Peperoni Pizzeria (Thomson)

Portobello Funghi Pizza

Peperoni Pizzeria, owned by the Les Amis Group, specialises in serving Italian cuisine such as its wood-fired pizzas and traditional pasta. I first patronised Peperoni Pizzeria in 2012 at Hillcrest (Greenwood Avenue). Back then, they had only 3 outlets. Today, they are so successful that they have expanded to 7 outlets with its newest outlet at Thomson! 

Their Thomson outlet opened in 2016 and is located at the end of the row of shophouses where UOB is located at. We visited on a weekday afternoon and was not surprised to see that there were few customers. This was also partly due to the construction works for the upcoming MRT station. When the station is operational, I am sure the area will be bustling with people. 

traditional wood-fired oven

The pizzas are cooked using traditional wood-fired oven. I like the fact that customers are able to see the kitchen and how the food are being cooked. It is visually appealing and provides assurance on not only hygiene, but also the standard of the food.

Peperoni Set Lunch

The Set Lunch, available only during lunch time on Mondays to Fridays, is so value for money considering that it cost $14.90 nett! Moreover, it includes salad and drink. 

We ordered two set lunches. 

Garden Salad, Coke, Sprite

The Garden Salad along with Coke and Sprite.

Amatriciana 

We ordered the Amatriciana pasta; linguine with sauteed Bacon and Onions in Tomato Sauce, which was excellent! The bacon bits provided a savoury flavour while the onions provided a crunchy texture. Also, the taste of the tomato sauce was just right and had the right amount of tangy-ness.

Portobello Funghi Pizza

Being someone who likes mushroom, it should not be a surprise that I ordered this - Portobello Funghi Pizza. It consisted of portobello mushroom, tomato concasse, scallion served with a sunny-side up egg and a dash of truffle oil. The wood-fire pizza's crust was thin and crisp, and it was delicious!

I quite like the food at Peperoni Pizzeria. Moreover, in terms of cost, the price is NETT which means that there is no service charge! 

Peperoni Pizzeria (Thomson)

267 Upper Thomson Road

Singapore 574394

Tel: 6509 1575

Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 12pm - 11pm 

                           Sun 11am - 11pm 

                           Closed on certain PH

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Saveur (Purvis Street)

Saveur's Pasta $4.90

Saveur is a restaurant serving affordable French Cuisine. The owners of the restaurant first the business in a coffeeshop before moving to its present location at Purvis Street. Today, the restaurant occupies 2 units at Purvis Street (side by side) and has a second outlet at Far East Plaza.

Saveur located at Purvis Street is directly opposite the National Library. It is around 10 minutes walk from either Bugis or City Hall MRT station.

There used to be long queues at the restaurant but now that the hype has died down and it has 2 units (larger seating capacity), there was no need to wait or queue for a table despite it being a weekend evening. Outside its entrance, there was even a small kiosk for customers to key in their mobile number to enter the queue. I guess there's no need for this now.

The restaurant was around 70% full during our time of visit. Looking at its kitchen counter, it still looks so classy and modern despite its pricing.

French Onion Soup $8.90

The French Onion Soup $8.90 with served with a slice of toasted french loaf was probably the most 'not-for-value' dish. It comes with a pricey price tag and in addition, it failed in the taste department. There was a weird after taste.

Potato au Gratin $3

For sides, we ordered the Potato au Gratin $3. I wonder if it was me, but the word 'Gratin' typically means that the dish is baked and comes with (top) layer of light brown crust. This was not the Potato au Gratin I was expecting. Nevertheless, at $3 this was a decent dish in terms of taste. Maybe they should rename this dish.

Saveur's Pasta $4.90

We also ordered their signature Saveur's Pasta $4.90 for sharing. It consisted of Angel’s Hair Pasta with minced pork sauce, sakura ebi, kombu and chilli oil. Tossing everything together, the taste was amazing with hints of sweetness, saltiness and just a slight hint of spiciness at times. I wonder how come it was not spicy if chilli oil was added. Priced at $4.90 this was a real steal, I could not have expected more in terms of taste at such pricing. It even came nicely plated.

Duck Confit $12.90

I ordered the Duck Confit $12.90. The Duck Confit was served on top of a bed of mashed potato with sauteed shitake with parsley and garlic at the side.

Duck Confit $12.90

The Duck Confit, typically prepared by roasting the leg of the duck till it is crispy was on the skinny side. It was not meaty enough. Moreover, some parts of the duck leg was not even cooked and hence was not crisp. Those parts that were crisp were very well executed. The mashed potato at the bottom was delicious. I was scrapping the empty plate to ensure that none were wasted.

Seabass $14.90

The partner ordered the Seabass $14.90 which was pan-seared. It was served with sauteed potato and french beans.

Seabass $14.90

The Seabass was incredibly fresh with no fishy after taste and its skin was pan-seared till it was so crisp. What puzzled us was that the french beans were layered (i.e. sliced in-between to make it 2 halves). The crunchiness was lost as a result.  

The french food at Saveur is quite affordable and value for money. Other than the French Onion Soup, it would be hard to find such prices at anywhere else. If you are on a budget, this is a place to consider. In terms of ambience, the restaurant was crowded and noisy. It was hard to strike a conversation at times.  

Saveur (Purvis Street)

5 Purvis Street #01-05/06

Singapore 188584

Tel: 6333 3121​

Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 12pm - 215pm, 6pm - 915pm

                          Sun 12pm - 215pm, 6pm - 9pm

Website 

Saveur (Far East Plaza) 

14 Scotts Road

#01-07B Far East Plaza

Singapore 228213

Tel: 6736 1121

Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 1130am - 930pm

                          Sun 1130 - 9pm

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Liang Court Wednesdays' Food Tasting Trails: Tamoya, Shakey's Pizza and Dulcet & Studio

Continue on with my previous post on Liang Court Wednesdays' Food Tasting Trails, I made 2 trips down to Liang Court on the last day of the food trail for both lunch and dinner. 

Tamoya Udon

For lunch, I visited Tamoya Udon which is a Japanese restaurant that specialises in handmade Udon.

Tamoya Udon

With the Liang Court's Wednesdays' Food Trail Coupon, I was able to try the large Curry Udon (U.P $10.80) with Prawn Tempura (U.P $2.50), Fried Chicken (U.P $1.50) and Chikuwa Tempura (U.P $1). 

Curry Udon

The Curry Udon was delicious. The Udon handmade using three types of flour was the highlight. It was chewy yet soft and smooth. The curry with lots of onions added to it complemented the udon well. 

Prawn Tempura, Chikuwa Tempura and Fried Chicken

The Fried Chicken was decent, while the Prawn and Chikuwa Tempura were disappointing. Both the tempura were cold, hard and no longer crisp. They were also coated with too much batter.

For dinner, the Partner and I went for Shakey's Pizza.

The Liang Court's Wednesdays' Food Trail Coupon provided us with several choices:
(a) Slim Trim Caesar Salad (U.P $5) and Spaghetti Carbonara (U.P $13.80)
(b) Shakey's Baby Back Ribs (Full Slab) (U.P $19.80)
(c) Oishi Wasabi Premium Pizza (90-inch) (U.P $19.80) or;
     Hula Hawaiian Classic Pizza (9-inch)(U.P $18.80)

We went for option (a) and (c). 

Slim Trim Caesar Salad and Spaghetti Carbonara

We ordered the Slim Trim Caesar Salad and Spaghetti Carbonara.

Slim Trim Caesar Salad 

The Slim Trim Caesar Salad consisted of lettuce, egg, parmesan cheese, bacon bits and garlic bread was quite good. Considering the fact that we seldom take salad, we finish this entire dish!

Spaghetti Carbonara

The Spaghetti Carbonara served with bacon and mushrooms with creamy egg sauce may not be the best, but it as certainly quite decently executed.

Oishi Wasabi Premium Pizza 

As we wanted to try something different we decided to order Oishi Wasabi Premium Pizza which consisted of shrimps, scallops, pineapples and wasabi sauce topped with lots of bonito flakes. Surprisingly, the wasabi sauce did not overwhelm the taste and complemented this dish well. We both felt that the shrimps and scallops did not match up to this pizza. Both ingredients were not exactly fresh. What a waste.

Dulcet & Studio

After dinner we walked round the shopping centre and also visited Mediya, the Japanese supermarket while waiting for our food to digest. Before, we headed back home, we stopped over at Dulcet & Studio for its cakes.

The food trail coupon enabled us to order two pieces of cakes and also a cup of regular coffee. As we visited at close to 9pm, most of the more popular cakes had already been sold out. We were just left with three choices. =(

We chose the Rose Chiffon Cake (U.P. $7) and Macha Marble Chiffon Cake (U.P. $4)  with a cup of regular coffee.

Macha Marble Chiffon Cake

The Macha Marble Chiffon Cake was just average. It was soft and fluffy but too dry.  The macha flavour could have been stronger.

Rose Chiffon Cake

The Rose Chiffon Cake fared better. It was soft, fluffy and had a stronger rose fragrant.

The coffee was a huge disappointment. We took just two sips and left it untouched.

That's all for the Liang Court Wednesdays' Food Tasting Trails. I wonder if they will hold this again next year. It's so value for money!

Liang Court Wednesdays' Food Tasting Trails: Tamoya, Shakey's Pizza and Dulcet & Studio
Liang Court, 177 River Valley Road
Singapore 179030
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Jamie's Italian Restaurant in Singapore (Vivocity)

Most food fanatics in Singapore would have probably read or heard that Jamie Oliver has opened a restaurant in Singapore called "Jamie's Italian". The 210 seater restaurant offers both indoors and alfresco dining.

I joined Pinky Piggu, Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow and Sg Food on Foot for dinner at the restaurant on a weekday. There was a long queue outside the restaurant. Thanks to Pinky Piggu who made the reservation, we did not have to join the queue. As this was Pinky Piggu's and Sg Food on Foot's second visit, they knew which dishes to avoid and which to order.

When ordering, we were surprised that several dishes such as Baked Mushrooms and Wild Mushroom Ravioli were already sold out. Looks like its advisable to come early.

Meat Plank ($15.50 per pax) 

Left with fewer choices, we ordered the Meat Plank ($15.50 per pax) which consisted of cured meat, pickles, cheeses (Buffalo Mozzarella and Pecorino with Chilli Jam) and crunchy salad. The cured meat were arranged in such a way that it was supposed to be consumed from the left to right.

Meat Plank ($15.50 per pax) - Buffalo Mozzarella, Crunchy Salad and Pecorino with Chilli Jam (left to right)

My favourite item on the meat plank was the Pecorino with Chilli Jam. It consisted of a thin piece of sardinian flat bread with pecorino cheese. The chilli jam on top was the 'icing on the cake'! It complemented the cheese perfectly! 

We also ordered several mains to share. The Risotto, Ravioli and Pasta comes in two sizes; small and large. Hence, there are two prices in the menu. For the pasta, the small and large portion weighs 75 and 150g respectively. According to the waitress, the pasta were all freshly made - daily with love. They had a molding machine which could churn out different pasta shapes.

Wild Truffle Risotto $16.50 

I thought that the Wild Truffle Risotto $16 / $24.50 was disappointing. I would have preferred if it was more flavourful and the risotto rice was softer (well, personal preference). Luckily we were sharing the dishes, I can't imagine myself finishing the whole dish by myself without feeling jerlak.

Jools' Favourite Sicilian Tuna Fusilli $14

The Jools' Favourite Sicilian Tuna Fusilli $14 / $21 name after Jamie Oliver's wife was a dish which he created for his wife when she was pregnant. As such this dish was skewed towards a sourish flavour with a tangy kick. In addition, using fusilli pasta (corkscrew shaped) allowed  the pasta to be coated with more of the sauce. I quite like the overall taste of this pasta.

Tagliatelle Bolognese $15

The Tagliatelle Bolognese $15 / $22 with it's meat mix of beef, pork, herbs and cheese was delish.  In addition, the Bolognese sauce was robust and flavourful.

Next up are the two most expensive mains in the restaurant.

Pink Snapper Acqua Pazza $32

The Pink Snapper Acqua Pazza which cost $32 consisted of a whole pink snapper with olives, garlic wine, capers, parsley and baby plum tomatoes. It was surprisingly good! From the appearance alone, judging from the eyes of the fish, a fish fanatic would be able to tell that this fish was extremely fresh!

The Pink Snapper Acqua Pazza was executed perfectly, cooked to precise timing (not a second more, not a second less). The flesh of its meat was incredibly soft and moist. If it was cooked a little longer, the meat would have been overcooked and become hard and stiff. The sauce was equally up to the mark. It was light with fine balance of delicately sweet and salty flavour. A must order!!!

30 Day Mature Prime Rib (with truffle butter and shaved black truffles) $64.50

The 30 Day Mature Prime Rib cost $59.50, we added truffle butter & shaved Tuscan black truffles for $5.00. This main consisted of Angus breed bone-in strip loin served with wild mushrooms and peppery endives.

This was insanely delicious!! They have cooked this to perfection too. Even the sides (wild mushrooms and peppery endives) were downright delish! Another must order!!! The steak was done medium-rare, it was pinkish in the medium throughout the whole piece of steak - cooked evenly. It was just so tender, juicy, moist and well-seasoned! The melted truffle butter, further enhanced the tasty and 'moisturise' the meat. Satisfying and value for money!

Tutti Frutti Lemon Meringue $11.50

For desserts, we ordered the Tutti Frutti Lemon Meringue and Creamy Panna Cotta. 

I felt that the Tutti Frutti Lemon Meringue $11.50 was average. Nothing particularly outstanding about it.

Creamy Panna Cotta $9

As for the Creamy Panna Cotta $9, it would be a dish which I would recommend. Both Pinky Piggu and Sg Food on Foot felt that the one which they had during their previous visit was better. This being my first visit and I thought that the Creamy Panna Cotta was outstanding!

The Creamy Panna Cotta was smooth, soft and wobbly. I really like the rasberry fruit compote which coated the outer layer of the Panna Cotta. In addition, after each bite of the Panna Cotta, the creamy and sweet after-taste which set in had me longing for more of this! The more I indulge in it, the more I love it! A must order!!

What a wonderful way to end the meal!

Overall, there were hits and misses. The two pastas we tried were decent, but the two most expensive mains; Pink Snapper Acqua Pazza and 30 Day Mature Prime Rib stole the show! It was worth the price ordering these two mains. Another item which I would order again is the Creamy Panna Cotta!

Service-wise, it was excellent! The waiters and waitresses frequently stop by to gather feedback from customers with regards to the food. In addition, they changed our plates frequently and on one occasion even our utensils. I can't help but wonder if it was because they knew that this was a group of 'bloggers'.

I can't wait to come back again to Jamie's Italian Restaurant! It is advisable to make reservations before coming. I have been eyeing Wild Mushroom Ravioli. If you have tried it before, do let me know if its good.

Do note that the menu in Jamie's Italian Restaurant will change twice a year with up to 20 dishes dishes being replaced. 

Jamie's Italian Restaurant in Singapore (Vivocity)
1 HarbourFront Walk
VivoCity, #1 165-167
Singapore 098585
Tel: 6733 5500
Opening Hours: Sun to Thurs 12pm - 10pm
                         Fri to Sat 12pm - 11pm

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La Birreria, Piazza del Campo and Siena Cathedral (Italy, Siena)

Piazza del Campo

La Birreria is a restaurant located at the edge of Palio di Siena in Piazza del Campo. There are many different restaurants along the entire circumference of Palio di Siena as is a tourist attraction. In the past,  it was the site of public events and races such as bullfights, jousting and boxing. This was also the place where the James Bond Quantum of Solace's horse scene was filmed (do you remember?). Today, this site is used for many different events throughout the year. The most notable event is the prestige horse race which is held twice a year on 2 July and 16 August. As we visited during December, the event that was held at the centre of Palio di Siena was a Christmas market (yet again)!

The restaurant was unique, it had a big sitting capacity (indoors and alfresco dining). Inside the restaurant, we were surprised that it part of it was in the basement. As you can see from the photo, the inner part of the restaurant like a basement dungeon! The picture shows the 2nd 'basement room'. Each 'basement room' was  a few steps 'deeper'. We sat at the third 'basement room'. How cool is that! There was no windows and it was just brick walls and arches; real solid bricks, not fake wall or wallpaper. Moreover, there were several TV screens showing the sports (soccer) channel. I am sure it gets crowded when there is a soccer match! 

Part of the wall was decorated with photos of the prestige horse race that the locals look forward to. The quiet and unique environment of the restaurant made me felt as if I had taken a time machine back to the  ancient days. Now where's my sword and amour? It felt good to be away from our fast paced life in Singapore.

The menu was impressive; it came with five languages! There was German, French, Spanish and English! As for the fifth language, I could not even understand some of the characters as they looked like alien language to me! Its a norm in Europe to have their menu in different languages.

Vegetable soup with bread 7.50€ (S$11.75)

We ordered the "Ribollita alla sense" which in English was translated as "Vegetable Soup with Bread" on the the menu. It cost 7.50€ (S$11.75). Although the price was on the high end, we decided to order a bowl of soup to share to 'defrost' our cold bodies in the cold winter.

Imagine our shock when the Vegetable Soup with Bread (photo above) was served to us. We even told the waitress that we did not ordered this. She went back to the kitchen to check our order and insisted that this was what we ordered. Because of our language differences (she is fluent in Italian while us in English), we resorted to pointing to the menu to show what we ordered and she told us that Yes, this is the Vegetable Soup with Bread!

Well, we did not have any hot soup to go along with our meal. The Vegetable Soup with Bread was unique. It was moist and lots of 'mashed' bread was added to soak up all the soup. Chunks of carrots, onions, beans and potatoes were mixed among the bread. It was delish and rich in flavour.

When I came back home, I found out that Ribollita is a Tuscan soup made with boiled vegetable and bread (normally stale bread is used). Interesting! 

Pappardelle with Wild Boar 11€ (S$17.23)

For mains, we ordered Pappardelle with Wild Boar which cost 11€ (S$17.23). Pappardelle are large and broad flat pasta noodles. It was hard to compared the wild boar to other meat (e.g. chicken, pork) as it was minced. It tasted like minced pork meat. The pasta with wild boar was delicious though I would have preferred a pasta that was not so wide.

I remember when I was a kid, I ate braised chinese style wild boar meat at a hawker centre. However, now its rare to be able to find such meat at hawker centres (if you know of any, please let me know). You can still get wild boar at western (Italian) restaurants in Singapore.

We also ordered a Prosciutto e Funghi (Pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, ham and mushrooms) which was priced at 8€ (S$12.54) . The Prosciutto e Funghi was freshly made upon order and took more than 20 minutes to prepare. It was fantastic; great Italian pizza! The freshness of the ingredient and execution was perfect! You can pop by into any Italian restaurant and be assured that the quality of their pizzas are top notch! It was a pity that we did not manage to take any photo of the pizza as we were in a rush.

Siena Cathedral (Duomo di Siena)

The Siena Cathedral (Duomo di Siena) located at Piazza del Duomo was a 10 minutes walk from Piazza del Campo. 

La Birreria and Siena Cathedral (Italy, Siena)

Piazza Il Campo 58 

53100 Siena, Italy

Tel: +39 0577 284424

Website

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