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

Pamplemousse Bistro and Bar

Popped by Pamplemousse one weekend morning for brunch with the girls.

Tucked in the middle of Dempsey, its a cute little place but unfortunately not much of a personality

Butter served in a cute little pot 

We had chocolate crepes, portion wasnt that huge imo

of course, the eggs benedict. Which were decent but nothing outstanding.

Prive's still remains the eggs ben to beat

I love that moment when you poke into the egg and the yolk oozes out. At least you know that however your dish would taste like, it cant be that bad.

Steak and beans, pretty decent

The famed baked eggs with foie gras and truffle.

Not a fan of the foie gras but the truffle smelled so good and basically elevated the dish to another level

Though someone did commented that this was a high class version of yakun soft boiled eggs and toast.

Not wrong I guess haha

Headed over to PS cafe for dessert and drinks.

Such a lazy afternoon

First time trying the lemon pudding and I really liked it!

Then again, I like most lemon-y desserts

Brunch on weekends must be the best thing ever

Pamplemousse Bistro and Bar

Blk 7 Dempsey Road

#01-04

PS Cafe 

28B Harding Road 

Bonta Italian Restaurant and Bar

We decided on Bonta for restaurant week.

4 course meal for $55, hell yeah.

The legendary bread lived up to its reputation. Filled with cheese, walnuts and other lovely ingredients, it was one darn good bread. 

Neither of us were fan of goose liver so we opted for the parma ham and mozzarella. 

Sweet saltiness of the ham and warm creamy cheese. Whats not to like

Pasta course was the Tagliatelle with procini mushrooms and tiger prawns

The pasta was perfectly al-dente and the prawns super fresh.

The sauce was quite rich though, so probably good that this wasnt a main course

The main courses were delightful as well. 

Perfectly cooked piece of beef and yummy fatty cod

Portions were a tad small though

The mango gelato was the only disappointing dish of the night.

Frozen solid without the creaminess of a good ice cream 

And I am not a fan of pistachio nuts

Overall, the food at Bonta was pretty good and for Restaurant Week prices, we got a pretty darn good deal. Not sure if I will come back for a meal at the regular prices though; the service was not fantastic definitely not for the prices Bonta's charging. The ambience was not great either, tables too closed to each other.

So where are some other nice italian restaurants in Singapore?

Bonta Italian Restaurant & Bar

207 River Valley Road

#01-61 UE Square 

6333 8875

DB Bistro

Celebrated my 25th birthday with dinner at DB bistro

First, I think the service here was commendable; the boy decided to have flowers delivered to our table as a surprise and the people at DB bistro accommodated all requests like a pro whilst calling him up periodically to provide updates. Nice. 

The famed cheese gougeres (which were yummy!)

And the bread basket of sour dough and mini baguettes

Warm bread and butter, thats all I ask for in a bread basket and they did it. Pretty well.

Servings at DB Bistro are huge and what with the many different types of bread they serve you in the beginning, I wonder how many people actually managed to get through a 3 course meal here

My pretty cocktail

The boy's Piggy Burger

Beef patty topped with pulled pork and bbq sauce. While the burger was pretty much average, the fries were awesome. (FYI, I think one of the best burgers I had to date in Singapore would be the ones at Smok'inn Frogz kitchen)

I went with the Coq Au Vin and I really enjoyed it alot

Traditional braised chicken with wine, mushrooms and pork belly and served with a side of pasta.

This was rich and comforting and full of umami goodness.

Of course, way too huge a portion.

Dessert were the profiteroles with coffee rocky road ice cream. The waiter poured hot chocolate sauce onto the disc of chocolate, causing it to melt before us. Quite cool though gimmicky.

Taste wise, I thought this was really average but maybe Im just not a big fan of profiteroles anyway

THey do look pretty though

For a celebrity restaurant, DB Bistro stands out with very reasonable priced food and excellent service.

I will definitely be back for more :) 

DB Bistro

10 Bayfront Ave #B1-48

Marine Bay Sands

6688 8525