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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Caffè Mezzaparte and Attractions in Verona (Italy, Verona)

At Verona (Italy), we visited the Arena, Juliet's Balcony and Piazza delle Erbe (used to be a gathering point in the past during the Rome period). 

Arena

Arena

The Arena was a Roman Amphitheater, which is now being used for concerts and events. As you may notice from the photo, there was a Christmas Market (tents in white) next to the Arena. 

At the centre of Piazza delle Erbe, there was a Chrismas market too! There seemed to be a Christmas market everywhere in Europe. Having seen so many different Christmas markets and they all basically sells all kinds of products (including Christmas products) and local food. Its a good chance to savour their local food at relatively cheap prices.

Lamberti's Tower

The Lamberti's Tower, a 14th century tower is the tallest tower in verona built at the Piazza delle Erbe. 

There were many restaurants around the area and the price were on the high end. After looking around for sometime, we decided to patronise the restaurant called Caffè Mezzaparte which was located next to the Christmas market. 

Main entrance 

Caffè Mezzaparte had a cozy environment with a nice quiet ambience. There were lots of seating capacity  with indoors and alfresco area. There were no one at the alfresco area as it was freezing cold. In Caffè Mezzaparte, there was even a unisex toilet in the basement! 

Menu cover

Although the menu is in Italian, the good news is that there are English, German and French translations in the menu too!  

Minestrone di verdure 8 € (S$12.54)

Minestrone di verdure 8 € (S$12.54)

We ordered a bowl of Minestrone di verdure (Vegetable soup) which cost 8€ (S$12.54) to share. During winter, its always ideal to start off with a bowl of hot soup, especially since we are not used to the cold weather. 

The Vegetable Soup was heart warming. Although we were in an Italian restaurant, the soup reminded me of home - Chinese Soup. It tasted like a Chinese cuisine too (perfect cure if you are sick of european food)! Clear, tasty soup that was full of cubes of potatoe, carrot, cucumber, onion and leek. Simple yet delicious! 

Tortellini panna e prosciutto 8.50 € (S$13.32)

For our main course, we ordered a plate of Tortellini panna e prosciutto (Tortellini with ham and cream) for 8.50€ (S$13.32). Tortellini are navel shaped or ring shaped pasta filled with a mixture of meat and cheese in it. (you can imagine it as our local wantons, with meat in it.) Most freshly made tortellini without artificial preservatives have a shell life of a few weeks.

The Tortellini with ham and cream was served with shredded ham. The pasta was on the outside was firm and the inside was filled with meat.  It was cheesy and tasty. 

Risotto con funghi porcini 9 € (S$14.1)

We also ordered the Risotto con funghi porcini (Risotto with procini mushrooms) which cost 9€ (S$14.1). I thought that this was well executed. The al dente Risotto rice (firm but not hard) was evenly cooked and had the right creaminess - slightly creamy. It was slightly sticky (which is a norm) due to its ability to adsorb water and release starch. The Risotto was incredibly tasty and flavourful, with each mouthful, a rich, strong and distinct fragrance of mushroom would burst out. Mushroom lovers will definitely like this dish. The only issue I have is the lack of ingredients considering the price!

The food that we had was decent but pricey. Please note that the drinks here seemed to be even more expensive. We did not order any drinks and instead drank from our own bottled water. Oh yes, the pizzas are quite good too and can be shared among 2 persons.

We also visited the Juliet's Balcony (Museum).

As you walked into Juliet's House, you will notice this wall filled with love notes and graffiti. There were even chewing gums stuck on the wall. As a result, this wall has been proclaimed as the dirtiest wall in the world. Many visitors believed that writing love notes on the wall would make their love everlasting. 

Left to right: Bronze statue of Juliet, Juliet's Balcony

Juliet's House and Balcony, located in Verona just off Piazza delle Erbe is one of the most visited place in this town. It has been claimed that this is the property of the Dal Cappello family since the 1200s. From this, derives the name Capuleti, the house of Juliet. Hence, since the 1800s, this location has been a tourist attraction  Even Charles Dickens has recorded his impression the this residence in written word. 

Did you notice that certain parts of the bronze statue of Juliet seemed to shine? It was the most touched (worn out) part of the statue. This maybe because there is a legend that if a person strokes the right breast of the statue, that person will have good fortune. Now the question would be how come even the left side seems to shine?

Caffè Mezzaparte (Italy, Verona)

Piazza dell'Erbe, 8/a, 37121 

Verona, Italy

Tel:  +39 045 590590 ‎

Location

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