Thanks to Charmaine for the invite!
Our first encounter with this place was at Savour 2014 and back then, it was the most affordable of all the stores with portions so generous too. We made a promise to head back and then we were!
The very inviting bar.
A bottle over dinner certainly sounds very tempting.
I love black white decor - very chic.
And those tall bar chairs - too inviting.
Salame Dolce and Piccante ($8)
Piccante is the spicy salami whilst dolce is the ‘sweet’ salami. Both are made from the shoulder and belly of the pork. I found both perfect with the herb bread.
Black Pork Capocollo ($9)
It is similar to prosciutto and made from the pig’s neck muscle. Very tender and melt in my mouth - definitely worth a try.
Garlic and Herb Foccacia ($5)
Baked fresh daily, these crusty delights were so good! Having them thick also means every bite had density.
Paccheri, Iberico Pork and Truffle ($15)
Paccheri is a traditional Neapolitan pasta in the shape of big round tubes. In this dish the paccheri is stuffed with Iberico and cooked in tomato pesto served alongside a truffle besciamella.
This large round tube made this look like a pastry with the crispy top. Truffle was so strong, it was almost nauseating to the anti truffle fan but perfume to mine. I loved the creamy iberico pork and paccheri together, so hearty and wholesome.
Tagliolini, Crab and Nduja ($9)
Nduja is a spicy and smoked soft salami from Calabria.
So good in a mamma mia way. I love the flavours that came together in a rich tasting pasta dish.
Wagyu Beef Tagliata , Salsa Verde ($26)
Tagliata means thinly sliced beef in Italian. Very beautifully executed dish with the sour and natural sweetness of the beef together.
Asparagus, Garlic and Anchovy Sauce ($9)
Greens being greens, this was clean tasting and tasty.
Baccala Cakes, Sea Urchin Sabayon ($13)
Baccala is a traditional dried and salted cod. Their version features a deep-fried ‘cake’ stuffed with baccala, béchamel sauce and potatoes and is coated with black squid ink crumbs. I instantly labelled this black and yellow gold, very rich and delicious.
Veal Ossobucco, Orzotto ($19)
A Milanese specialty of cross-cut veal shanks braised with vegetables, white wine and broth
I suppose veal is one of those things that are acquired mainly because of its gameyness. The robustness of the broth made it lovely to eat with bread but do not forget about the marrow found in the bones.
Salted Caramel Strawberry Jubilee ($12)
Vanilla ice cream topped with whipped cream and salted caramel and strawberries
This reminded me of Eton mess except this had strawberries.
Gelato Pistachio ($5)
Unfortunately not made in house but this nutty one was really delicious!
Cantucci and Vinsanto ($12)
Biscotti to be dipped in sweet wine.
Rarely do I see VInsanto on the menu locally and while this was unlike Greece's saccharine sweet, this was heavier on the alcohol. Did I mention the biscottis are to die for, dense and full of nuts!
Cheese platter with: Gorgonzola, Pecorino di Pienza, Ubriaco and Fontina (Mix board $18)
We also had a showcase of their lunch delights.
Pork Milanese with Ruccola and Parmigiano ($8)
Pan-fried breaded pork
For 8 buckeroos and only available at lunch made lunch hour seem extra attractive. How I wish I were still in Raffles Place! This would make up for the Italian version of Hainanese Pork Chop.
Bucatini Carbonara with Homemade Guanciale
Served with egg on top
One hearty pasta served for lunch and bore some resemblance to Kin Kin Pan Mee without the famous chilli.
Spritz
Aperol + Prosecco + Soda
Bassanova
Nardini 50 + Amaretto + Lemon
I consider it an immense honour and a visual treat when a restaurant flings open their curing room doors for a visit.
The rows of cured meat got me googoogaga kind of happy.
I took a deep breath and was happily snug in cured meat haven.
Cured ham anyone?
Lots of tender loving care goes into the room for these meats.
I would be back in a heartbeat for more of their affordable lunch specials - not to mention how crowded it usually is. This is one place to certainly consider for hearty food at pocket friendly prices.
20 Cross Street
China Square Central
Our first encounter with this place was at Savour 2014 and back then, it was the most affordable of all the stores with portions so generous too. We made a promise to head back and then we were!
The very inviting bar.
A bottle over dinner certainly sounds very tempting.
I love black white decor - very chic.
And those tall bar chairs - too inviting.
Salame Dolce and Piccante ($8)
Piccante is the spicy salami whilst dolce is the ‘sweet’ salami. Both are made from the shoulder and belly of the pork. I found both perfect with the herb bread.
Black Pork Capocollo ($9)
It is similar to prosciutto and made from the pig’s neck muscle. Very tender and melt in my mouth - definitely worth a try.
Garlic and Herb Foccacia ($5)
Baked fresh daily, these crusty delights were so good! Having them thick also means every bite had density.
Paccheri, Iberico Pork and Truffle ($15)
Paccheri is a traditional Neapolitan pasta in the shape of big round tubes. In this dish the paccheri is stuffed with Iberico and cooked in tomato pesto served alongside a truffle besciamella.
This large round tube made this look like a pastry with the crispy top. Truffle was so strong, it was almost nauseating to the anti truffle fan but perfume to mine. I loved the creamy iberico pork and paccheri together, so hearty and wholesome.
Tagliolini, Crab and Nduja ($9)
Nduja is a spicy and smoked soft salami from Calabria.
So good in a mamma mia way. I love the flavours that came together in a rich tasting pasta dish.
Wagyu Beef Tagliata , Salsa Verde ($26)
Tagliata means thinly sliced beef in Italian. Very beautifully executed dish with the sour and natural sweetness of the beef together.
Asparagus, Garlic and Anchovy Sauce ($9)
Greens being greens, this was clean tasting and tasty.
Baccala Cakes, Sea Urchin Sabayon ($13)
Baccala is a traditional dried and salted cod. Their version features a deep-fried ‘cake’ stuffed with baccala, béchamel sauce and potatoes and is coated with black squid ink crumbs. I instantly labelled this black and yellow gold, very rich and delicious.
Veal Ossobucco, Orzotto ($19)
A Milanese specialty of cross-cut veal shanks braised with vegetables, white wine and broth
I suppose veal is one of those things that are acquired mainly because of its gameyness. The robustness of the broth made it lovely to eat with bread but do not forget about the marrow found in the bones.
Salted Caramel Strawberry Jubilee ($12)
Vanilla ice cream topped with whipped cream and salted caramel and strawberries
This reminded me of Eton mess except this had strawberries.
Gelato Pistachio ($5)
Unfortunately not made in house but this nutty one was really delicious!
Cantucci and Vinsanto ($12)
Biscotti to be dipped in sweet wine.
Rarely do I see VInsanto on the menu locally and while this was unlike Greece's saccharine sweet, this was heavier on the alcohol. Did I mention the biscottis are to die for, dense and full of nuts!
Cheese platter with: Gorgonzola, Pecorino di Pienza, Ubriaco and Fontina (Mix board $18)
We also had a showcase of their lunch delights.
Pork Milanese with Ruccola and Parmigiano ($8)
Pan-fried breaded pork
For 8 buckeroos and only available at lunch made lunch hour seem extra attractive. How I wish I were still in Raffles Place! This would make up for the Italian version of Hainanese Pork Chop.
Bucatini Carbonara with Homemade Guanciale
Served with egg on top
One hearty pasta served for lunch and bore some resemblance to Kin Kin Pan Mee without the famous chilli.
Spritz
Aperol + Prosecco + Soda
Bassanova
Nardini 50 + Amaretto + Lemon
I consider it an immense honour and a visual treat when a restaurant flings open their curing room doors for a visit.
The rows of cured meat got me googoogaga kind of happy.
I took a deep breath and was happily snug in cured meat haven.
Cured ham anyone?
Lots of tender loving care goes into the room for these meats.
I would be back in a heartbeat for more of their affordable lunch specials - not to mention how crowded it usually is. This is one place to certainly consider for hearty food at pocket friendly prices.
20 Cross Street
China Square Central
Comments
Post a Comment