Best Pizza in Town?

I have often bemoaned the fact that you can’t get a good pizza in Singapore. In fact the situation had become so drastic that I had even resorted to home-cooking pizza in place of picking up the phone and ordering it in (thanks Jamie Oliver!).

All this has changed however, with the discovery of Bella Pizza on Robertson Quay. This homely little place is always packed, no matter what day of the week (except Monday when it’s closed) – and predominantly with Italians… surely a good sign of the authenticity of the cuisine. The staff are super-friendly – from the waiters who wave to me when I walk past (although that’s perhaps a sign that I need to eat less pizza…), to the chef, Antonio, who will sit down at your table to ask you how your day was, and force feed you Limoncello after your meal.

And then there is the pizza – thin crusted, generously topped and perfectly baked… for me this is simply the best pizza in Singapore. The enormous calzone are always a hit with the greedy guys in the group too.



Not that you need them, but if you’re super-greedy like us, their starters are pretty good too – we checked out the Mozzarella di Buffala wrapped in Parma Ham,



and the Melanzane alla Parmigiana which was just outstanding (although don’t expect to eat this as a starter on your own AND manage a pizza).



I’m kind of reluctant to keep singing Bella Pizza’s praises as it’s always a push to get a table at the weekend as it is – but here are another couple of reasons to go there: they do a decent house wine at just $40 a bottle, and a 3-course set lunch menu for just $18.

There… now everyone’s going to want to go and I’ll never get a table again...

Bella Pizza, Robertson Quay - http://www.bellapizza.com.sg/

Beachfront Dining

After polishing off more Strawberry Daiquiris than I’m sure is healthy, we took a hop, skip and a jump along the beach to La Lucciola, the beachfront Italian restaurant next door. This open-air thatched-roofed building with its comfy wicker furniture, tables under the stars and views past the palm trees out to sea was the perfect place to dine following our sunset cocktails next door at Breeze. And the menu didn’t disappoint either.

Our selection of starters included a Buffalo Milk Mozzarella with Vine Ripened Tomatoes,

and a very tasty Seafood Risotto, which although was under the main course selection, they obligingly served a starter-sized portion.

My choice was the Fried Zucchini Flowers with Fior di Latte Bocconcini, Tomato and Basil Leaves. I first came across the idea of Fried Zucchini Flowers on a Jamie Oliver TV programme, but this was the first time I had seen them on a menu, and I was intrigued. Well happily, my inquisitiveness paid off, and Jamie Oliver was right – they were truly delicious – juicy baby zucchinis attached to the flower with a warm gooey filling, all encased in crisp batter. A rare treat indeed, and one I shall look out for in the future.

Next up, the main courses were equally as successful – this time I opted for the Pan Fried Hiramasa Kingfish which came with Artichoke Hearts, Baby Spinach, Preserved Lemon and Citrus Vinaigrette. The fish was perfectly cooked, lovely and crisp on the outside with a soft and juicy centre, and the accompaniments complemented it well, without overpowering.

My friends’ choices however received mixed reviews: Seafood Pie

Open Seafood Lasagne

Vegetarian Risotto

However, I think the winner of best choice of main course for the day went to Mr Greedy Glutton for his Roast Marinated Lamb Rump with Cherry Tomato Peperonata, Soft Polenta and Almond Pesto. Trust me – it tasted every bit as good as it looks:

Good food, good company, good wine… and dining beneath the stars to the sound of the crashing waves… life surely doesn’t come much better than this…


La Lucciola – Seminyak Beach, Bali

Dempsey Disappoinment

My friend has been waxing lyrical about Margarita’s at Dempsey Hill for a while, so we substituted our usual Little India mid-week feast for a trip to Dempsey to enjoy some Mexican magic… except when we got there, Margarita’s was closed for refurbishment.

Slightly disappointed, we took a short hop across the road and settled ourselves at a table outside La Forketta. The first thing that annoyed me with this restaurant that they refused to bring us iced water, despite the fact that we were ordering glasses of wine and beers all round – they would only serve us vastly overpriced bottled water (and yes, this really is a pet hate of mine).

Putting that annoyance behind us, we ordered up some food. After much deliberation, I settled on the Aubergine Cannelloni. You know La Forketta is really pretty expensive by Singapore standards and I was expecting a lot more from my main course here – all I got in the end was this:

It wasn’t even served with a side salad or anything, and it was unfortunately really pretty bland.

Those who ordered a pizza I think got the better half of the deal – Mr Greedy Glutton being one of them, ordering a Pepperoni and Pineapple Pizza.

The pizzas were really good – light, crisp base and generous toppings… but they come at a price, and I doubt very much if we will be back to enjoy them again… and definitely not for as long as they refuse to serve iced water along with your meal.

So unfortunately our mid-week cheap and cheerful get-together turned out to be rather less cheap… and rather less cheerful than usual… but at least the company was as good as ever…


La Forketta - #01-09 Dempsey Hill

Italian Ecstasy

We were a little Chinesed out by this stage and had finally realized that chasing the dream of Min Jiang Duck was only going to lead to further disappointment (I think at this stage even returning to Min Jiang would lead to disappointment, such has that dish grown in stature in my greedy mind).

So we decided to change tack and took our chances on a free table at Gaia, an al-fresco Italian, without even a mention of Roasted Duck on the menu. We were in luck – there was a free table and we were in even more luck when we tasted their dishes. I’m going to throw my napkin in the ring here and say that this is possibly the best Italian restaurant I have ever eaten at – including during a weekend in Rome.

Every dish had my eyes rolling backwards in ecstasy – I think they call it a ‘Foodgasm’, or in this case, a Multiple Foodgasm, as they were coming thick and fast in this ristorante, let me tell you. We started with Grilled Assorted Vegetables, Melted Casatella Cheese and Aged Balsamic Vinegar, and Creamy Mozzarella Burrata Cheese with Parma Ham and Home Made Dried Tomatoes. Sounds simple enough, and it was, but the quality of the ingredients and the perfection of the cooking and serving of them was what set the eyelids quivering.

Now, I’m going to take a moment here to celebrate the Burrata – this cheese had me so turned on, that as soon as I got home I headed straight to my trusty battery operated device – my laptop – and looked it up on the internet. Never have I been lucky enough to have something so creamy and tasty in my mouth… Ok, enough already, I’ll refrain from prolonging this cringeworthy metaphor and give you the Wikipedia definition I found: “Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese, made from mozzarella and cream. The outer shell is solid mozzarella while the inside contains both mozzarella and cream, giving it a unique soft texture.” So there, now you know what turns the Greedy Glutton on.

Moving swiftly onwards to the mains, where Le Paste dishes caught both our eyes – Mr Greedy Glutton opted for the Blueberry (yes, Blueberry!) Fettuccine with Italian Sausage & Porcini Mushrooms, which started very well indeed, although the Porcini mushrooms started to take their over-powering toll by the end of the dish. I, on the other hand, came over all vegetarian and chose the Paccheri (that’s big fat penne to you and I) with Zucchini, Eggplant, Sun Dried Tomatoes and Smoked Buffalo Mozzarella, which, mamma mia, we both agreed had to be up there with the best Italian dishes ever tasted, molto bene!

Once again, a dessert was quite unnecessary but also proved to be quite irresistible, so we ordered the Ricotta Cheesecake with Raspberries and Blueberries to share…. and cue those quivering eyelids all over again…

Gaia Ristorante, Hong Kong - http://www.gaiaristorante.com/

Pizza and Pasta in a Funky Setting

Thursday was a public holiday in Singapore for Deepavali, so we used our day off to finally finish furnishing our apartment, as we seem to have given up shopping for furniture in favour of hunting down new restaurants. ‘Nothing wrong with that!’ I hear you cry, and you would of course be right. But there are times when needs must, so we jumped in a cab and headed up to Gillman Village to the fabulous Shophouse to find a bookcase.

And wouldn’t you just know it, we arrived just in time for lunch!

Right underneath another fantastic furniture shop, Originals, we found The Turquoise Room, a funky bistro/bar with whitewashed walls and furniture, interspersed with the odd turquoise finishing touch and swirly wall design. The menu was mainly pizzas and pastas which suited us fine and I ordered a Linguine with Prawns and Arugula and Mr Greedy Glutton opted for the Pizza with Pepperoni and Italian Sausage, and we both started with the soup of the day, the Lobster Bisque.

The food was great, the atmosphere serene and relaxing and my only regret was that I didn’t wash it down with a cold glass of white wine… but I was due to play tennis in the evening, and somehow tennis and white wine never mix very well…

The Turquoise Room, 7 Lock Road, Gillman Village

A Mediterranean Meal on an Indonesian Island

Our last night in Bintan and the last restaurant we had yet to try – The Cove at the Banyan Tree. After another strenuous day of lying on the beach, we were pretty hungry and ready for a large bowl of pasta washed down with a chilled bottle of white wine.

Not wanting to ruin our appetites for the inevitably large servings we were about to partake in (bowls of pasta always manage to defeat me), we decided to share a light starter of Baked Summer Tomatoes and Mozzarella Cheese with a Balsamic Glaze and Fresh Basil, which was fancy-schmancy in presentation but unfortunately rather average-schmaverage in taste.

Undeterred, we continued to the main object of our evening’s desire – pasta dishes. I plumped for the Chef’s Signature Dish – the Home Made Ravioli filled with Prawns and Sun Dried Tomato in a White Wine, Double Cream and Fresh Basil, which was nice (I'm not really inspired to upgrade the adjective here) but a little heavy on the cream and I have to admit I was rather envious of Mr Greedy Glutton’s choice when it arrived – a simple and tasty Seafood Linguini with Mussels, Calamari and Shrimps in a Spicy Tomato Sauce with Fresh Basil.

Ah well, you win some you lose some…. and I’m afraid my holiday disengagement led me to completely forget about photographing the main course…

The Cove, Banyan Tree, Bintan – www.banyantree.com