desserts from ristorante sibilla, tivoli - pistachio semifreddo (foreground) and ricotta cream cheese with puff bits (background)

so its been two weeks in rome and back, and yes, more food tales to share around.

our last meal was a celebratory event held once again at ristorante sibilla, in tivoli. i’m not kidding you when i say that the food here is really all kinds of awesome – i mean, its ranked #1 on tripadvisor for tivoli eats, so there’s the cred you need. our meals there featured predominantly seafood items, so i’m assuming its their speciality. (probably will do a separate review on it soon)

but to be honest, an italian full course meal can be quite a daunting undertaking. consider: we start with antipastos (appetizers) which consists of 10+ tapas-style seafood dishes. next comes TWO courses of pasta, the primi and the secondi primi, both which are easily full course pasta dishes in other contemporary restaurants. then comes the secondi, usually a meat or fish dish and we usually end with dolce (dessert), our favorite part of the meal. of course, it ain’t truly italian if the meal isn’t completed with a serving of a shot of cappucino – yup, its a habit to have some coffee after every meal, even dinner.

honestly, its like 3 meals rolled into one. scary. the carbs count would have given atkins a heart attack.

anyways, i figured talking about italian good food in the heart of italy is a little insensitive to most Singaporean readers, so here’s a list of pretty decent Italian restaurants found sprawled around Singapore (and yes that’s my intended blog topic).

[1] La Strada | 1 Scotts Road, #02-10/11 Shaw Centre | 8.5/10 | Expensive, $$$ ($40 – $80 per pax)

carbonara, la strada

elegant, classically decorated restaurant located along the les amis stretch on the ground floor of shaw centre. their carbonara is really awsome stuff – an expert blend soft boiled egg, parmesan shards, toasted bacon and spaghetti. to be honest, this beats alot of the casual restaurants in italy serving carbonara. the grilled artichokes, focaccia bread and desserts are also worth a shot.

[2] Dolce Vita | 5 Raffles Avenue, 5/F The Oriental Singapore | 8.0/10 | Pricey, $$$$ ($80 and above)

the location here gives this place an edge over other eateries – sited on the 5th floor of the mandarin oriental singapore right beside the outdoor infiniti pool, the restaurant offers scenic views of the flyer and mbs area all within a private, exclusive environment. wasn’t exactly wowed away by the house-special appetizers (lobster bisque) but this restaurant got top marks for me in terms of their mains – the iberico arrosto (roasted fillet of iberico pork, accompanied by crispy organic pork belly, la ratte potato pearls, braised savoy cabbage and pepper red wine sauce) is a must try for meat lovers. desserts are just ok.

[3] Pietrasanta | 5B Portsdown Road, #01-03 Wessex Estate | not yet reviewed

i heard lots about this restaurant from both friends and even from my italian colleagues, who say this place is pretty legit. apparently they even import their famous dessert, torta pistocchi right from florence.

[4] La Braceria Pizza and Grill | 5 Greendale Avenue | not yet reviewed

is it more suited to the tastes of actual italians? somehow my italian colleagues rave about this place and make frequent trips here, but my friends and hungrygowhere patrons don’t seem to hold this place in much high regard.

[5] Pizzeria Mozza |  2 Bayfront Ave, #B1-42/46 The Shoppes @ Marina Bay Sands | not yet reviewed

the offering of mario batali to mbs. celebrity chef aside, this place is touted to served the best pizzas in singapore.

[6] Forlino | 1 Fullerton Road, #02-06 One Fullerton | not yet reviewed

zzz.. wanted to try this for restaurant week but it was snapped up real quick.