Porta-Porta Italian Restaurant

Last night, my DH and I went out for dinner with a friend. Our friend had suggested an Italian place in Changi, and made a reservation for 7:30pm. Driving all the way to the other end of the island wasn't exactly pleasant. We set out - from the West side! - at 7pm, and traffic was stop-and-go most of the way. We had to call our friend to change the reservation to 8pm instead!

The restaurant is one of a row of old shophouses. It is a small place, with barely eight tables, but extremely cosy. We were brought bread (picture right) and olive oil with small pieces of vinegared eggplant which was really good. For starter, we also ordered smoked mozzarella - which we devoured before I remembered to take a picture of it!

My DH got a penne arrabiata in black olive sauce (picture left). It was excellent! The black olive sauce had crushed black olives in it, and the dish was nicely spicy. The penne was al dente, and nicely so (unlike some other places where it tastes hard).

I got the parpadelle in cream sauce with mushrooms. The parpadelle was excellent - it was extremely fresh tasted lovely. I have never tasted such great pasta in Singapore before! The cream sauce was light and the dish was served with a ton of mushrooms. The portions were hearty, and I was getting rather full towards the end.

After the main course, we decided to share dessert - a tiramisu, which was highly recommended (picture left). For good reason too, as it was one of the best I had tasted - the mascarpone was fantastic, and the biscuit layer at the bottom was soft and yummy "rummy".

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed dinner, and the atmosphere - definitely worth the 1-hour drive through traffic. It may be on the expensive side, with each pasta dish costing $24 or more, but certainly worth it. It also has an interesting selection of pasta, with different sauce options other than the common boring red tomato sauce. Indeed this must be one of the best Italian restaurants I have been to in Singapore!

Porta-Porta Italian Restaurant
971 Upper Changi North Road
Changi Garden
Singapore 507668
Tel: 6545 3108

Cantina the Food & Wine Stop

This Italian restaurant is located on Greenleaf Road, off Sixth Avenue, nestled in the midst of a quiet residential neighbourhood. It seemed the most unlikely location for a restaurant, but also provided a peaceful and homely setting for dinner.

We were there for dinner this evening. I had mushroom soup and spinach fettucine vegetarian. And we ordered garlic bread for everyone. The mushroom soup was tasty. The garlic bread just nicely done. The main courses came out nice and hot, and in generous portions!

There is also a wine cellar - with tables inside! A waiter told us that those tables can be reserved, with the criteria that the customers buy one bottle of wine for their meal.

Overall, it was an extremely pleasant experience.

PS: The restaurant also has a website!

Munchie Monkey Café

A student-run café at the National University of Singapore, Munchie Monkey serves decent food at reasonable prices. The café is on the third floor of Yusoff Ishak House.

Its menu includes various soups, salads, pastas, pizzas, sandwiches, as well as starters like wedges and onion rings. I recently tried its cakes, and the chocolate truffle is wonderfully chocolatey!