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La Nonna: Italian Dining Made Affordable

Thursday, August 21, 2014 | 8:30 pm | 0 comments

On the rare occasion when I visit a really nice restaurant and enjoyed really delicious food, I get really inspired to edit the photos and write a glowing review.

I am glad to say La Nonna was one of the rare few places that's inspired me to do so.

La Nonna is Italian for "The Grandmother" and they're located in a corner of Holland Village, with a really nondescript storefront. I wouldn't have noticed it if it wasn't pointed out to me. La Nonna serves up authentic traditional Italian cuisine that warms the tummy, and the heart.

Prices can get a teeny bit high here, but that's because they are a little more upscale than your usual restaurants. You can simply call it more atas. But I assure you, the price tag is definitely justified.

Golden crispy Calamari Rings with Arrabbiata sauce ($19)

We ordered an Antipasti (appetizer) to share, and this is hands down one of the best calamari I've ever tasted. The squids were fresh and just light coated in batter so that it doesn't overwhelm the freshness of the squid. The Arrabbiata sauce is sweet and adds a nice touch to the dish. Definitely whets my appetite for the main courses.

Linguine Pasta served with Crab Meat in Tomato Cream sauce and fresh Basil ($24)

While it might look like there isn't much crab meat, there is actually alottttt hidden in the pasta. The crabmeat is all shredded up so that you get crab in every mouthful. The linguine is well done, though the plating could be improved. The fly in the ointment is that I detect a slight hint of that very sea water crabby taste in the second mouthful. Puts me off this dish a little bit because the first mouthful was wonderful, full of the sweetness of crab. I hope that was just a one off thing though. Other than that, a fine dish indeed.

Homemade Pappardelle Pasta with Oxtail ragout and Rosemary ($25)

I liken this to kuay teow, because it's so broad and flat. The oxtail is very soft and flavourful with a hint of herbs, the meat coming apart easily and literally melts in your mouth. While it's good, I must say this is not my favourite, probably because it is overall a heavier dish in terms of taste and flavour.

Capellini Pasta with Vongole in White Wine sauce and fresh Basil ($23)

This is hands down my favourite dish. I have never been a fan of pasta, but that's only because I've never actually found delicious pasta in Singapore. Now I have.
I am not a fan of cream based or tomato based pasta, but I do love a good Aglio Olio or in this case, a kickass Vongole pasta tossed in White Wine sauce.

I counted at least 26 clams on this plate, oh I definitely had a slurping good time devouring the clams, and and the very delicious white wine sauce. The pasta was done al dente and it's easy to just slurp them all up when paired with the highly addictive sauce.

Lobster Ravioli with Arrabbiata sauce and fresh Herbs ($26)

This is like wanton, but Western style. The pasta is served up piping hot, lobster meat encased within the pasta. I found the pasta skin a little too thick for my liking, but that's just me, other than that I find this dish perfectly flavorful. The Arrabbiata sauce complemented the ravioli nicely.

La Nonna has a very affordable ongoing weekday 1-for-1 lunch promotion, which is fantastic because this is definitely a good way to try some authentic Italian cuisine without busting your pocket. Not to mention the cosy environment and warm hospitality are legit reasons to return, I have already been back twice in two weeks so that gives you an idea how much I love the food here. I am definitely returning as soon as I can for more of that wonderfully lip-smacking Vongole capelleni.

Verdict: 5/5

La Nonna

26/26B Lorong Mambong, Singapore 277685

Labels: Aug2014, dream-oracle.blogspot.com, Food, SgBlog, Singapore

Patisserie G: Chilling with Beautiful Desserts

Tuesday, August 12, 2014 | 11:30 am | 0 comments

Enjoyed an extremely tai tai day with a good friend while enjoying desserts at an extremely tai tai high class place. Or maybe I am too much of a commoner so I find any place with a semblance of atas feel an immediate upgrade from your normal cafes.

There were quite a number of desserts to choose from and we were spoilt for choice because everything looks gorgeously divine!

LEMON CHEESECAKE

Baked cheesecake on a dark biscuit base
$9/pc

In the end my dining partner made her choice with a citrus-y cake.
It was beautifully glazed and the lemon flavour wasn't too overpowering. It's not sour like you're eating a lemon, more like a delicate touch of citrus infused in the confectionery.
The biscuit base was crunchy and had biscuit bits in there so there's some texture to balance out the smoothness of the cake.

SAINT HONORÉ

Choux puffs lightly glazed with caramel, piped with chantilly cream, sitting on a sablé base.
$8/pc

This is one of their best-seller item and I was attracted by that beautiful caramel glaze sitting beautifully atop the choux pastry. Gorgeous gorgeous dessert stole my breath away.
The choux puffs were soft and fluffy, paired with the slight crunch of the glazed caramel, the smooth silkiness of the chantilly cream and the solid bite of the sablé base biscuit....
I was blown away.

Best dessert ever.

Verdict: 5/5

Although at $8-9 per piece is actually rather pricey, I think these desserts have earned the right to be charged at this rate. These are fine artisan desserts and I believe alot of effort has gone into it.
While it's not something that I can indulge in regularly, I definitely wouldn't mind paying a premium to enjoy something so delicate and delicious occasionally.

Patisserie G

9 RAFFLES BOULEVARD, #01-40 MILLENIA WALKSINGAPORE

(65) 6338-7578

Labels: Aug2014, dream-oracle.blogspot.com, Food, SgBlog, Singapore

Insta-July

Friday, August 01, 2014 | 5:00 pm | 0 comments

July is a tough month to get through.

Tough tough tough.

Which is why I have the birds rooting for me.

They told me to go and eat kimchi.

And I did.

Yoogane to be precise.

The korean pancake was deeeeeeliiiicioussss. So was their kimchi. And the awesome chicken galbi.

Basically, it was quite an awesome meal.

We all need some dessert to wrap up an awesome kimchi meal, so I tried the original royal pudding.

Amazingggggly good. Though if I were to compare, not as awesome as the Dulcet and Studio ones.

To make my days at work happier, I also had weekend ramen.

Nanstuttei ramen.

The kuro-mayu smelled fantastic but only the first few mouthfuls were good.

It kinda lost its steam after that and I pretty much lost interest in the bowl.

To survive the days without ramen, I had Flapflap with me!

Yes I sneaked a duckie to work, because I can!

Everything I do, I do it to make myself happier after a lousy day at work.

Which is how these chips came about. Gotta love the value shop for stocking chips and all sorts of fantastic junk food at very low prices. Good news for the wallet, bad news for the diet.