Showing posts with label .Station: King Albert Park. Show all posts
Showing posts with label .Station: King Albert Park. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

La Pizzaiola @ Sime Darby Centre (Dunearn Road) - Authentic Italian Pizza-maker Launches New Menu Of Fresh Flavours

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Since reopening in 2012, La Pizzaiola has grown to 3 outlets strong, in King Albert Park, Jalan Riang and Kalidasa. It's been most known for dishing out homely authentic Italian classics such as wood-fired pizzas baked in a traditional oven crafted in Italy.

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This time, it's ready to welcome diners with its brand new menu of fresh flavours, including new salads, appetisers and pasta. Alongside the new launch, enjoy free-flow filtered sparkling, still water at $1 and wine as low as $7.

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Focaccia Aglio, Burro e Mozzarella 4/5

Served as our first appetiser, the warm and toasty Focaccia Aglio, Burro e Mozzarella ($16.90) was the perfect start. The freshly baked focaccia bread is lined with chopped garlic, butter and Mozzarella Fior di Latte. The subtle aroma of garlic with oozy mozzarella worked wonderfully together. My only gripe, I wished they had added more mozzarella near the ends of the focaccia!

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Sardine Fritte 4/5

In a portion of Sardine Fritte ($20.90), you have four pieces of deep-fried breaded fresh sardines with a side of salad. The thickness of the batter was just nice with tender sardine meat.

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Porchetta Salad 4/5

The last of our appetisers was the Porchetta Salad ($19.90). On thinly sliced roasted pork belly dressed with mustard honey sauce, it's further topped with tomatoes, rocket salad and balsamic vinaigrette.

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Pancetta Affumicata e Funghi 4.2/5

Moving on to the wood-fired pizzas. The first on our table was the Pancetta Affumicata e Funghi ($23.90), which also ended up as our favourite dish of the night. Their pizza base was thin with a slight chew on its crust. The slices of crispy bacon gave a nice saltiness to the red onions, mushrooms and Mozzarella Flor di Latte.

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Calzone 3.5/5

We were a little disappointed to cut open to a watery Calzone ($22.90). I wished they had used a thicker and punchier tomato sauce to better contrast the other fillings of cooked ham, button mushrooms and Mozzarella Flor di Latte.

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La Pizzaiola Speciale 3.5/5

My dining companions sang praises of the La Pizzaiola Speciale ($27.90), which had toppings of roast beef slices, shaved parmesan, arugula salad, truffle oil and Mozzarella Flor di Latte. However, they shared the same sentiments about the tomato sauce used here.

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Risotto ai Funghi Porcini e Tartufo 3.8/5

The Risotto ai Funghi Porcini e Tartufo ($26.90) is risotto with porcini mushrooms and truffle oil. Unfortunately, the earthy mushrooms we expected to be prominent didn't come through, as the cheesy flavours dominated it more.

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Pollo Biologico alla Diavola 3.8/5

La Pizzaiola's Pollo Biologico alla Diavola ($33.90) features roasted organic spring chicken marinated with Italian herbs and spices, served with roasted potatoes and rocket leaves. Some parts of the chicken were tough, but the rest were primarily tender with crisp skin. The herbs and spices are very strong here, something good to note if you're not a fan of such flavours.

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Panna Cotta 3.8/5

Unfortunately, the Panna Cotta ($10.90) was a tad too watered down, though we enjoyed the tangy sweet berry sauce.

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Tiramisu 4/5

La Pizzaiola’s rendition of the Tiramisu ($11.90) was lovely. It wasn’t overly creamy and had a distinct kick of coffee and alcohol notes.

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Creme Brulee 4/5

Our unanimous favourite of the desserts was the Creme Brulee ($12.90), which had a rich custard base and a thin and crisp caramelised layer on top.

Photos and words by Jo. A girl who loves her Mala (麻辣) at Da La (大辣), discovering hidden food gems and a good cup of matcha latte. Note: This is an invited tasting.



La Pizzaiola
Link@896
896 Dunearn Road
#01-10
Singapore 589472
Tel: +65 64848896
Facebook
Instagram
Website
Nearest MRT: King Albert Park (DT Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1130am - 230pm, 530pm - 1030pm

Direction:
1) Alight at King Albert Park. Take Exit B around the road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]

Friday, June 21, 2019

Gaijin @ KAP Residences Mall - Fuss-Free Japanese Soul Food

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Gaijin is a casual two-storey Japanese restaurant in King Albert Park Mall, offering staples such as ramen, udon, and donburi. Where food choices are somewhat limited in the neighbourhood, among the residents and office crowd in the vicinity, Gaijin is quickly becoming a place known for its quality yet affordable Japanese comfort food.

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Gaijin Karaage 3.8/5

Gaijin has a secret weapon to ensure that all its fried items are moist and succulent - that is Dr Fry. Thanks to its unique physical water molecule control technology, your fried food will stay succulent and crispy for a longer period of time, even with a reduction in the absorption of oil. The results were evident in my Gaijin Karaage ($8 for 3pc or $12 for 5 pc). These chicken thigh chunks had a light brown skin that was thin and crispy. There was a good portion of the nicely flavoured meat in every bite, rather than a mouthful of greasy fried skin and fats.

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Katsu Curry Don 3.5/5

Likewise, for the Katsu Curry Don ($15), the Hokkaido Shiro Buta (snow pork) was moist and juicy with a thin, crispy skin. Given the serving size of the tonkatsu, this is quite value-for-money. However, the curry can be better. It combines the flavour profiles of two Japanese curry styles - one that’s more savoury and one that’s sweet and fruity. Although butter was added to it to bring out the flavours of the spices, I feel it wasn't as robust as I had expected it to be.

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Gyudon 3.8/5

Hence, Gyudon ($14) satisfied me much more with its thinly-sliced premium Angus beef, which is chosen for its higher fat percentage. The longer these beef slices sit on your rice, the more the fats will melt into the rice underneath. The combination of the melted fats, the housemade yakiniku sauce and the juice from the sliced welsh onions made the rice really flavourful. Thus, it will take minimal effort to wipe this bowl clean.

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Ebi Tempura Udon 3.5/5

The menu also covers staples such as udon and ramen. Ebi Tempura Udon ($13) uses Inaniwa udon which is relatively thinner and smoother, and its extra chewy texture works well in both cold and hot broth. The Ebi Tempura Udon serves the udon in a light dashi-based broth. The broth tasted a tad salty when I had it alone with the udon, but its higher salt content made it just right as a sauce for the accompanying tempura. The tempura set includes two black tiger prawns and assorted vegetables of the day.

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Shio Tonkotsu Ramen with Kara Chilli Paste 3.5/5

It is rare to find a casual dining place that serves up decent ramen, and the Shio Tonkotsu Ramen ($12) did well with the addition of its homemade Special “Kara” chilli paste ($1). Despite the layer of homemade black garlic oil and pork fat oil floating on top of the broth, this salt-seasoned tonkotsu broth felt light on the palate after I mixed everything in, including the homemade shrimp-based chilli paste. The chilli paste provides more than just heat to the dish. A dollop of it adds depths of flavours into the broth. You will have the options from level one “mild spiciness” to level three “hot”. I reckon you can just go for level three ''hot''.

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Meant to be wallet-friendly, Gaijin offers sake from Saito, Nanbubijin and more from $18 to $35 to complete the dining experience.

Words and photos by Si An. A girl who is allured by travelling, loves the feel of freedom, smell of the rain and the aroma of fine coffee and food. Note: This is an invited tasting.


Gaijin
KAP Residences Mall
9 King Albert Park
#01-40
Singapore 598332
Tel:+65 69040400
Facebook
Nearest MRT: King Albert Park (DT Line)

Opening hours:
Mon - Fri: 12pm - 3pm, 6pm - 9pm
Sat - Sun: 12pm - 9pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at King Albert Park MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to bus stop at The Sterling (Stop ID 42051). Take any bus alight next stop. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at King Albert Park MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to Bukit Timah Road. Turn left and walk to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Royal Thai Boat Noodles & Bar @ King Albert Park - Authentic Thai Food In Bukit Timah Area

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I used to hang out at King Albert Park McDonald during my study at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. In fact there was some sentiment when the building which the Mcdonald was located was tore down for the now KAP residences. The new building has retail and F&B establishments on the first and second floor while the upper levels are for residential.

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Mango Salad 4/5

For starter, we tried the Mango Salad ($7) which I though the portion was slightly small for the price. Putting that aside, the flavours are spot on where I can taste the characteristic of sweet, spicy and sour in Thai cuisine. Moreover, the crunchy mango and nutty peanut provided the additional textures for the salad.

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Boat Noodles Pork/Beef 4.5/5

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A common street food in Thailand is the Thai Boat Noodles ($3.90/$6.90). Diners have the choice of either pork of beef as well as the type of noodles here. The bowl of beef boat noodles comes in a rich and robust soup that is packed with flavours. I like it spicy so I added some chilli flakes into it for the heat and shiokness. The beef slices were tender and the beef meatballs were bouncy too. This is indeed a bowl of slurping goodness, worth me breaking out in sweat.

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Hot Basil Rice with Pork $7.50

The other item we ordered is the Hot Basil Rice with Pork ($7.50). I add an addition fried egg for a dollar. Diners can also choose for chicken or beef too. For beef it is a dollar more. While the flavour again meets the mark, I think the portion needs to be fine tuned. Unless I am a rice bucket, I would appreciate the rice to be lesser which I think it probably took up 70% of the plate while the basil pork makes up the rest.

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Overall I have enjoyed the food at Royal Thai Boat Noodles & Bar. The dishes I tried are really very authentic. The restaurant itself is also cozy and spacious. Service can be a little bit slow but I can't blame them, they are probably short of manpower. Last but not least, I hope they can look into their portioning, to make it more value for money to their customers.


Royal Thai Boat Noodles & Bar
9 King Albert Park
#01-01/02
Singapore 598332
Tel: +65 86989258
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: King Albert Park (DT line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri: 11am - 3pm, 5pm - 10pm
Sat-Sun: 11am - 11pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at King Albert Park MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk down Bukit Timah Road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

Friday, June 12, 2015

Capri Trattoria & Pizzeria @ Binjai Park (Bukit Timah)

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Capri Trattoria at Binjai Park which opened in 2011, was taken over by the current owner Milan-born Fabrizio Anzolin in Feb 2014 and together with Executive Chef Domenico Truglia gave the restaurant a complete menu revamp. To share the passion of their food heritage with their customers, the dual recently launched a new Monthly Regional Specials Menu from April 2015, featuring three distinct dishes and new creations from different provinces in Italy.

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Tagliere Casereccio 4.5/5

Dining like an Italian, we started with some antipasti, the Tagliere Casereccio ($28). This is a selection from Calabria, Southern Italy which comes with a platter of home-cured cold cuts such as pancetta (pork belly), capocollo (pork neck) and bresaola (air-dried beef) served atop a bed of rocket salad and accompanied by cheese, olives, cured chillies and sundried tomatoes, finished with a light drizzle of olive oil.

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Gamberi e cappesante alle erbe 4.2/5

The other antipasti on the menu that seafood lovers will rejoice is the Camberi e cappesante alle erbe ($20). The beautiful plate from the ocean comes with prawns and scallops seasoned in a Mediterranean herbs are pan-seared in olive oil and served on a bed of mesclun, sundried tomatoes and olives.

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Pasta riccia all'nduja 4/5

Accordingly to the owner, the Southern Italians like fiery-style dishes as compared to their northern counterparts. I was quite surprised. All this while, I only thought Italian is about tomatoes and olive. I never knew they like spicy food too. In fact, the used of fiery chillies is not uncommon both in preparation and curing process in the southern part of Italy. Pasta riccia all'nduja ($25) is one such dish on the menu that uniquely showcases the spicy side of Italian food. The wide and flat handmade pasta is tossed in a housemade nduja. Nduja is a fiery sauce that consists of a fine blend of pork, olive oil, silvers of garlic, ground black pepper, chilli flakes and ricotta. I think this will be a hit with Singaporean as we like spicy food and I have not known as of current any other Italian restaurants I have eaten, offering this unique spicy pasta dish on their menu. By the way, be warned that this is really spicy.

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Cannarozzi allo zafferano 4.2/5

If you can't take spicy, then there is the Cannarozzi allo zafferano ($25) which is just as good with its creaminess. The tube-like pasta is sauteed in a saffron sauce with ricotta cheese, topped with smoky bacon, crispy bacon and shavings of parmesan.

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Cacciucco alla Livornese 4/5

The traditional Cacciucco alla Livornese ($28) will delight any seafood lovers with a comforting bowl of tomato based sauce brimming with mussels, shelled prawns, squid, clams. crayfish and cod. Slices of home baked bread are served on the side to sop up all the tasty, saucy goodness.

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Cotoletta alla Milanese 4/5

A hearty choice is the Cotoletta alla Milanese ($48), a 300g bone-in deep fried breaded veal chop served with roasted potatoes and side of fresh salad. The breadcrumb gives the veal chop a delectable crispy exterior while cooked to a nice moist and tender texture inside.

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Torta al limone 4/5

Ending the dinner is the Torta al limone ($10), a warm homemade lemon cake with a a side of cream. Th cake is dense, buttery and infused with a subtle tang of lemon zest.

Dining at Capri Trattoria & Pizzeria is definitely a hearty, warm and cozy affair with delicious food around the different regions of Italy. The monthly regional special menu gives diner a reason to return too. Do also note that complimentary valet parking is available on Friday to Sunday during dinner time too.


Capri Trattoria & Pizzeria
3 Binjai Park
Singapore 589819
Tel: +65 64684886
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapriTrattoriaPizzeria
Website: http://www.trattoriacapri.com/
Nearest MRT: King Albert Park (DT Line)

Opening Hours:
Tue-Sun: 12pm - 230pm, 6pm - 1030pm
(Closed on Mon)

Direction:
1) Alight at King Albert Park MRT station. Take Exit A. Take the overhead bridge connection to Exit B. Walk down Dunearn Road towards Binjai Park. Turn left onto Binjai Park. Walk to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes.[Map]

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Three Hands Coffee @ Binjai Park (Bukit Timah)

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Can you catch up with the cafe scene in Singapore? It seems like there is a new cafe popping out somewhere on every other days at some corner of Singapore. I decided to check out Three Hands Coffee at Binjai Park, Bukit Timah. Open by three partners and hence the name of the cafe, the premises is a coffee joint by day and a wine academy by night. Three Hands Coffee shares the space with Taberna Wine Academy that operates from 6pm onwards. It also seems like this is a new trend in Singapore where the same place is run by different business concept in the day and night. Is this a way to relief the high rental cost in Singapore?

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Three Hands Coffee is not like any of the hipster cafes. Those brick walls are replaced with empty wine bottles displayed around the cafe.

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Mocha and Caffe Latte 4/5

I read that they used Papa Palheta coffee beans for their coffee but during my visit I noticed that they have switched to oriole coffee beans. I am actually glad that they changed their coffee beans because I am not a fan of Papa Palheta. We tried both the Mocha ($6) and Caffe Latte ($5). The coffee was smooth with a bittersweet finishing towards the end. Considering their location I am surprised that their coffee is about fifty cents more expensive than more other cafes.

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Lava Cake 4/5

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Lava Cake 4/5

We also tried their Lava Cake ($8.90) which turned out to be pretty good. The lave cake was rich but not overly sweet, a well balanced execution.

Among my friends, there are a couple of us that has started to avoid visiting cafes on the weekends as they are always so crowded that it is hard to get a seat. These hipster cafes have been so popular that it has turned cafe into a crowded and noisy place, not a place for one to read a book over a cup of coffee anymore. If you are one who wants to have your own time in a quiet ambience over a cup of good coffee, Three Hands Coffee is one of such cafes.


[CLOSED]
Three Hands Coffee
17 Binjai Park
Singapore 589825
Tel: +65 67625570
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/threehandscoffee
Website: http://www.threehandscoffee.com/
Nearest MRT: King Albert Park (CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 9am - 5pm

Direction:
1) Alight at King Albert Park MRT station. Take Exit A. Take the overhead bridge connection to Exit B. Walk down Dunearn Road towards Binjai Park. Turn left onto Binjai Park. Walk to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]