Saizeriya Ristorante E Caffe (Liang Court)

Saizeriya restaurant, a Japanese chain of Italian style family restaurant well-known for its low prices first opened in 1968 in Japan. Today, it has expanded to over 750 stores world wide, in Japan, China and South East Asia. 

In Singapore, Saizeriya has 4 outlets in Liang Court, City Square Mall, Bukit Timah Plaza and Toa Payoh Central and is known as Saizeriya Ristorante E Caffe. Similarly, it has made a name for itself in Singapore as a place for affordable (value-for-money) Italian food. 

Made a visit down to their outlet in Liang Court, near Clarke Quay for dinner on a weekend. The restaurant was packed. In terms of ambience and decoration, it was simple and causal.  

Drinks Station

Drinks Station, where you can have free flow of drinks for just $2.80 per person. A very good deal as there is a wide variety of drinks available ranging from Cappuccino, Coffee, Tea (Earl Grey, Green Tea, Peppermint, Camomile), Lemon Barley, Orange Juice, Pepsi, Ice Lemon Tea, Mug Rootbeer, Mountain Dew to H-TWO-O!

Menu Cover

The food on the menu cover looks so appetising.

Garden Salad (small) 

Alternatively, instead of paying $2.80 for free flow of drinks, you can pay $3.90 instead for a Garden Salad and free flow of drinks.

Grilled Spicy Chicken Wings (4pcs) $3.90

Grilled Spicy Chicken Wings served on a hotplate is one of their best sellers and has garnered many positive reviews on the net. They were very well marinated and tasty. However, it arrived on a hot plate with a layer of oil that resulted in the exterior (of the wings) being soggy.

Oven Grilled Escargot $5.80

The Oven Grilled Escargot (cooked snails) cooked in their own recipe of special garlic butter sauce. It may not be the best, but it was pretty good and yummy with the sauce. At $5.80 nett, the price is ridiculously cheap affordable. (I do not know where else can one get such decent half dozen escargots at such prices!) If  you have not tried this before, and do not want to burn a hole trying it out, this is the place for you. If you have been craving for esargots, this is also the place to have a quick and value-for-money escargot fix.

Focaccia with Garlic Butter $2.20

We were torn between ordering the Original Focaccia or the Focaccia with Garlic Butter. Following the recommendation of the staff, we ordered Focaccia with Garlic Butter. Focaccia is a flat oven baked Italian bread. Saizeriya version looks similar to a naan or prata. Nevertheless, it was delish! A must order. We were so tempted to order another one.

Chicken Bolognese Doria $4.40

Chicken Bolognese Doria another best seller, is white sauce baked rice with their special recipe of chicken meat sauce. Well-executed dish with lots of creamy cheese on top complementing the baked rice at the bottom. If only more meat sauce and some meat was given. But at this price, I can't complain.

Black Pepper Chicken Steak $6.90

Black Pepper Chicken Steak served with corns, wedges and black pepper sauce on a hot plate. The corn was very sweet, while the wedges were a tad too soft. The chicken was decent but the oily was not drained off properly. It was saved by the black pepper sauce which was complemented it perfectly.

All prices quoted on the menu are nett and there is no service charge. Despite there being no service charge, the service was prompt and efficient, from seating, ordering, serving, clearing of dirty plates to paying the bill. Each staff knew their role and everything went like clockwork. My first dish was served within 5 minutes after I have ordered. Needless to say, I am impressed by the efficiency of the staff and also the food. There were hits and misses, but taking into consideration the prices, its pretty reasonable. I will definitely be back! 

Liang Court is now having the Gourmet Journey event in the mall till 29 July 2012. (Its hard to miss it out. The posters are all over the mall). There will be several challenges held during the two upcoming weekends. Some of the events that caught my eyes are the Tamago Peel-Off, Kraze Time and Cooking Demonstration.

Gourmet Journey Poster (Source: Liang Court)

I used to Liang Court just for my Tampopo fix. During this recent visit, I saw more restaurants such as Nirai-Kanai, Shin Yeh, Marutama Ramen, Mazazu Crepe, Trung Nguyen Cafe and Shabu No Koya. On my next visit, I will aim to try Shin Yeh.

Meidi-Ya Supermarket

Of course, a visit to Liang Court is not completed without a visit to Meidi-Ya Supermarket! It is a supermarket well-known among the Japanese community for its authentic Japanese products directly imported from Japan.  

Saizeriya Ristorante E Caffe (Liang Court)
177 River Valley Road
#02-22 Liang Court
Tel: 6337 9001
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 10pm
Location 

Saizeriya Ristorante E Caffe (City Square Mall)
180 kitchener Road
#B2-55/56 City Squre Mall
Te: 6834 4877
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 10pm

Saizeriya Ristorante E Caffe (Bukit Timah Plaza)
1 Jalan Bukit Anak
#02-24C Bukit Timah Plaza
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 10pm

Saizeriya Ristorante E Caffe (Toa Payoh Central)
Blk 190 #02-514
Tel: 6253 8001
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 10pm

Wild Olives (Changi Airport T2 Staff Canteen)

I did not know of this till recently when my friend brought me to this place. How many of us know that there is a staff canteen hidden in Changi Aiport Terminal 2? Kee Chiu (Raise hands). 

The staff canteen at T2 is huge! Lots of tables and chairs it is like a food court and there are many stalls, more than 10! You are spoilt for variety. In fact, the place looks better than a food court, it was bright, colourful, clean and spacious! 

After a quick walk around, decided to try the western food; Wild Olives. Wild Olives specialises in Western and Italian Cuisine. It does not use Pork and Lard in it's dishes. It's pasta starts at $3.30 (public price)! 

There was a short queue at the stall; one of the stalls with a queue. 

Menu (a)

Menu (b)

I ordered Linguine Alla Vongole. Staff price is $3.80 while public is $4.20. Wow, it is cheap for pasta compared to other hawker centres or food courts. Where else can you find such cheap pasta! In addition, you can add a small Soup / Garden Salad for $1.00 each.

Homemade Mushroom Soup $1.00

Well, I paid just $1 for this bowl of 'small soup' to complete my meal. It's definitely not small! This is their Homemade Mushroom Soup. I added pepper, hence you will notice that there are small black bits on the top of the soup. A big bowl of mushroom soup, the mushroom flavour was mild but addictive. In the end, I finish the whole bowl and found myself longing for more. But still I prefer if the mushroom flavour was stronger and there are chunks of mushrooms in it. 

Linguine Alla Vongole $4.20

Linguine Alla Vongole; linguine(pasta) with clams in white wine sauce. I am impressed by their generous portion of food. Look at the number of clams and amount of linguine given. This cost only $4.20! The clams were fresh and perfectly cooked. The pasta was a tad too dry, that was easily solved by mixing it with the sauce below. The sauce was disappointing as it was not fragrant enough although there were small pieces of garlic in the sauce. This dish would have been much better with more white wine sauce.

I wish that I live at the east side of Singapore. I did not know about this place till now. Well it is better late than never. Overall, I thought that the food (the two items I have tried) could have been better. But let's not forget that it is very cheap! I will not call it cheap and good food, but more of cheap and decent/average food. Hopefully, I will have more chance to explore the T2 Staff Canteen. If you know what's nice here, let me know. 

Wild Olives (Changi Airport T2 Staff Canteen)
Stall 5, Staff Canteen Level 3M
Airport Boulevard, Changi Airport Terminal 2 - Public Area
Staff Canteen Opening Hours: Mon to Fri 7am - 8pm
                                                 Sat, Sun & PH 7am - 9pm
Location

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Peperoni Pizzeria (Hillcrest)

Peperoni Pizzeria is owned by the Les Amis Group. Peperoni Pizzeria specialises in serving Italian cuisine such as pizzas and pasta. They are well known for their family size pizza. Today, there are three outlets in Hillcrest, Binjai Park and Frankel Avenue.

This is my 2nd visit to Peperoni Pizzeria, I visited it's outlet at Hillcrest (Greenwood Avenue) again.It is quite ulu, located a long distance away from the nearest bus stop. The best mode of transport to this place will be by car. However, parking can be a problem during peak hours.

Wood-fired Oven

The pizzas are cooked using traditional wood-fired oven.

Noticed anything abnormal? 

There's crayons on the table! And instead of having table clothes, paper is used. This way, customers can draw on the paper while waiting for their food to be served. 

Noticed some of the drawings being pasted on the wall? 

There's no service charge in Peperoni Pizzeria.

Noticed another abnormality here? (hint look at the cost of ice water and extra ice!)

Well, the ice water and extra ice are actually Free Of Charge (FOC). They are just trying to make a dig about places that charge money for plain water. 

Pizza Menu

Pizza Menu

Ordered a Large (12 inch) Pizza. The pizza is made on the spot upon order and take about 15 minutes to be served. 

Large Pizza (Prosciutto Crudo di Parma & Funghi) $23

Looks appetising? The pizza crust is thin and crispy. This is the second time I ordered the Prosciutto Crudo di Parma which consist of parma ham and rocket salad. The rocket salad complemented the parma ham well and enhanced the flavour of the pizza. Wish that more rocket salad was added. The Funghi pizza consist of mixed mushrooms (button, shitake and porcini). I am a mushroom person, hence found this delicious. But if I was to make a choice, the Prosciutto Crudo di Parma is a must order!

Pasta Menu

Pasta Menu

Besides ordering a pizza? we ordered a pasta too. We ordered Squid Ink pasta as we heard (online) that it was their signature dish. The Squid Ink pasta took around 20 minutes to be served.

Squid Ink Pasta (Spaghetti) $22

The Squid Ink Pasta was well coated in squid ink ensuring a consistent black colour and it was not dry. Moreover, the squid ink was fresh and there was no fishy taste. The squid was well cooked. The Squid Ink Pasta was so delicious that I wish that more serving was given. Certainly a must order!

Overall, Peperoni Pizzeria is the place to come for pizzas and squid ink pasta. Moreover, the prices on it's menu are NETT. Which means there are no extra charges. Despite not having any service charge, the staff  are attentive and observant. I am certain that there will be a third visit for me! If this place was more conveniently located, I would have been a regular here!

Peperoni Pizzeria (Hillcrest)
6 Greenwood Ave
Hillcrest Park
Opening hours: Mon to Sat 12pm - 1030pm
                        Sun 11am - 1030pm
Tel: 6465 6556
Website
Facebook


Peperoni Pizzeria (Binjai Park)
7 Binjai Park
Tel: 6463 7800
Opening Hours: Mon to Fri 12pm - 1030pm
                          Sat to Sunday 1030am - 1030pm


Peperoni Pizzeria (Frankel Avenue)
95 Frankel Avenue
Tel: 6445 5661
Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 12pm- 1030pm
                          Sun 11am - 1030pm

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