La Villa

Celebrated two of my dearest friend's birthday at La Villa.

My first thought upon walking in : this would make a nice venue for a wedding.

Intimate dining area, inviting reception (for the bride and groom to greet guest of course) and a cozy little outdoor area. Not forgetting a pretty neat bar 

Calamari rings with paprika and pizzaiola dip ($19)

Great crispy rings, however the portion was a tad tiny for the price

Funghi pizza - With fried egg, Pancetta ham and truffle ($22)

Now this was value for money. And you know how everything taste better with a runny egg? 

Enveloped with the smell of truffle, this is one good pizza

Capellini - Angel hair pasta with Lobster ($28)

Oh this was good. I love food with a strong seafood taste, that umami punch that one only gets when eating stuff like truffle/sea urchin

Could eat a whole bucket of this sauce

Meat Platter for 3 ($108 i think)

Meat overkill, some of the items were good (sausages), some were average (steak, chicken), some i really disliked (veal)

Order only if you are a serious meat-lover. Else, stick to the pizzas and pastas

Service was pretty inconsistent unfortunately. Some of the waiters were not too responsive but a waitress in particular was really helpful and sweet. Our cake was ruined due to poor baking by Canele (wtf Canele...) and she felt so bad for us she gave us tiramisu on the house.

La Villa 

341 River Valley Road  Singapore 238372 6836 5286

Restaurant Week- Gaia Ristorante

long overdue post, went to Gaia over at Goodwood park hotel for Restaurant Week in Oct.

Unusual breadstick arrangement, I wonder if the more traditional chinese will consider it extremely inauspicious? 

Deep fried sardine with onion and mixed salad. I am not a huge fan of sardine but this was a surprisingly pleasant dish

Fried ham w ricotta cheese

I must admit the cheese bits made this dish look quite unappetizing but the salty ham+ cheese goodness packed a great punch of flavor. Delicious

tagliatelle with softshell crab. Cant remember much about the pasta dish so it must have been well,pretty unmemorable.

Oven-baked Cod fish

Braised chicken

Both mains were melt-in your mouth tender and flavorful.

Ended the dinner with a decent tiramisu.

Although it was quite ironic that the only dish I didnt enjoy in an italian restaurant was the pasta, overall this was one of the better Restaurant Week experiences that I have had. Kudos.

Gaia Ristorante and Bar

22 Scotts Road Goodwood Park Hotel

6735 9937

The Moomba

An Australia restaurant tucked within the busy busy streets of boat quay.

The Moomba offers a super value-for-money set lunch at $38++ for 2 course or $42++ for 3. 

As most of the mains in the menu are in the $30++ range, its super worth it to go for the set.

We went for the 2 course and shared appetizers/desert 

Pork belly and watercress salad

Fish for my main course

Lemon tart for desert

Everything was fresh, well seasoned and delicious

Great lunch. Oh and we ordered an additional loaf of bread (bacon and cheese) and it was melt-in-your mouth good. Never knew bread could melt in my mouth but theres always a first time for everything :)

Cant wait to go back

The Moomba

52 Circular Road

6438 0141 (Reservations is a must)

Book Cafe

Perfect spot to chill out.

Had the set lunch ($20/pax for mains w soup or desert)

I love the huge and colorful salad

The patty was pretty good

Decent food, great service.

Theres all-day breakfast too, but for some reason, it didnt look too appetizing

Book Cafe

20 Martin Road #01-02

Seng Kee Building

The Plains

The Plains at Duxton is a cozy little Australian cafe, one of those places you just want to chill with a coffee in one hand and a magazine in the other. Which was precisely what we did one weekend.

dean's breakfast: poached eggs + cheese and vegemite

I love this because I have great memories of eating marmite with porridge/toast as a child

darling's eggs : ham, cheese, tomatoes and eggs on sour dough

Safe choice for those who arent a fan of vegemite

cute decor with lots of magazines 

I really like the decor from the stark walls to hanging lamps and flowers. Very industrial chic meets minimalist.

Oh the coffee was great too

The Plain

50 Craig Road #01-01

Tanjong Pagar

Singapore 089688

(they do not take reservations, so do come early to grab a seat!)

Pizzeria Mozza

I came out of Pizzeria Mozza with the feeling that in terms of authentic Italian pizza in Singapore, this was about as good as it gets. And it was good, I had a really good meal there. Been wanting to try Pizzeria Mozza for ages, I think this must have been one of the most reviewed restaurant in the blog world. 

Pizzeria Mozza is to food bloggers as the YSL arty ring is to fashion bloggers.

addictive + crunchy starter

The Caprese was one of the best thing I have eaten. Sweet juicy tomatoes on a bed of creamy salty cheese and pesto. The mixture of flavors was delightful. I think I could eat about 10 plates of this, now I am eager to try the mozzarella bar next door.

Fried potatoes with salt and chickpeas. This would make a great hangover snack

The star of the show

Parma ham and rocket leaves are my favorite toppings on pizzas. This was lovely, thin salty slices of ham with crispy crust. 

Desert was the caramel copetta. caramel gelato with melted marshmallow, caramel sauce, salted peanuts and waffle. Yes its darn sweet but oh those salted peanuts take this whole desert to another level. 

Ambience was casual and lively and service matched it, which I appreciated. 

Place is packed so reservations are a must.

Oh the pizzas are made to order so do order starters unless you wish to wait for 20++ minutes without nothing to eat. 

Pizzeria Mozza

Marina Bay Sands, #B1-42/46

6688 8522

Casa Verde

Casa Verde was a most unique brunch experience.

One basically orders from a long counter, ala fast-food style. The menu was also displayed behind the counter, again fast-food style.

Fortunately, the food was delivered to us.

We went with the Gourmet Breakfast, which at $14 was ridiculously value-for-money.

Huge plate with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and hashbrown + a basket of bread + fruits + coffee

The great thing about this place is that it is pet-friendly.

The dude beside us had the cutest tiniest little dog. Adorable.

Breakfast is only served till 11.30am and this place is filled with joggers/families so do come early

Casa Verde

1 Cluny Road 

Singapore Botanical Gardens