Al Forno

I first heard about Al Forno from Lorraine of The Hungry-Trotting Couple and since then have always kept it on my "To Go" list. The opportunity came when me and Ms Val were looking for a dinner venue in the East as I had plans to bring her to my favourite BLIC for desserts. Al Forno it is :)


The first thing that I noticed, and with much excitement, was the wood-fired oven. Other than Spizza at Balmoral Plaza, here is one other place in Singapore where you can get really good wood-fired pizzas, fresh and crisp from the oven!

Pizza Costiera


Al Forno definitely scores full marks for its authentic and delicious pizza. The Pizza Costiera was a delightful treat with fresh seafood ingredients and tasty mozzarella cheese. Most importantly, the dough was perfect - thin in the centre, soft and fluffy on the sides, and crisp on the edges.


Every bite transported me back to Italy. Gosh, I miss that place so, so much.

Lasagne


The Lasagne was not bad, but it wasn't entirely good either. There was quite a monotonous feel to it after a couple of forkfuls, and this is not just because we were getting filled up on the pizza. It's been a very long time since I had it, but I think one of the better lasagne in Singapore can be found at Modesto's.

Spaghetti Al Nero Di Seppia


Sadly, the Spaghetti Al Nero Di Seppia was worse. Ms Val, an avid fan of squid-ink pasta, gave it the thumbs-down for being overly dry and tasteless. I doubt the fresh seafood ingredients could save the dish at all. One thing worth remembering was how we laughed when I recalled a kid writing in his food blog that he finds it "very arousing to see [his] date blush when she realized there’s a black smudge off the corner of her mouth". The weird things that turn people on these days.


The final verdict? Al Forno serves excellent, authentic Italian pizzas, and this is what you simply must have when you're here. They do takeaways as well, but nothing beats enjoying a pizza straight out from the oven :)


Service
Very good. Expect a longer waiting time for your pizzas in the evenings though, as many people do takeaways.

Price
$22 for the Pizza Costiera
$23 for the Lasagne
$23 for the Spaghetti Al Nero Di Seppia

* Prices subject to the usual 7% GST and 10% service charge.

Place
400 East Coast Road.

Additional Comment
Opening Hours: Lunch: 12 pm - 2 pm, Dinner: 6.30 pm – 10.30 pm.

Pictures taken with the Canon EOS 500D.

Rome, Italy: Piazza Navona

The thing about being on holiday is that oftentimes I don't really bother about getting the best pictures of my food, because what I really want is to savour it all hot and fresh. At times, as was the case here, I didn't even take notice on what the name of the restaurant was! Hopefully the picture of this place could be useful enough, and it's just one of the few restaurants at the ristorante-end of the peaceful Piazza Navona.


The food here, and regrettably so, wasn't that much big of a deal. So if you're planning a trip to Rome and thinking of food places, Piazza Navona is probably just good for its Tartufo. Food-wise, the restaurant featured in this post is in the same row as The Scalini. Food-wise, the bread was tough as usual, while the Zuppa di Cipolle (onion soup) was a bit too salty for our liking. James thought his simple Lasagne al Forno was just about alright without being overly impressive.


Perhaps not too surprisingly, I once again got the better end of the meal, with my Spaghetti Frutti di Mare being quite satisfying. Fresh mussels, squids, cuttelefish and a couple of prawns adorn this dish, but what was more worthy of mention was the firm texture of the pasta. Loving it done al dente in Italy :)


I like the way the Piazza descends into its own comfy atmosphere with nightfall, and this is perhaps one of the best times that you can indulge in the sinfully good Tartufo and then sip on a good cuppa of cappuccino.

Service
Very good and helpful.

Price
€5 for a (good) cup of cappuccino
€8 for the zuppa di cipolle
€11 for the lasagne al forno
€14 for the spaghetti frutti di mare

Place
Piazza Navona,
Rome, Italy.

Pictures taken with the Canon EOS 500D.

The Mind Cafe

The menu online looked really good, and the package looked really attractive too, so we thought why not. Eight of us packed in The Mind Cafe at Purvis Street eagerly enjoying ourselves before school reopens next week! Here's our take on the food we ordered.

Mushroom Soup: 4.9/10


This was the Soup of the Day, and it was ordinary. No complaints, but no wild praises either.

Mind Crispy Chicken Platter: 7/10


Three of us ordered this. What I liked about this was the portion, because boy was the chicken slice big and chunky. The meat though was just alright, and after a while we found it a tad too oily to swallow. While I'm accustomed to oily and crispy chicken, the two other boys slowly did away with their chicken skins. Still, it was good enough for me.

The Boat Quay Fisherman: 7/10


Daphne had the usual fish and chips, much of it was because we saw someone else having this and it looked promising. Normal fare really, wasn't too oily and we felt the fish was fresh enough.

Salmon Pasta: 6.5/10


One of the boys had this, and he felt those served at Cafe Cartel or NUS' Munchie Monkeys are better. He preferred it more creamy.

Marinara Pasta: 7.5/10


Seafood pasta is always one of my fav. One of the girls ordered this and she enjoyed it. Good sauce and fresh ingredients.

Seafood Lasagna: 3/10
The girl who had this didn't like it because she felt it seemed more like minced seafood. As much as it looked like lasagna, it tasted more like tomato sauce with slight amounts of cheese. In her words, she found this "super unsatisfying". While we may not have the pic for this, it did look pretty dry to me.

The Mind - Black and White Brownie: 8/10


This was good. Very rich brownie, and I liked the chocolate bits at the top. Any sweet tooth would say aye to this! The vanilla ice-cream was, vanilla, but hey, the highlight is on the brownie.

Milo Godzilla: 8.5/10
Someone wanted Iced Milo, then someone else wanted Milo Dinosaur (which is Iced Milo with Milo powder added at the top for added sweetness heaven). And then I decided to top it off with Milo Godzilla. Coolness in the names isn't it. Milo Godzilla is like a Milo Dinosaur Float. Very thick and sweet as I love it!

Service
Outstanding. Very very helpful and patient staff - with the games and the food. There were eight rowdy and crazy people in us but still they were so cool and calm with us being so slow and indecisive. Thumbs up.

Price
Very very worth it. It was $16.90++ (++ for 10% Service Charge and 7% GST) for:
1. One Drink (Any drink from the menu)
2. One Soup of the Day or Salad
3. One Main Course
4. One Mind Brownie
5. Two hours of boardgaming

Place
Purvis Street, Bugis.
Also: Boat Quay, Prinsep Street.

Additional Comments
NUS Matriculation Cards get their 10% Service Charge waived. Cool, especially when the service is so good!