish from the “Fish and chips” was disappointing. The saving grace was the fries, which quickly filled our stomach.

“Why does the beef stew tastes like salmon?” This was one of the funniest comments made when we were at No. 5 Emerald Hill. It actually tasted like a normal beef stew to me. Nothing fanciful, something warm and hearty to go along with the bread.

* * *

No. 5 Emerald Hill Cocktail Bar has a 1-for-1 Martini for just $16 (from 9pm to 1am), which is a very good deal. Martini plus chicken wings after a long day at work? Sounds like a plan to me.

Edited (I forgot to include this para): I had a shock when I first stepped into No. 5 Emerald Bar. Everyone was throwing empty peanut shells on the floor. If you want to litter in Singapore without getting fine, No. 5 Emerald Bar is probably the place to go! Even though it was a little awkward initially, the place soon unleashed the monster in me. It felt so liberating to throw empty peanut shells onto the floor!

Do you have any recommendations of any good pubs/bars in Singapore to chill out?

// The Emerald Hill restaurants and pubs are located directly opposite 313 @ Somerset and Orchard Central.

Restaurant Bar Review
No. 5 Emerald Hill Cocktail Bar
5 Emerald Hill Road Singapore
Tel: +65 6732 0818

I have been putting off the review of California Pizza Kitchen at Forum the Shopping Mall for a while now. The pizzas are fine, really. But I don’t have any inspiration to blog about it as the photographs are quite unappetizing.

“Can you recommend a nice restaurant in Orchard for dinner?”

This is one of the common questions I get from my readers and friends. I always struggle to come up with a suggestion since I do not fancy dining in Orchard. Yes, there are plenty of shopping malls, but almost all of them have identical restaurants and it really gets boring after some time.

I’m sure most pizza lovers have heard of California Pizza Kitchen (CPK), and having been there – I think it’s a pretty good place for a nice, simple dinner in town.

Since we did not have the chance to try the famous Peking Duck Pizza at Timbre, we decided to go for CPK’s Peking Duck ($20.90). Roasted duck breast, with melty mozzarella cheese on the thin crust pizza that’s scattered with crispy wontons, slivered leek, and shiitake mushrooms. Granted, the leek gave a distinct taste to the pizza, but I wished that there was less of the leek and more of the roasted duck breast.

It only seemed wise to order the popular (and safe) Hawaiian Pizza ($18.90) after going for the exotic Peking Duck. It was perhaps, a little too safe. With the typical pineapple-ham-mozzarella-cheese-tomato combination, there wasn’t any room for surprises. But still, it’s a pizza that everyone enjoyed.

* * *

There’s also pastas available on California Pizza Kitchen’s menu, but we gave it a miss as we wanted to try their pizzas. If you are looking for food in Orchard road, why not drop by Forum the shopping mall (beside Hilton Hotel) and check out the pizzas from California Pizza Kitchen?

Pizza Places in Singapore that I want to go next: Peperoni Pizzeria at Greenwood Avenue, Da Paolo Pizza Bar at Chips Bee Garden and of course, Bella Pizza!

Restaurant Review
California Pizza Kitchen (CPK)
583 Orchard Road #01-42
Forum The Shopping Mall Singapore
Tel: +65 6836 0110

There are times when I am green with envy for those who work in the CBD. Not so for their jobs, of course, but for all the food choices at their vicinity that they are spoilt for. I had blogged about the 1-for-1 dining promotion at Riciotti China Square, and recently, I stumbled upon Barpazza, which is in the same area as the Italian restaurant.

Barpazza is located at Capital Square 3 (diagonally beside China Square and Far East Square). If you are still unsure about the location, I’m sure some of you will know about one of the Capital Square restaurants, Ooster Belgian Brasserie – Barpazza is just a stone’s throw away.

It’s kind of difficult to classify Barpazza. They are not exactly a restaurant, yet they have an impressive selections of pasta and pizza on the menu. Here’s the good news: Barpazza has 1-for-1 pasta/pizza promotion during lunch and dinner for weekdays, and dinner on Saturday. In addition to that, they also have 1-for-1 promotion for selected beers.

Considering that I’ve shared three skinny pizzas for a late lunch before this, it was quite a miracle that I could still wolf down two slices of the Black Pepper Beef ($21.5 for L before 1-for-1 promotion) and The Morning After ($19.5 for L before 1-for-1 promotion).

I’m not a big fan of the black pepper beef, but The Morning After pizza was fine-tuned exactly to my liking. Tomato sauce, mozzarella, and bacon with an soft set egg in the center.

For extra flavor, I added some of the creamy carbonara sauce onto the dough. But there’s really no need for that. The pizza was good on its own, the raw egg swirled around the surface of the thin-crusted pizza – every bite was crisp, moist and delicious! It was such a shame that I only have room for one slice!

The Carbonara ($16.90 before 1-for-1 promotion) was fantastic!

Okay fine, maybe I exaggerated. It wasn’t the mind-boggling, out-of-this-world fantastic, but it was pretty close. Maybe it’s because of the fact that I wasn’t expecting Barpazza to deliver a good pasta. After all, it was more like a watering hole than a proper restaurant, but good Italian pasta in a restaurant bar? I know, I’m such a snob!

Here’s the truth you should know: their carbonara is worth a try, and the 1-for-1 dining promotion just makes it even better!

In contrast with the Carbonara, the Crabmeat Marinara ($17.90 before 1-for-1 promotion) was quite an disappointment. It was subtle, bordering on bland, and the lack of the tomato flavor was a killjoy.

This, my dear reader, is one of the most exotic and ‘unique’ ice cream I’ve ever tried. Well, I had special flavors like teh tarik, gela melaka, ginseng before. But a savory-sweet flavor like the Spicy Bak Kwa ice cream ($6.90) just made all of them pale in comparison. While I love bak kwa during Chinese new year, I don’t really fancy mixing them inside my ice cream. Give me vanilla and chocolate ice cream please!

* * *

With the 1-for-1 dining promotion, each pasta/pizza is probably just around $10. I know it’s not possible to eat at restaurants or cafes everyday, but my reasoning is simple. If you are going to spend around $5-6 in food court anyway, why not just topped up a few dollars and give yourself a treat occasionally? I wouldn’t call this the best lunch in Singapore, but it’s definitely a good deal with the one-for-one promotion.

Bring your colleagues to Barpazza and enjoy the 1-for-1 Dining Promotions! If you are working in the Central Business District, do share with us some of the good lunch places to check out!

Restaurant Review
Barpazza
25 Church Street #01-02
Capital Square
Tel: +65 6536 0572

Did I get your attention with the title – “Best Pizza in Singapore?”

Good. Now that you know what we are dealing with, please grab a chair and some snacks before we continue. Here’s the story: for the longest time, I have been wanting to check out Bella Pizza at Robertson Quay.

“You must go to Bella Pizza, they have really good Italian food — but DO NOT BLOG about it!”

A couple of friends gave me the same warning. Bella Pizza is an open secret for good Italian food in Singapore. The problem with Bella Pizza, though, is the location. It’s at Robertson Quay along the Singapore River, and there are simply too many restaurants at Robertson Quay! Epicurious cafe, Red House Seafood Restaurant, Boomarang bistro and the list goes on and on. I am glad that I finally made it to Bella Pizza.

Since there wasn’t any salmon pasta on Bella Pizza’s menu, my salmon-crazy friend chose the Pizza Salmone ($21) and was rewarded with a very good pizza.

I am not a big fan of thin crust pizzas, but Bella Pizza’s was thin yet filling, moist but not overly wet. Rolled up like a taco with all the fillings, or simply wolfed it down directly on the thin dough – the Pizza Salmon’s a winner! This is a very good option for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Yay for all salmon lovers!

After checking out a few Italian restaurants in Singapore for Squid Ink Pasta, I preferred to have the tomato-based pasta that is infused with squid ink, rather than one that comes with the slimy black squid ink sauce. For one, there isn’t as much stain on the teeth and the lips after dinner, and it is also because I have yet to find a squid ink pasta that’s truly memorable.

The Spaghetti Al Nero Di Seppia ($22) at Bella Pizza was very well-executed. Every slurp of the pasta blended effortlessly with the charcoal black squid ink sauce. Needless to say, we enjoyed the squid ink pasta very much! Bella Pizza’s rendition of the squid ink pasta is definitely one of the best I’ve tried so far.

Tossed with clams, squids, scallops, and a king prawn, the Linguine Al Frutti Di Mare ($22) caught our eyes immediately as we scanned through Bella Pizza’s menu. We wiped the plate clean and the pasta would be perfect if there’s a heavier dose of tomato!

My middle name is sweet.

If you have been reading my food blog for a while now, you’d have noticed that I have an incredible sweet tooth for a guy. Bella Pizza’s dessert menu has some interesting choices like the Panna cotta, Warm Chocolate Lava cake, and the tiramisu. For a minute, I was sorely tempted to order all three!

Since there’s only room for one, the obvious choice was the Tiramisu ($7) which was very reasonably priced. We took up the dessert fork and crowded around the tiramisu; literally like ravening vultures circling around the prey. We gobbled the tiramisu as though there wasn’t a second to spare, as though it would run away if we didn’t eat it fast enough.

* * *

It wouldn’t be fair to say that Bella Pizza has the best pizza in Singapore when we only ordered one pizza from their menu. But I really like the pizza there, and I will definitely come back to try the other pizzas. Bella Pizza is surely among my favorite Robertson Quay Restaurants now.

Have you been to Bella Pizza before? Do you agree that they have one of the best pizza in Singapore?

Restaurant Review
Bella Pizza
30 Robertson Quay #01-14
Riverside View Singapore
Tel: +65 6734 0139

There are many times when I have this dilemma if I should blog about a particular restaurant.

I have to admit that I didn’t include La Nonna into my Best Singapore Italian Restaurants list for selfish reasons. But on second thoughts, this blog is about sharing the best restaurants in Singapore, and I think it is a shame if no one knows about this great lunch deal.

La Nonna is having an ongoing lunch promotion, 50% off their ala carte menu for their weekday lunch. Personally I think that it is value for money, and the lunch promotion is available at both the Holland Village and Namly Place outlet.

Before Arnold (Mr Gadget) left for Melbourne, Valerie (dweam.com) and I brought him to La Nonna Namly Place for lunch. We had the Linguini al Granchio ($19.0 before 50% discount). Linguine pasta served with crab meat in tomato cream sauce and fresh basil.

The La Nonna Signature Pizza ($19.0 before 50% discount) reminded me of the Carbonara. A raw egg was cracked in the middle of the thin crust pizza that had tomato, cheese, asaparagus and hints of black truffle.

I believe I met my perfect mate. It was lust love at first sight the minute my eyes fell on the Tiramisu ($12.0 before 50% discount). “It’s rude to keep staring at it” I heard a voice at the back of my head. Against my freewill, my body commanded my arms to pick up a fork and gobbled up the dessert.

Valerie beckoned to me when the waiter emerged from the door with a flat white plate. Inside it was the Panna Cotta ($12.50 before 50% discount). The fresh berry coulis was like sexy red lipstick on the pale white skin of the smooth vanilla custard – it was totally irresistible!

* * *

La Nonna’s 50% lunch promotion is quite a good deal, do check it out for lunch while the promotion is still available.

Restaurant Review
La Nonna Singapore Italian Restaurant
76 Namly Place
Tel: +65 6762 1587

26 Lorong Mambong
Holland Village
Tel: +65 6468 1982

Note: 50% off ala carte Lunch promotion is from Mon to Fri, 12noon – 2.30pm

OChre Orchard Central’s Agello – Australian Lamb Chops

When it comes to dining in Orchard Central, there are so many restaurants and eateries that we are really spoilt for choices. There’s a couple of restaurants at Orchard Central that I have been wanting to check out; for instance I have heard a lot of good things about Ootoya Japanese restaurant but the long queue always puts me off.

Like what I mentioned in my previous blog post on the Best Singapore Italian restaurants, I have been going to many Italian restaurants recently, one of which was OChre at Orchard Central.

When Mr Gadget was in town back in March, dweam and I brought him to OChre – an Italian restaurant on the 11th floor of Orchard Central. It seems inappropriate to start my introduction by jumping straight into the main course, but the picture of the Almond and herb breaded Australian lamb chops ($34) was too irresistible.

Rossini on right, Fegato Grasso on left

And then it was foie gras, and more foie gras! Our appetizer was the Fegato Grasso ($27), hot and cold foie gras. It was the virgin experience for both my dining companions when it comes to foie gras.

I was like, “Oh my god, how can you guys never tried foie gras before?”

It’s definitely one of the must-try food in the world! All of us preferred the hot foie gras, with a texture and taste that was consistent with the melt-in-the-mouth effect. On the other hand, the cold foie gras was a bit too much for us to stomach, with an overbearing gamey liver taste.

One of the main course that we ordered was the Rossini ($36). Done medium, the seared grass fed beef tenderloin also came with a piece of caramelized foie gras that sat smudgy on top. A bite of beef tenderloin and a bit of foie gras, I can’t think of a better combination!

If the chef is the artist, then surely the Doppio Carpaccio ($22) will be the piece of artwork. It was so pretty that we did not know where to start. Essentially it was a double carpaccio of Hokkaido Scallop and Parma Prosciutto. I’m a sucker for all things pretty, this is a feast for the eyes as much as for the stomach.

I couldn’t remember which pizza we had. All I knew was that: it was thin crust, with a very subtle tomato base topped with wild rocket.

The Acqua Pazza ($32) was the most disappointing among the three main courses that we shared. Fillet of red snapper braised in broth of clams, anchovy, capers and dried tomato – it was exceptionally ordinary.

Luckily, the Squid Ink Pasta and Duck Risotto were much better. The pasta was infused with squid ink and tossed in tomato sauce, the Squid ink pasta is one of my all time favorite pasta! We were intrigued by the Duck risotto, thin slices of duck meat were prepared with the risotto and lots of cheese, it’s very creamy and delicious!

It will be foolish to have an Italian dinner without trying the Tiramisu ($11). OChre’s rendition was generous not only in portion, but also in terms of the alcohol level. Give me a tiramisu and I will be a happy boy!

One of the must-order dessert at OChre Orchard Central will be the smooth and bouncy Pannacotta ($11). In addition to that, we also had the Creme Brulee ($10), which came in a trio of orange/espresso/pistachio flavors. Personally I preferred the orange over the other two flavors.

OChre Orchard Central has a complicated system in placed; there’s two different menus with the degustation set dinner menu at $68 per head for the interior dining, and the causal ala carte bar menu for the al fresco dining area.

In short, it means that you must order the set dinner menu to dine indoors. At $68, the dinner set menu includes antipasto, soup, pasta, main course and two desserts. While prices for the ala carte menu are around the $20s for appetizers and pastas, and $30-ish for main courses.

While the complicated system ‘forced’ customers to have the degustation menu; dining at OChre Italian Restaurant at Orchard Central is pleasant and doesn’t have the fine dining vibe. It will be better classified as a semi-fine dining Italian restaurant, and I wouldn’t mind having dinner at the breezy al fresco area.

From what I understand, OChre’s chef Kentaro Torii has been trained in Japan and Italy, naturally there’s a blend of the Japanese cuisine with Italian food. OChre Italian restaurant is a good option for a romantic dinner, with prices being slightly above mid range.

Which restaurants at Orchard Central will you recommend me to go next?

Restaurant Review
OChre Orchard Central
181 Orchard Road
#11-03/04 Orchard Central
Tel: +65 6634 0423
(Note: This was an invited tasting session)

As a kid, I grew up having Pizza Hut’s Pan Pizzas. Before the invention of the thin crust pizza, I always thought that there’s only one type of pizza – the thick crust one – and I liked it a lot. Even after I came to discover the existence of the Thin pizza with crispy base, I still preferred the thick doughy ones.

I mean eating pizza is all about the thick crust. It doesn’t feel right to have a pizza, which has such a thin base, that it’s almost like just having the toppings. That’s why when it comes to Pizza; my family will always go to Pizza Hut.

Pizza Hut is all about family time. It is the time where the whole family gets to enjoy dining out together. It is also the time to call for pizza delivery to satisfy my brother’s craving, or when my mom is too tired to cook.

Sitting in the familiar environment, it felt like we were kids again. I can remember the excitement while anticipating for the pizza to come. When it comes to Pizza Hut, I’m sure many of you remember their popular Sweet ‘N’ Spicy Drumlets, as well as the garlic bread. Forget about everything else, I will exchange anything for all the Drumlets – just give it all to me.

I like my pizza to be crusty, and doughy and filling. Most importantly, it has to be cheesy – just like the one up there in the picture. The sight of the entangled cheese is always so alluring, evidently my tame effort to resist it always fails – but at least I tried. Now it’s time to have our pizza party!

All along, I’ve always thought that pizza hut was only about pizza, but during the tasting session, we were introduced to Pizza Hut’s Pasta Perfetto series. Pizza Hut currently has 12 selections on their pasta menu, which includes 8 classic and 4 specialty pastas.

The 8 Classic pastas are the following: Chicken Pomodoro, Creamy Porcini Mushroom, Pep ‘n’ Spice, Prawn Aglio Olio, Spicy Chicken Pomodoro, Traditional Bolognaise, Turkey Bacon Carbonara and Veggie Pomodoro.

As for the 4 specialty pastas, they are: Basil Crayfish (above picture), Fish in Tomato cream sauce, Peppery Ribs, and Seafood Vongole. The prices range from $5.90 for the classic selections to $12.90 for the specialty ones.

The latest addition to the menu is the Soft Shell Crabbiatta ($12.90). I am not very good with words, nor am I lyrical enough to describe how the Soft Shell Crabbiatta taste like.

But, I think it tasted like Chili Crabs.

Yes, Chili crabs. It was spicy yet sweet, tangy to the tongue and appealing to the palate. The sauce was a bright hue of orange-red, I know – it’s definitely not the most photogenic pasta out there. But then again, when is pasta ever photograph-able? Pastas are meant to be messy, and disorganized, but yet when they are tossed and mixed together – somehow, everything looks just right.

What aspects do you look out for in pasta? Do you like the rich and heavy cream base ones, or the sweet and mellow tomato base pasta? There are a lot people who like the meatball rendition, but personally I’d prefer seafood pasta. Having tried the Soft Shell Crabbiatta, it was actually quite decent. Deep-fried to a handsome shade of golden-brown, the soft shell crab was partially immersed in the sauce. The pasta would taste even better if they had added in chunks of crabmeat.

It’s inevitable that people will judge it against chilli crab, but it’s not even fair to compare it that way since it’s not even chili crab to begin with. Look, here’s a pasta that somewhat tasted like chilli crab; I’m not telling you if it’s good, go try it for yourself!

The Soft Shell Crabbiatta is available at all Pizza Hut restaurants from now till 30th April.

Join us for Food Tasting on Pizza Hut

Date: 18th March 2010
Time: 7pm to 9pm
Location: City Square Mall – Pizza Hut #01-19/21

If you are keen to try out some of the pastas (and of course pizza), Pizza Hut will like to invite you to join me for a second round of tasting. Send your full name & contact details to bradleyfk@gmail.com, we will choose 15 readers and be in contact with you shortly to confirm the dinner. The closing date for this will be 11th March.

You can check out their full range of pastas here.

It took me a year to finally visit Raw Kitchen Bar. Actually I dropped by when they just opened a year ago, but I did not have my dinner there back then. And despite staying just 10 minutes away from the place, it took me until now to pay them a visit. Yes, I’m a year late, but it’s better to be late than never isn’t it?

And boy oh boy, December is almost here. I like the year-end, for one it’s the month of celebrations with Christmas and New year, and I get to sum up my adventure for the whole year. Food-wise, this has been a fulfilling year, and I thought my winner for the best new restaurant is already decided, until I visit Raw.

Stepping inside, there’s just something different about this place. There’s the flimsy light bulb with different pieces of whimsical furniture to begin with. Then you have the quaint and charming backyard that looks like an awesome place to throw a tea party. The chef/owner Javier comes out and greet every table, all in all, you have the feeling of dining in the chef’s house.

The food is pretty good too. While we looked through the menu debating over spaghetti mentaiko, and commenting that the bun noodle sounds cute; we finally decided on the Capellini cream of ebiko and sauteed prawns ($19). Every slurp of the angel hair pasta seems to make its existence for your taste of the food. The portion might be a tad small, but it should be adequate for one person’s serving. We also like how the succulent prawns and flavorful ebiko enhanced the taste of the al dente pasta.

The Balsamic duck ($23) was a bit of let-down though, and not that it wasn’t good. The duck drumstick was firm and quite unlike that of a duck confit, but it had an uncanny similarity to the Chinese braised duck in terms of the smell and taste. We would probably enjoy it more if we did not have braised duck before; fusion dishes don’t work in this case, but maybe it’s just us. And for someone like me who usually don’t like mashed potato, the ones that came together with the petite drumstick here, was gorgeous in all sorts of ways.

The choice of the pizza was through an elimination method since there was only three to choose from. Spring vegetables pizza didn’t sound exactly appealing to us, and my friend did not want the mozzarella basil rosemary pizza, so we were left with the Prawns & chili pizza ($19). It was an irony that Raw Kitchen Bar was housed in the former premises of a firestation, wewe were about to call in the fire brigade for help – this pizza’s one kick-ass, fiery, spicy pizza.

This might not sounds convincing since I do not have high tolerance for chili to begin with; but even my friend who claimed that she grew up eating chili, agreed that this pizza was literally hot. And for the price, we weren’t expecting it to be so huge, which sort of compensate for the petite portions in the other two dishes.

Now I have a tough choice for the best new restaurant (among the places that I went to), and I know there’s probably a few more like Spruce & Hacienda (I have not been there yet) that will probably make the cut too. See you there!

Raw Kitchen Bar
276 Upper Bukit Timah road
Firestation
Tel: 6467 3987

Raw Kitchen Bar is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore

I always dread to have dinner in Orchard, well the place is great for shopping, people-watching, movies, but food? It is always an issue whenever my friends want to meet there and if you ask me, there’s hardly any place that I like in Orchard.

It was a coincidence that both Lingzie and Kenny were in town, so there was a minor crisis in deciding the place for dinner. Initially I wanted to bring them to my favourite place in Orchard, but we ended up at KPO Cafe.

Most people will have thought that KPO stands for Killiney Post office since the cafe is located on the premises of Killiney post office. But the name actually comes about because it’s at the intersection of Killney, Penang, and Orchard road.

We started dinner with the Pizza Yorkshire ($25). The 10 inch thin crust pizza was thoroughly enjoyable; sweet thin slices Yorkshire pork and well-baked crust with mozzarella cheese matched perfectly with the natural crust.

Even though the Grilled juicy mini beef patties were tiny, I love the way they are done – topped with melted Emmental cheese and served in home-made baguette. The Patty Melt ($12) is one of those things that you wish it would come in bigger portions. And oh yes, the home-made chips were great too! But for the kind of price, it’s more like a snack to go along with drinks rather than a main course for dinner.

The KPO Pork Ribs ($23) was the other signature dish of the cafe. A full slab of ribs marinated with the tantalizing sauce, we have to agree that the marination was very done-well. But having tried better pork ribs elsewhere, KPO’s rendition lacked the ultimate melt-in-the-mouth sensation. Still, it was pretty good.

* * *

I have no doubt that KPO, situated right in the middle of town and yet seemingly away from the hustle of the city, will be a success. The location is already a hit, with the chic environment, it is definitely the place-to-be-seen-at. While it’s a great watering-hole, with the food being pretty decent, but they really need to improve on the service.

I got a shock when the first question they asked, was not what I’ll like to order, but whether I’m paying by credit card or cash. No matter how nice the ambience was, or how excellent the food tasted – that was a total turnoff. But oh well, at least there’s no service charge & GST. Anyway, with the good location plus the chill-out atmosphere, I went back again the following Saturday.

KPO @ Killney post office
1 Killiney road
Killney Post Office
Tel: 6733 3648

It’s not difficult to associate District 10 with Wild rocket, not when they have the bitter green for almost all their dishes.

Much as I agreed that Wild rocket is aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, but it’s too much when all the appetizers and the mains are adorned with the same greens. And yes, we started our first appetizer with Wild Rocket Salad ($10).

The Selection of traditional cold cuts ($14) had an assortment of parma ham, salami, chicken, with grilled ciabatta bread.

How about some Deep fried calamari and tiger prawns ($10) to get you started? Oh yes! I was actually looking at the portion and realise there’s at most one prawn and two calamari for each of us, so I immediately took my fork and started eating. And after that? I kept a lookout for signs to see whether the others wanted their share!

Wow, there’s even duck in spring rolls now?

The name Homemade duck spring roll ($10) caught my attention first, from the exterior you would have think that it’s just like the other normal spring roll, but there’s shreds of duck meat enveloped within the crispy fried skin. There’s a subtle taste of duck meat, and I like how the sweet sauce actually complimented the dish very well.

The Chili crab pizza definitely has the “Made-in-Singapore” brand stamp all over it. While credits have to be given to the chef who came up with the audacious creation, but the chilli gravy meant that the crispy pizza was moist and soggy. There’s other interesting new school selections such as the sambal chilli prawn and chilli flakes pork floss pizza.

Wagyu meat balls? Isn’t that a waste of the Japanese beef! I’m never a fan of penne, and this case the pasta was a bit over-cooked. But somehow I got hooked to the fulsome tomato sauce in the Rigatoni ($18)

When we were browsing through the menu, I knew we had to order the Crispy Duck Confit ($24). One of the things that I always lamented about, was the lack of duck dishes in restaurants, there’s nothing like a good duck confit to make you happy all day! The duck confit here was a lot smaller than expected, and while I tried very hard to convince myself this will be good, but it wasn’t. The lack of the crispy skin and the dry duck meat – let’s just say I had better duck confit elsewhere.

I thoroughly enjoyed the steak fries that came along with the Country style baby back ribs ($24), but the portions of the ribs were not as hearty as I would like it to be. Come on, give me a full rack, I can finish it!

Did I tell you how I like the way District 10 presented their fish and chips on the old-fashioned newspaper? And how excited I got when I saw peas (yes green peas) served along side the chunky fries and beer battered fish? Fish & chips is all about the crispy battered fish, the thick-slab of fries, with tartar sauce and green peas! I couldn’t remember much of the beer-infused taste in the soggy buttered crust though. But everything’s forgiven with the fresh fillet, and not to mention I totally adored the way they dressed up the fish & chips ($19).

I was tempted to order the beef burger but reckoned that we should save some room for the many desserts that were coming up. And luckily among the six of us that night, there’s four desserts enthusiasts, so we ordered almost everything from their dessert menu. The tiramisu ($9) caught my eye immediately, I’m a sucker of the Italian dessert and all of them tasted good to me.

The American Bramley apple pie ($9) was sweet-licious too. We ignored the accompanying butterscotch set cream and attacked the crusty apple pie. Every mouthful was filled with delightful apple flavour.

This wasn’t the typical heavy type, you know the thing about cheesecake; it’s the kind where you either love it or hate it. For those who preferred the creamy texture, this was a no-no, while for those who enjoyed the light airy cheesecake, the white chocolate and strawberry cheesecake ($10) will be the one for you.

I always wanted to try profiteroles ($9) and you must thinking how can I have not tried since I absolutely swore by my cream puffs. Taking a spoonful of the choux pastry, I carefully placed it into my mouth, and swoon! At that precise moment, I kicked myself for not knowing you earlier, it was good – it was damn good. If cream puffs with whipped cream is wonderful, imagine what’s it like when there’s ice cream in cream puffs!

For a split second, I thought that my taste bud must have gone haywire as punishment for being a glutton. There’s liqueur taste in creme brulee! But luckily the others reassured me that I’m not the only one who tasted that, there’s really rum-infused with the burnt cream. Traditional creme brulee with Bourbon vanilla & rum ($9).

Oh-oh-oh! the Palvova must be the prettiest among the rest. She’s so sweet, and charmed everyone with her beautiful red coat. You like meringue? You will like her here.

There’s something about old school that’s irresistible to me; the charming environment as though you are taking a trip back in time, with flashbacks of your carefree innocent school days. It was District 10 (by Bonta Italian restaurant) second week of operation when we went, and they were packed full house (160 seaters) on a Tuesday night. That’s something to reckon with! To be frank, there wasn’t any particular memorable dishes which wow me, but the reasonable prices and charming location might just do the trick. I’ll like to thank Hungrygowhere.com for the invitation to the food tasting session.

District 10 Bistro
10 Winstedt road
#01-17
Tel: 6738 4788

It’s a love-hate relationship with Dempsey; you either rave about the place, or you hate it being overcrowded, over hyped, and over priced. I used to be the latter, but that was before I paid a visit to Dempsey, and you ought to admit, despite the crowds there, there’s still plenty of places to check out, and who could resist the lush atmosphere?

The first dish is always of utmost importance; how the meal will eventually turn out – depends on this humble appetiser. You may think its not a big deal, but according to scientific researches done by Dr. Bradley, the first dish will usually dictates the mood for the upcoming dishes; humans are emotional creatures. Almost everybody else felt that the Rock shrimp tempura ($15) was ordinary, but I on the other hand, totally love it! It was a shrimp rendition of my favourite sweet & sour pork, and I wiped the whole plate clean since everybody was saving their stomach for the rest of the food.

Without further ado, let me introduce to the one-that-you-have-been-waiting-for, Sashimi of course, Mango sashimi ($29) to be precise. There was mango, avocado wrapped together with three kinds of fish in thin rice paper.

The Carpaccio ($25) was delicious. Thinly sliced, laid in the pool of savoury yuzu sauce; it was squeaky-fresh – it seemed to be swimming in the plate.

When we dine out, people usually want to try out some of the restaurant’s signature dishes. And the Tuna pizza ($22) was one of them at Zento. If skinny pizzas are your kind of thing, then this would be it. Raw fresh tuna on top of the oh-so-thin dough, crunch, crunch, the pizzas were gone!

I always have a thing for prawns, especially deep-fried ones. Naturally, I like the Volcano ($25) pretty much, with the focus in the middle of the futomaki. But some didn’t take quite well to it as they felt that the freshness was gone after the deep-frying process. Alongside the shrimp tempura, there was smoked salmon, avocado and crabstick too.

The combination of seven skewers ($48) was the perfect showcase of the different ingredients, and of course, it’s for sharing! Most of them were pretty decent, but if I were to choose one, I’ll go for the separate tasty foie gras ($15) instead.

The sushi rolls had fascinating names like fantasy, rainbow, and even monkey roll. But we had the Green river ($30) instead. Toro, eel, avocado and plum paste, with seaweed powder on the outside.

After the rounds of appetisers, yes, all the food you saw were just starters to warm us up. The first main course was the Roasted marinated duck breast ($48), and it was indisputably the best. The first impression of the duck was from a conversation when we saw the photo of it in the menu.

“Ah! they served char siew rice here too!”

The photo of the duck in the menu looked exactly like char siew rice! Anyway not many places serve duck, and do it well; the duck meat was done just nice, retaining the tinge of pink beneath the charred skin.

I love prawns, baby! Big, big prawny prawns. The Jumbo shrimp tempura ($42) was dazzled with the sweet and slightly sour pineapple sauce, and there was wasabi fried rice alongside too. Jumbo in size, great in taste, and a huge hole in the pocket too!

We weren’t expecting any surprises from the chicken since it’s a done-to-death item. And the Roasted spring chicken ($38) turned out to be what we expected, just chicken.

Besides the duck breast, I also enjoyed the Chilean seabass ($45). The miso-infused flavour was subtle, bordering on bland, but it actually enabled us to taste the sweetness of the fish.

I could almost hear the cat say, “purrfect!”

Every main course at Zento is paired with different types of rice, the same goes for the Rack of lamb ($45) which comes with almond raisin rice. Lets just put it this way, for the price, we’ve had better elsewhere.

We pointed to “the most expensive main course” on the menu, the Wagyu stripped loin ($75). We had it done medium, but it came slightly more at medium rare.

“Do you have stomach for more?”

It was towards the end that this simple question was posed to us,  Well we were glad that we did, otherwise we would have miss out on the amazing Crunchy spicy tuna handroll ($12). It was O-M-G. Instead of the typical seaweed roll, they used soy paper as a substitute, maybe we shouldn’t call it a substitute because it’s definitely a better option than seaweed. The soy paper simply dissolved when it touched our mouth; every bite was so good!

Most of the folks were stuffed by now, but how can we say no to desserts? So another dessert-holic and me tried most of the ones available; we started with the Coffee parfait ($12). It was frozen custard made with cream, with ice-cream texture minus the melting part.

We lamented about the quality of the chocolate within the Chocolate lava cake ($16). It could/should have been better. Nonetheless, you can’t go wrong when there’s icy cold vanilla ice cream together with the warm chocolate lava.

Dyana, the co-owner of Zento advised us against ordering the Green tea creme brulee ($12) but we decided to try it anyway. The taste was, forgettable, which explained why I couldn’t recall how it tasted like.

There was a period of time long long ago where the fried ice cream at the old Tiong Bahru food centre was in the rage. They called it the Tri colour fuzzes bomb ($14) here. and rightfully so. Underneath the crispy fried skin was cold ice cream. I was fascinated by the fact that the ice cream didn’t melt during the frying process.

* * *

Zento was quite unlike any other Japanese restaurants that I went to before, stepping inside you probably won’t know it’s a Japanese restaurant until you see the menu. Contemporary and chic design, with bold and innovative creations in their menu. My appreciation to Hungrygowhere.com for the invitation to the food tasting session, and Dyana for her warm hospitality.

Zento Asian Global cuisine & Sushi Bar
18B Dempsey road
Tel: 6474 0378

I want a day out with you,

To catch up and have some good food.

I want somewhere green & green,

where we can sit all day and talk.

No, I don’t even know where this place is.

It doesn’t matter.

We will find it somehow, so long we follow our heart,

Or just go along with our legs.

Spaghetti Vongole ($18)

Among the many ones out there, you somehow caught our attention. Maybe this is what they call fate. No matter, it’s my pleasure knowing you. Clams, plenty of them. The lovely seashells, with the simple-yet-important garlic. And oh yes, there was chilli with white wine & olive oil sauce too.

Sfilatino Casa Verde ($23)

You are sexy, you are hot. Thin is the in-thing, and you are slim. This is one pizza which I will willingly fork out my wallet for. The fillings, oh my, they were generous. Just look at the amount of ham, mushrooms, and mozzarella on top of the thin-crust pizza.

I know this is wrong,

But i am a sucker for ambience.

I always choose a nice place to dine at,

And it is ok even if the food is not that fantastic.

But luckily for me, you were great.

I will come back again, yes I will.

For brunch, for lunch, and for dinner.

***

Total bill was $41 for one pizza and spaghetti. The pizza was big enough to share among the 3 of us. I’ve always wanted to go to Casa Verde after hearing so much about the wonderful ambience. It is after all, located within the beautiful Botanic Gardens. I will definitely go back for brunch again, the prices for breakfast look good.

Its about a 15 minutes walk from the main entrance, otherwise cab in to the visitors centre, the fare is about $4. Well, i took the latter as it was raining. All right, it’s just a bloody excuse for being lazy. See you there!

Casa Verde
1 Cluny road
Singapore Botanic Gardens
Tel: 6467 7326

Casa Verde is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore

Alighting at EW XV, red dot was at the rear, and I passed by amoy. Stanley, Stanley where were you? I looked high, I searched far. Lo & behold, there you are. I hold you dear in my heart, Sweet Indulgence a year ago.

Gone were the white, in came the yellow. With a touch of blue, everything lingers fondly deep inside. Memories. This is the stuff that life is made of. I want to hold onto this moment forever.

The hot and the fury. What was supposed to be a routine simple appetiser ended up in the fast lane instead. We were too ambitious, and nodded when the manager smiled at us and asked innocently, extra spicy? Boy. This, was one hot chick. Only for the daredevil, Chicken wing in spicy sauce ($9.50).

A bit of everything from Nature’s best, garlic, basil, pesto with a variety of mushrooms. The result, a delicious comfort food. Sauté mushrooms ($9.50)

The Seafood platter ($19.50) was an assembly of seafood sauté in a white wine herb reduction, which came on the recommendation of the manager.

The problem, with not reading the fine print of the menu, meant that we were surprised when the platter arrived, completely opposite of the usual Fish & Co style. Overcoming our initial reaction, we dug in and found ourselves with mussel, scallop, clam, fish, squid and prawns.

Skinny seems to be the In-thing at the moment. 10 inch thin crust Siciliana pizza ($22). Home-made with a spicy element. With bratwurst sausages, roasted capsicum, onions and semi-dried tomatoes. Personally I felt that it wasn’t cheesy enough, but it garnered enough support from my mates to overrule me.

Call me ignorant, but I did not remember seeing crayfish served with pasta very often. It was usually the limelight of its more popular cousin, lobster instead. Much as I was tempted to go with the salmon pasta which I always have, a adventure was on the cards. And hence the pick, Crayfish linguine ($25) I liked the fact that everything was executed very nicely. The flavours were delicate and did not overwhelm.

We did not want to have everything from the land, so it was a tough fight between the baked salmon fillet, and the Pan-fried seabass ($26.50). The latter won of course. On paper, a pan-fried seabass served with mashed potato, daily vegetables was as safe as anything could be. But it was not to be. The fish was slightly over-aged, and I wouldn’t exactly use fresh to describe it. It wasn’t all over, the unique taste of orange based salsa was the saving grace.

The most expensive item on the menu, the lamb rack ($40.50). With portobello mushroom, daily vegetables, mashed potatoes and the beautifully grilled rack of lamb certainly looked enticing. But there was a snag. The proportion of fats to meat was equally balanced, which did not go well with the ladies.

The portobello mushroom made its second appearance with the Beef Tenderloin ($37.50). It was another tough decision to choose between the pork rack or the steak, but we were glad to have this. The roasted baby potatoes were snapped up in two seconds, the steak was the best among the three mains we had.

Desserts were done in-house by the chef, and we had the New York Cheesecake ($11). For such a hefty price tag, we were expecting a lot more, but sad to say it wasn’t good enough. The dessert lacked the dense and creamy aspect and somehow was sticky and crumbled easily.

The Warm Chocolate Lava Indulgence ($13) made up for the previous mistake.  Like all warm chocolate pudding, the melted dark chocolate oozed out and this sight never fails to excite me. Also impressive was the use of vanilla bean ice cream. My dining mates found it too light, but anything with warm chocolate and cold ice cream couldn’t possibly go wrong with my sweet tooth. We agreed it was slightly better than Bakerzin’s rendition.

I had a sweet memory of the tiramisu I had a year ago. At this very place, Sweet Indulgence’s tiramisu ($13). The coffee and liquer taste was very subtle, but that was exactly what I liked about you. The dessert was very smoothing to the palate, and if you do not think of it as a tiramisu, it is actually very good. But if you are expecting a typical strong coffee & liquer rendition, then you are just not that into her.

***

Photographs are the best memories keepers, and I have added more sweet memories with this. I’ll like to thank Chris for inviting me for this food-tasting session. There was some hits and misses, but Sweet Indulgence remains a nice place for couples to have a romantic dinner without any disturbance. I did find the prices to be rather steep, there is a current promotion of 1 free dessert with any 2 main courses or pastas.

Read my previous visit here

Sweet Indulgence
2 Stanley Street
Tel: 6223 7707

Two complete strangers, brought together by something call fate. Friends we are, brothers we have become, and partners we will be. It is amazing how much our bond has grown. The girls call this bff, or bestie. But for us, there is no need to say anything. That’s because everything is clear in our heart.

Discussing a serious topic in such a whimsical place does seem inappropriate. But hey, we can talk about anything, anywhere. The truth always hurts, but I’m glad to hear of it. Because only true friends dare to speak the truth.

We are bound to have disagreements, I hope we will understand each other for everything we do. No matter what happens in the future, or whatever decision we make, our mutual support will carry us, through everything.

You are the one who see this started from nothing to what it is today. You, are the only one besides me, who can exactly summaries all that had happened. You, are the one who always remind me to stay true and keep me grounded.

I know you will always be there for me, just like how I will for you. That is because, we are the best of friends.

***

Much as I cannot differentiate the taste of a Kurobuta and a normal pork, just the name of the Kurobuta alone is enough to excite me. Slow roasted crisped Kurobuta pork belly ($26 before 50% discount). When we say crisp, it really meant business. The crisp-cracking sound when I took a bite into the top of the pork belly, oh my. Slightly thin layer of fats was the real deal, almost divine. Well, the picture might look just like the normal sio bak to you, it is. But a divine one.

We have something from the sea to go along with our previous dish from the land. This time, the Chilean Cod ($26 before 50% discount). With the smooth and silky fish meat, there is a layer of crusted skin. We mistook the tomato fondue as chilli at first sight, but it complimented the fresh cod very well.

Portions were a tad small for the two hungry eaters. So we ordered the four cheese pizza ($17 before 50% discount), with gorgonzola, mozzarella, pecorino & talleggio cheese. Like I always say, I’m no food critic. Among the four cheese, I cannot tell which is which. But I do know the combination of the four, resulted in a very strong cheesy taste. We thought we like cheese, but apparently, it was slightly too strong for us. Only for the cheese lovers!

Total bill was $44, for three mains and a drink, with a 50% discount from Citibank credit card. The current promotion is available at Oomphatico’s for dinner during Monday to Thurday only. It is a fantastic deal, because among the many places Citibank offer for the 50% offer when 2 dines, Oomphatico’s is one of the few that do this promotion during weekday dinner, most of them are weekday lunch. I’m very much tempted to go back again before the current promotions end, to try the rest of the dishes.

Read my previous visit to Oomphatico’s here.

Oomphatico’s
163 Tanglin Road
#01-35 Tanglin Mall
Tel: 6733 9088

Oomphatico’s is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore

A classic Italian gastronomic, Galbiati gourmet deli actually started out as a takeaway place for its gourmet products. I’ve been wanting to give the place a visit ever since a friend highly recommended it, and railmall is so near to my place.

The interior of the deli was very small, with seating of at most 30. The simplistic environment of the place does makes one feels comfortable, a place where you can call your own Italian joint. The food offered are mostly simple food, with a wide array of home-made pastas, appetizer and main courses.

The Salmon asparagus linguine ($18) was based on the recommendation of the serving staff as my friend’s a great fan of the fish. A very light cream base accompanied the linguine, with the salmon stronger in taste. The asparagus seems to act as the neutralising balance between the salmon and the overall light taste of the dish. A fairly good home-made pasta.

I’ve a sneak preview of their pizzas at the counter, and was excited to hear that they’d served it fresh from the oven. The popular Hawaiian pizza ($8) was our choice for the night. Coming in squares of 6, the pizza was value for money. But, there’s no free lunch in this world, i thought that the ingredients were miserable, with one small cube of pineapple and ham. The pizza crust was very hard, and dry for my personal liking. And the tomato spread for the base was insufficient.

One of the unique characteristics of Galbiati deli was they actually encouraged takeaways. Dining in, the Lavender cheesecake ($7) is a dollar more expensive than if you opted to takeaway their desserts. The lavender flower infused a aromatic fragrant into the light cheesecake. The crust base was always a welcoming partner, to provide the crunch.

We always like to save the best for the last, to savour every bite of the Tiramisu ($7) for a lasting moment stored in our memory. Well i didn’t exactly had many tiramisu before, but Galbiati’s one is probably one of the best i’ve before. There wasn’t any deconstruction, nothing fanciful about the famous Italian dessert. Just a solid good one. The mascrapone cheese, with the the coffee-liquer infuse flavour, i was sorely tempted to order another one.

Total bill was $44 for two person. While the dinner didn’t exactly turn out to be as good as what i’ve expected, it’s easy to imagine myself back here for a simple meal. The only problem? The restaurant doesn’t allow photography, so i was taking photos secretly while they were not looking.

And i do enjoyed my rights of taking photos openly, so this may be the reason a revisit will eluded me. One thing’s for sure, i’ll definitely be back to try the other desserts, and the tiramisu of course. But the next time round, i’ll probably takeaway their desserts, and snap shots of it just directly outside their shop!

Galbiati Gourmet Deli
400 Upper Bukit timah road
RailMall
Tel: 6462 0926