It has been some time since I last had Italian food and I really missed having a good pasta and pizza from watching the cooking series on TV. We had initially wanted to try a famous restaurant in town but had to shift towards Serangoon area for a friend who ended work late around the area.
Nestled along a stretch of shop houses directly opposite a private housing estate, the areas surrounding the restaurant is pretty exclusive and quiet. Parking can be quite limited so it would be good to drop by earlier. The restaurant itself is quite spacious with both internal and external tables with a long bar counter for drinks.
There is a huge selection of pastas and pizza as well as mains which are mainly meats and seafood. The dessert menu and wine is separate from the food menu.
One way to tell if the restaurant serves authentic Italian dishes is by tasting their vongole. It is a rather difficult dish to make for the gravy to have that fresh umami flavour from the clams as well as the enhanced taste from the herbs and garlic. The version served here came in a cute little clay pot container with 3 slices of toasted bread. The clams are pretty big in size and had tomatoes added for a tinge of sweet and sour accent. The vongole is generally ok and quite tasty with a nice light umami flavour in the gravy but it is not extraordinary as I would like a deeper flavour
The next item we ordered for starters is the seafood fritters which has squid and prawns fried in batter. The seafood was fried till very crispy but I found their colour very pale and taste a bit bland although you can dip them in the mayonnaise provided for more flavours.
One popular pasta across ages is the carbonara which my friend ordered and the restaurant changed the pasta to penne upon her request as well. The carbonara here is not overly creamy and there is just enough sauce so that every penne is nicely coated. The only downside for me was the pasta is slightly too salty.
This next dish is the scallop risotto which was not very appetising in terms of outlook as it looks very pale. The dish itself is sprinkled generously with small scallops and the consistency of the risotto itself is nice, thick and creamy but I found the dish itself too bland. I could not taste any umami flavours from the scallops at all.
This next dish was quite a delight to look at when it was served on our table. We had the black ink risotto with seared seafood. This risotto was generally quite delectable as the risotto has that unique salty flavour from the black ink and the seared seafood were fresh with a slightly charred taste.
I was craving ravioli so I decided to order this creamy mushroom ravioli with stuffed cheese and mushroom. This is in fact my favourite pasta for the day as the ravioli had a nice al dente bite but oozes of creamy cheese and mushroom filling. The sauce was thick and creamy which was like a reduced version of creamy wild mushroom soup.
The first time I saw this on TV, I was so curious about this 6 cheeses pizza with honey and how the flavours are like so when I saw it in the menu, I had to try it. The pizza was served piping hot with a nice crispy crust. The 6 cheese were nicely melted and a small pot of honey was provided. I initially dipped very small amount of honey but very soon got addicted to the taste. Basically, the pizza itself has a wonderfully salty and creamy taste and the fragrance is perfectly cheesy and the sweet honey gave it just the right balance. For those wondering how it taste, it is just like those Korean sweet and salty chips which is equally addictive.
We were extremely full by the time we finished everything so we ordered only 1 dessert for sharing just to review their desserts. We ordered the tiramisu which was really quite mediocre. The taste of the coffee or cream did not come through well and we left quite a big portion behind.
On a separate note, the washroom was really pretty with a modern decor and the most impressive part was the amenities provided. They had mouth wash, cotton wool and sanitary pads.
Overall, the food is pretty tasty although a couple of dishes kinda missed it. The atmosphere of the restaurant itself is quite nice and relaxing for family or friends and the price is generally not too expensive. The service standards is professional but not warm.
Address: 27 Lichfield Rd, Singapore 556847
Operating hours: 12 pm to 2 pm and 6 pm to 10 pm
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