Pasta & Pizza...

Tip: Sign up for the Black Hole Group membership and get 400 points on your birthday month (= 2x $20 voucher) on top of other perks! We dropped by on a Wednesday night and there were seats avail.

Aglio Alright ($19.90) - Tiger prawns | EVOO | Garlic Confit | Sous Vide Egg | Grana Padano. I thought the flavours and texture were all over the place; was expecting an aglio olio style pasta but the egg made it creamy and muted the garlic flavour. Also, made a mistake and added the bird's eye chilli which was so so spicy haha!

Creamy Crab ($24.90) - Crabmeat | Garlic Cream Sauce. This was delicious! Generous lumps of crabmeat, paired very well with the addictive, garlicky, creamy sauce. Adding additional garlic chips and chilli flakes was a good touch too.

Overall, Tipo has a wide selection of house special pastas and their fresh pasta choices were also good, albeit I couldn't really taste much of it. However, the place was quite cramped and echoey, and on the night we visited there was a large group with kids seated right in the middle of the restaurant. The kids were running around and made a huge ruckus, with us unfortunately being seated right beside them. We just quickly finished our meal and left the venue before the annoyance level creeped up. Perhaps the large tables could be situated at the corner of the restaurant to minimise such disturbances.

To say this place was popular would be an under-exaggeration - I think there was a period of time where my IG and Tiktok feeds were flooded with influencers raving about the quality and affordability of Chicco's pasta. As always, i had to try it to believe it.

Cauliflower ($14) - Half a head of cauliflower that was tender and the torched exterior was where the best bits were, but otherwise didn't have much of a taste in itself. Garlic chilli sauce was the saving grace but we also did not fancy it that much.

Mafaldine ($24) - What everyone and their pets were raving about. First things first, the spanner crab & bisque sauce was outstanding. Creamy and packing a briney-crabby punch, I daresay I would lick the plate if I could. However, the texture of the mafaldine was slightly off, on the mushier side which I thought was a let-down.

Pistachio Tiramisu ($12) - Visually impressive, taste-wise I thought was better than average as well. Very generous with the pistachio bits, and the crunchy-nuttiness worked well with the coffee mascarpone. Only thing was that I thought the coffee taste could have been more pronounced, felt like it faded away beneath the sweetness.

Overall, a decent place for pasta, but don't sell it too high to your date.

Located at the revamped Margaret Market near Queenstown MRT, Fernando's offers polished New-York pizzas in a wide range of flavours - 18 different varieties! - guaranteed to suit every tastebuds. Excited to sample as many as we could, we went with three half-and-halfs ($29 each) with the following:

- The Trio at Trio (Cream Cheese | Cherry Tomato | Basil). The good ol tripartite of cheese, tomato and basil. Simple but good, although I would have preferred mozzarella cheese and plumper tomatoes.
- Mario Mushroom Kingdom (Mozzarella | Roasted Seasonal Mushrooms | Chicken Sausages | Sautéed Shallots | Truffle Oil). Can't go wrong with mushrooms on cheesy base, and I appreciated the different mushroom types used.
- Cheese It Up (Mozzarella | Bresse Bleu | Fontina | Red Cheddar). Great with the hot honey. But can't compare with Pizza 4P's rendition, if you have been and wanted a comparison.
- Luigi Green Pesto (Provolone Cheese | Mushrooms | Walnuts | Tomato | Rosemary | Pesto). Love anything pesto, but this could use more.
- Where's the Beef (Mozzarella | Braised Beef | Mushrooms | Red Onions | Red Bell Pepper | Cherry Tomatoes | Rosemary | Parmesan). True to its name, we were left wondering about the smatterings of beef. Also, using braised beef is pretty curious; perhaps beef mince would be a better fit for pizza.
- Prince Roni (Mozzarella | Pepperoni | Oregano | Chilli Oil). Not a big fan of pepperoni so can't comment.

We also shared two lasagnas - Garfield's Favourite ($19) and Creamy Chicken ($19). Sorry Garfield, we preferred the chicken one more as the beef ragu, although rich and delicious, fell a little flat after a while as compared to the chicken with its muti-layered dimensions from the cream and spinach mixed with the tomato sauce.

For sides, we had the Central Park Salad ($14) - good but c'mon, you can probably make enough salad to feed 2 families at this price, Pigs in a Cheesy Blanket (5 pcs for $12) - juicy meatballs but disappointed by the small portion, and the NY-Style Calamari ($14) - tender squid but the batter was just bland and in the way.

There were some hits and misses but overall, Fernando's would be a great place for pizza if you're in the area. Although the tables in their store space can get a little cramped, you can also choose to have your pizzas in the central area and just enjoy the hustle and bustle of Margaret Market. Make it a full blown spread too with drinks and dessert from the neighbouring stores!

Thanks Burpple for the invited tasting!

Fun and lively place just a short walk away from Hillview MRT, we decided to celebrate a birthday here as the birthday girl was craving italian food and this had been getting lots of social media buzz lately.

Started off with the Porchetta ($9 for small) which was sooo delicious - luxuriously fatty with a decently crackling skin, with fennel rub inbetween for a mild sweetness. Dip it in the accompanying sharp mustard sauce to cut through the greasiness! Small portion was just nice for 3 pax surprisingly, and you wouldn't want to eat too much of this fattiness.

Next was the Traditional Stuffed Roman Schiacciata ($10 for small) which looked assuming on first glance but was sooo addictive and I couldn't taking bite after bite of it. Think a simple cheese sandwich but with a rich truffle layer inside. The crustiness of the bread paired with the earthy gooeyness of the truffle cheese was just heavenly.

Of course, Burrata has to be a staple whenever we visit an italian restaurant, and the simple Burrata ($19) with parma ham, rucola, and cherry tomatoes didn't fail to disappoint. My only gripe would be that the burrata portion could have been larger for its price.

Couldn't resist more carbs so we ordered the Bruschetta ($8) with Sicilian fresh tomatoes and italian basil. A simple italian classic, but done so well here. Tomatoes were especially sweet and tart, and were what made this dish so delicious. However, birthday girl didn't really enjoy the sharpness of the garlic cubes, but she made do by mashing them up and spreading it onto the bread. Improvise, adapt, overcome!

At this point, we realised we didn't have a vege dish so we settled on the Baked Eggplant Parmigiana ($14) which was layers of eggplant in a hearty tomato stew. Loved the sweet nuttiness of the eggplant, and the tomato stew was equally rich and packed with umami. Wished we had saved some of the Schiaciatta to dip in the sauce.

Loaded with the small bites and starters, onto our one pasta main - the Cacio e Pepe ($20). Pretty decent, creamy sauce that wasn't stringy, but I would've chosen a more exciting pasta on a return trip.

Finally, we've reached the end of our meal and what better way to finish with the italian classic desserts - Pistachio Tiramisu ($14) and Cannoli ($12). The tiramisu was a banger; can't think of any other words to describe it. Loved it, you got to try it for yourself. As for the Cannoli, it was my first time trying it and I liked the sweet ricotta filling with chocolate chips and pistachio crumbs to give it a pop of nuttiness and sweetness. I thought the pastry shells were going to be crisp but they were more flaky, but I also liked it.

Overall, loved the vibes of the restaurant but it was pretty packed on a Tuesday night and I thought the service staff could be a little bit more friendly and attentive. Would have been nice to be shown some welcoming gestures, and we were disappointed that there was no birthday surprise even though we specified it in our reservation (another table got a cake with a candle). Still, loved the food and prices are pretty value-for-money as well. Would return!

Quite a unique combi and while the butter chicken couldn't replicate the creamy goodness of the authentic ones, it still passed muster. Loved the addition of the pickled onions as well, giving every bite a nice crunch and a slight tang.

A medley of colourful veges adorned over a beautiful tomato sauce atop a delicious sourdough base. Think semi-dried tomatoes, huge black olives, slices of grilled eggplant and zucchini, slivers of mushrooms and bell peppers and artichokes. Lovely variety and all coming together so well. The accompanying chilli oil was pure goodness as well - drizzle it onto your pizza and also the crust for an added oomph.

We love going to Wine & Kitchen whenever were in the area for their delicious pastas and worth-it Happy Hour! A very cosy establishment tucked in a corner of 111 Somerset perfect for casual lunches to quiet dates.

Their Risotto ($25) never fails to let us down, with rich and creamy risotto paired with chunks of earthy mushrooms. Three stalks of crunchy asparagus crown the dish together with a drizzle of chilli oil. Wow. We also had the Truffle Mushroom Aglio Olio ($25) which was addictively garlicky with a touch of heat. The drizzle of truffle oil really elevated this dish and left me wanting more after the last strand of pasta. Completing the meal was a glass of Happy Hour Osmanthus G&T at $11. With the Burpple 1 for 1 deal for pastas, the total came up to about $42. Perfect!

Drawn by the numerous tiktoks/ig on this Cheesewheel Pasta, we dropped by Saporita on a sweltering, busy, Saturday night. The outdoor foodcourt was packed with tourists and we felt out of place being there. This was the first time I've eaten here!

Now, on the the pasta. Creamy and suitable cheesy, there was a hint of truffle from the scoop of Truffle Pate they finished off the dish with. Overall, tasted pretty normal and thought there could have been a more robust flavour other than just cream and cheese. Worth a try if you pass by when it's less busy.

This was pretty creamy and delicious. Chock full of chicken chunks, turkey bacon, and mushrooms too.

Prawn Aglio Olio ($16.90), BYO Pink Sauce w/ Mushrooms ($12.40), Royal Ragu ($14.40). Taste-wise was alright, but the pasta was slightly overcooked and royal Ragu had some strange hard grits in it. Portion was also small for its price.

Started off our meal with Lemon Bitter ($15) and Smoked Negroni ($18). Waitstaff were very friendly and welcoming. Space might be abit small and I could see some tables so close to one another, would think that it'll be awkward for dates.

Pretty hefty price for beef Bolognese pasta, but this didn't really deliver in my opinion. Sauce was rich, bordering on overly salty. I know alot of effort goes into stewing the beef sauce, but overall felt like a miss. Smoked Burrata was interesting, but perhaps we should've tried it on a simple salad for the depth of flavour to shine through better.