Mad For Garlic, Singapore…you’ll smell of garlic and happiness

First, the restaurant’s name, because names are very important: not surprising that garlic is the humming motor in this Korea garlic-themed Italian restaurant chain Mad for Garlic is not only serving some of the most objectively interesting food, they’re also serving some of the most delicious.

There’s bias in this review, for sure, because this is my sort of food. Prepared at your table, the Garlic Bread Tower – Mad for Garlic special bread tower topped with garlic puree is the showstopper. It’s not all fancy and fussy, but it’s very good. Of all the main, Garlic Snowing Pizza – sweet white sauce, fried garlic, shrimp and pineapple. is the one to choose, as it’s really the best of what they have. Utterly gorgeous. This pizza is almost reason enough to visit. The Garlic sizzling rice – fried rice with pickled garlic, bacon and flying fish roe served on a sizzling pan is no match to the other two heady heights and I will not rush to order it again.

If you love garlic, you’ll love Mad for Garlic. For me, at least, it is a great place to have up your sleeve. This is the true truth as I say it as it is…

Lattanzi, New York City…Perfetto!

Unlike a bastion of French haute cuisine or an upmarket sushi den, the very best Italian restaurant, by my estimation, must be a  place you can roll into with minimal forethought and  order some well-sourced salami and cheese or a perfect plate of pasta, and let the worries of the day dissipate with a bracingly bitter Negroni. You can do all these things at Lattanzi.

When it comes down to it, you judge an Italian restaurant on the strength of its pasta, and based on its merit of its Linguine alla Vongole – homemade linguine and little neck clams with garlic and extra virgin olive oil, Lattanzi is up there with the best. This is the kind of food that will stay on your mind long after you’ve left.

There’s nowhere better to become a regular. This is the true truth as I say it as it is…

Osteria dell’Acquabella, Milan…the ossobuco definitely floats my boat

Ossobuco – or rather slow-braised veal which would sound more appetising – is a dish that should be left to the Milanese. So said the great 19th-century writer, Artus. So, when you’re in Milan, forget about pizza and pasta although both  can be downright heavenly.

There is no debate here: Ossobuco Milanese (served with saffron risotto) at Osteria dell’Acquabella is absolutely delicious and soul-satisfying it’ll knock more than just your socks off. It is creamy, rich, silky smooth and vivid in both color and flavour with veal which is fall-off-the-bone tender.

A good sign is that Osteria dell’Acquabella is full of locals (including families) who know their stuff when it comes to food. This intimate and comfortable place is one of my most exciting discoveries. This is the true truth as I say it as it is…

Vino e Cucina, Milan…the Costoletta was fun and satisfying to cut into

What meal most typifies Milan? That has long been a subject of intense debate in Italy’s business and fashion capital. The simple cotoletta alla Milanese, or veal cutlet fried in butter is a dish you can find everywhere in the city

Here in the Vino e Cucina, the atmosphere is sterile but the thick, dense Costoletta alla Milanese – Milanese cutlet is crumbed and browned in a strangely uniform manner, and served with a simple and sympathetic shaved salad. Think of wiener schnitzel, but thicker, bone-in, and with a juicier interior. Have it with a side of Patate al Rosmarino – Potatoes with Rosemary.

Vino e Cucina is never going to be the hottest place in town. That’s fine as long as they keep serving costoletta like this. This is the true truth as I say it as it is…

Eataly Caffe, New York City…I died and went to Italian Heaven

Disneyland for Italian-food lovers, Eataly is an Italian-food marketplace which sells all things Italian. There’s a fishmonger and butcher (and vegetable butcher) and an espresso bar, a wine store, a cheese store, a cooking school, a kitchenware department and a great deal more. There is a restaurant at Eataly that serves fish. There is a restaurant called Le Verdure which serves only vegetables. It is bruschetta city there. There is a pasta area. And there is a first-come-first-served bar area, La Piazza, where you can stand at a marble-top table and drink wine or eat salamis and cheese as if in Venice.  From the bakery behind the pizza ovens: good breads. From the chocolate station up front: dessert.

Eataly serves up delicious dishes while offering a bite of Italian authenticity. The Prosciutto croissant with tops which are golden and flaky is packed with plenty of pleasantries. The Italian prosciutto was delicate, sweet and adds flavor to every bite. The wonderfully airy apricot croissant was irresistible pleasure! This one is truly a breakfast in bed item.

A word of advice – if you’re waiting for a table to open up at the restaurant, browse around the store but don’t buy anything. Your stomach may protest, but your wallet will thank you

Eataly is an answered prayer. It represents a step forward for Italian food in New York. It is now my new “happiest place on Earth.” This is the true truth as I say it as it is…

Modern Pastry Shop, Boston…the local favourite

Want to get off the tourist trail and enjoy Boston like a local? Then do Boston like a real Bostonian.

What Modern Pastry Shop does, it does expertly. This fabulous, family-owned Italian bakery is filled with delicious sweets and treats. I was a bit overwhelmed with the choices. They have everything for everyone but the Italian pastries are the best. There was a sizable line was out the door but it does move relatively quickly so you can be in and out within 15 minutes if you head in knowing what you want. Service could be better, though.

Please note the word “Favourite”. This is the true truth as I say it as it is…

 

 

 

Lido di Manhattan Ristorante & Bar, Los Angeles…vodka pasta at a Kitchen Nightmares restaurant

Whether you’re craving a simple plate of spaghetti and meatballs, or an osso buco that melts in your mouth, there’s an abundance of Italian restaurants in Los Angeles. Wanting to go beyond specialty pizzerias and ho-hum red sauce joints, I landed in Lido di Manhattan Ristorante & Bar at Manhattan Beach.

The restaurant itself is beautiful, with a modern, spacious layout. The menu itself is pretty extensive and looks very enticing. Stepping out of my comfort zone, I ordered Lido’s famous vodka pasta – prosciutt0, basil, shallots, garlic, Lido’s famous spicy vodka sauce, tossed with penne. It was good but there was nothing out of the ordinary. Overall I would rate it as so-so. The food was okay. The service was fair

After dining here, I’d found out that this restaurant was featured on Kitchen Nightmares Season 3 Episode 5. Who would have thought?! This is the true truth as I say it as it is…

Zenzero, Kuala Lumpur…had high hopes for this place, however, food was uneven

Had high hopes for this place, however, food was uneven….just okay, and brings the pleasure of eating down.

It doesn’t matter if your date is your spouse of 25 years and co-parent of your five kids, the beloved you’re wanting to propose to, or just somebody you just met at a bar, the small and cosy Zenzero is the sort of restaurant that is a lovely date restaurant and a place to sit and watch the chef assemble his pasta. No matter how beautiful the room, there is something indescribably melancholy about an empty restaurant – and on this Tuesday dinnertime, Zenzero was so devoid of other diners, all I can do is not to weep into my capacious linen napkin.

Disappointing. Just distinctly average, not overly impressed. Service was good, so there was a silver lining. This is the true truth as I say it as it is…

Otto Ristorante, Singapore…you are guaranteed to walk – or waddle – out satisfied

Smallish but tastefully and stylishly furnished dining space, the intimate Otto has a modern, upscale feel. The top notch service was every bit as thorough and professional without being overbearing, a cut above many other places of the same calibre.

The authentic Italian food was so good you’ll want to lick your plate clean and one of the better Italian places I’ve tried recently period. Complimentary bread is served upon arrival. Be sure to try the freshly baked warm, soft, moist and crumbly foccacia with onion. The herb crusted New Zealand lamb cutlet with red pepper passata is run-to-the-hills-singing-hallelujah-to-the-Almighty astonishing.  It’s a simpler-than-usual treatment for the gorgeous meat but one that will make you wonder why everyone doesn’t do it this way. The Atlantic cod tagliata – “taggia”olives crust with sweet garlic is unassumingly satisfying. The magnificent hunk of grain fed beef tenderloin with bone marrow sauce and porchini mushroom is good, it is very, very good.

The simple-but-elegant Otto is very much a special, date-night destination, where the art of classic, Italian fare is elevated. The staff are friendly and you are guaranteed to walk – or waddle – out satisfied. This is the true truth as I say it as it is…