Al Dente Pronto

1 Kim Seng Promenade
Great World City, Level 2
Tel: 67347334

October 27, 2006

This is the new restaurant that took over the cheap and good Pomodoro which we have previously blogged. They did not change a lot in terms of decor, still very open concept with a mini bar kitchen. In terms of food, this place remains as serving Italian Cuisine, but at a more expensive price. And the standard of food is so bad that we hope Pomodoro will rent back this place.

We ordered a mushroom soup which is a bit on the watery side and saltish, a hawaiian pizza which is the worst we ever ate before. The crust is so dry & charcoal burnt, tomato paste on the crust is extremely sour that makes our face twitched on every bite. Even the pineapple is very sour. The bacon that are on the pizza are not spreaded out, all clustered together in the centre.

Our last order is the Sand Crab Lasagna which can be ranked as the worst dish of the year. The crab meat served in it tasted so frozen, meshy and not fresh. The pasta in between tasted extremely starchy, dry and chunky. After 2 bites, we did not touch it anymore. It is just so bad. No wonder it's Crabby!!

Final Verdict: Don't bother to come here and waste your money.

Rating: 0.5/10
(So bad that we don't even feel like rating it)



>> Help!! I'm having a hard time swallowing the "yeeeee" food.

Sketches Pasta & Wine Bar

200 Victoria Street
#01-85/87
Parco Bugis Junction
Singapore 188021
Tel: 63398386

August 30, 2006

This is my 2nd time having dinner at Sketches after so many years have passed as I did not enjoy my pasta on my 1st visit. But since years have passed, thought of giving it another try as things might have been better.

There were altogether 4 of us (me, ash, fl, zw). So we thought of designing our whole pasta which is Sketches selling point and order a few side dishes to share. Orders were taken by waiters who loved to "slang" their English and we catch no balls. When all dishes were served, the only food that taste good is the sausage. Their pasta with the Alfredo cream sauce sux big time.

It is so dry & chunky, pasta weren't cook long enough therefore were quite hard. Fl feel like puking after taking a few bites. I too stop after a few bites as can't take it anymore. Even their side dishes weren't fascinating. The mushroom soup was more starchy than creamy, the cheese in the cheese stick is a bit hard.

At the end of the dinner, when the waiter came to clear our plates & saw so much leftover, he began asking "How's the food?" and "Would you recommend your friends over?". Haiz, no need to ask, just look at the leftover food will understand our message right?

Rating: 2/10

Ricciotti Italian Deli & Pastry

20 Upper Circular Road
B1-49/50 The Riverwalk
Singapore 058416
Tel: 6533 9060

August 18, 2006

This is our first visit here and I simply loved this place while meow finds it not bad. Very conveniently located at the Riverwalk, beautiful simple chic design, great ambience, cozy atmosphere with very friendly helpful staffs.

They offer an extensive range of pastries & ice-cream desserts, a good selection of Italian cuisines and great place for wine & coffee session.

We tried out some of their dishes and was quite pleased with it. Clam Chowder is thick with generous servings of mini clams, though you might find it a bit powdery, but it still taste good. Crab Meat pasta has the right amount of great sauce with generous servings of crab meat too. I personally like this dish, but Meow finds that the sauce don't blend well with the crab meat.

The pharma ham pizza was perfect. Loads & loads of pharma ham on top. Natural saltiness of the ham goes well with the toasted crust. Lastly for the dessert, we had the tiramisu. I personally find it smooth but Meow finds it a bit watery. But nevertheless, he also finds this place very good to hangout.

So if you ever walk pass Riverwalk, do visit this place.

Rating: 8/10



>> Meow's artistic creative snapshot view of the Tiramisu
>> For your wildest imagination

Pasta Mania

Locations:
http://www.pastamania.com.sg/locations/we_are_here.html

Pasta Mania, a very successful eatery that captures of simple heart of people by offering affordable good pasta & pizza. Italian restaurants are so expensive to dine in, so pasta mania would be a very good choice to makan if you have pasta cravings.

They have a vast variety of pasta and pizza for you to choose from. You can even choose the type of pasta noodle to make a perfect meal. Linguine, penne, fettucine, spaghetti & etc, so flexible. As for pizza, you can choose the size of it and feel free to add on toppings at extra cost or even create your own.

Thinking of having small bites & starters? Pasta mania offers very good & crispy garlic toast & potato salad. They even offer combo sets for cost savings.

Our favourite items would definitely be the creamy chicken pasta & hawaiian pizza. We even find their pizza better than pizza hut, generous with cheese & crispy oven toasted crust. Thumbs up!!

Rating: 8.5/10

Ristorante Da Valentino

11 Jalan Bingka
Singapore 588908
Tel: 6462 0555

June 04, 2006

Dinner at Valentino, suggested by John for his farewell dinner before heading back to Indiana. Ash always says John got expensive & picky tastebud. Food which he praised are always good.

He ate here before and loved the food, therefore thought of bringing ash, me, fl & jol over. Reservation strongly recommended. We had a long journey in the car to this not very convenient location. John told us this place would close for 2 weeks coz they are heading back to italy and today is the last day of operation before they reopen.

Once we reached, we were warmly greeted by the servers. This whole restaurant just gives you a very cozy cottage house feeling. Brick walls, dim lightings, low ceilings. We were served with oven roasted bread with basil olive oil dressing as a starter, lovely!!

After which, our orders were served. Seafood soup, pharma ham (they dun have melons as last day op), very tender & juicy pork chops, pharma ham + egg pizza is cripsy & blended well, risotto is well cooked, black squid ink pasta with crabmeat is superb, my favourite dish..still can't forget the taste and lastly the crayfish pasta, generous with portions.

After all the hearty main courses, Ash walked over to their counter and ordered two desserts. No idea what's those 2 dessert are. One of which tasted like a pudding. Not too sweet for both but not for my likings.

Overall, we really enjoyed the food & service here. A second or third visit is a must!!

Rating: 9/10

>> My O2 Camera sux for all the blur pics.

Modesto's Restaurant

1 Tanglin Road
#01-09/10
Orchard Parade Hotel
Singapore 247905
Tel: 6235 7808

May 05, 2006

It's Ash's birthday and she chose a white ipod Nano as her gift of the year from J.A.R.L.S grp, of coz John (her bf) is so generous to share 50% of the cost......*grin*

We thought hard on where to celebrate, and decided to go for italian food. As I have eaten @ california pizza before, we shall skip to their neighbour just across the street "Modesto's".

We chose to go for indoor dining so FL's can't do what she loves most, haha. Outdoor looks so plain & simple, indoor looks so cool & comfy with all the red colors high leaning sofa chairs.

We make ourselves real comfortable before peering through the complicating menu. Dun understand those long italian words. Therefore a great thanks for all the english ingredient description to make our life easier.

We made our pick and ordered a mushroom soup, a cold dish starter, one pizza with pharma ham (ash's recommendation), and one Risotto. It's mine & fl's first time trying out the pharma ham, looks so raw yet taste quite good and salty. Goes well with sweet melon & pizza.

The soup is quite thick & creamy, the starter's mix of food a bit boring but at least taste decent. Pizza is good. As for the risotto, not fl's cup of tea as she still prefer cheena food. Ash finds it acceptable, i find the rice grain a bit hard to chew...maybe its too "Q"?

As the pricing are not too cheap and we are quite full, we decided to skip the desserts. Anyway, can't find any tempting desserts on the menu.

So off we left and it's KTV time :P

Rating: 7/10

Pomodoro

1 Kim Seng Promenade
#02-K2, Great World City
Tel: 67347334

Mar 07, 2006

If I don't work in Great World City, I would have never heard of this italian restaurant kitchen as you don't often hear of this place nor see it in town area.

This restaurant is not very big, very open concept design as there are no walls, and only 2 to 3 staffs taking care of this place. The kitchen is not linked, it is situated at another area, should be around the stairs area. Menu selection are limited but what people came here for, are their 1 for 1 meal deal.

I always order that 1 for 1 deal as more worth it, as you get to have the cheaper set meal FOC. For starter, they let you choose between soup or salad, then for the mains, you can choose between steak or fish & chips, 2 to 3 choices of pasta or pizza, and lastly for the dessert, it is fixed at Tiramisu.

Food wise is not so bad except for their Tiramisu as it is very very fattening, too much mousse. Fish & Chips are very big, pizza taste decent.

Final Verdict: Quite a good place to dine for the $$$ you pay, but dun be offended by their slow and unattentive service staffs. Ordering, simple requests or even billing, you can wait for ages, they don't even notice you are waving to them.

Rating: 6/10



Latest Update: Pls note that this eatery has closed down and was replaced by Al Dente Pronto.