The restaurant looks quite good. Overall ambience is nice, quite light and comfortable. So we were quite excited when we entered.

We started with ordering the plain bread, which was roasted well, served with two  pieces of butter.

Then we had the Carpaccio, which is normally my favourite dish. However it was a dissapointment: meat didn't look so fresh, when we took a bite, the meat was very cold, almost still frozen. Therefore it didn't had the right taste, it was almost a bit sour.

For our child we ordered the maccheroni with Alfredo sauce. Size of the portion was good, and the pasta tasted creamy, with small pieces of chicken and some green peas. It was pretty good.

Also the other pasta we ordered, the tagliatelle "Al prosciutto di parma" tasted very well. A nice combination of white cream sauce and tomato sauce. Pasta was  cooked perfectly "Al Dente".

The pizza prosciutto e Funghi, was a just ok, a thin pizza, but the bottom was not like an italian pizza "crispy" unfortunately.

To finish the meal we ordered the chocolate mousse and the Pesca Melba with cassata flavored ice cream. it was very sweet, but not bad.
The chocolate mousse looked yummie, but didn't taste as good as it looked. A somewhat bitter taste, but didn't taste like the bitterness of pure chocolate.

When i had to pay, i asked the waiter to give me the American Express promotion they have until end of 2013. It says "complimentary dessert with minimum spend of 60 SGD". The waiter then went outside to look at the two special advertisement boards that they placed outside the restaurant and then returned to tell me that the promotion was not valid that day, because it was a Saturday, and promotion was only valid on week days. A bit puzzled, but admitting that i remembered seeing an asterix with some small printed conditions on the advertisement, i paid the full 124 SGD.

However when i walked out, and passed the advertisement boards again i checked the fine prints (see also picture). It mentioned quite a few conditions, but not that the promotion was not valid during the weekend. So I went back into the restaurant again and talked to the apparent manager. When i confronted her that there was not such condition mentioned, she told me that "the asterix meant that they could specify any condition, and that if i would have asked them they would have told me". I told them that i found their advertisement misleading, especially because on a Saturday they put these advertisements out on the street, while at the same time claiming the promotion is not valid that day. The manager did not apologize, and just said i should have asked.

So, for me, the mediocre taste became sour. I really felt cheated.
At home, i checked again their advertisement with their AMEX promotion, but still couldn't find anything mentioned about the promotion not being valid during weekend.

???????, ????. ???????????????????, ??????????????????... ???, ???, ??????... ???: Pasta Fresca Da Salvatore ??: 39 Rochester Drive, Rochester Mall, Singapore 138641

I’m glad that my once pasta-hating makan kaki has come to embrace the dish, though it took a few tries to convince K that one culinary disaster doesn’t mean that all pasta taste bad.

The flexibility of having our pasta customized to our preference was certainly appealing. While it’s easy to decide what sauce we wanted (olive oil, seafood, tomato or cream), the selection of pasta was wider with 18 different types to choose from. Incidentally, both of us ended up with dumplings.

K loves cheese and ordered ai quattro formaggi ($17.20). The cream sauce with a combination of four cheeses – danish blue, emmenthal, mozzarella and parmesan – was overwhelming for me. Not too bad with a mouthful or two but I couldn’t imagine finishing the entire dish on my own, mainly because I’ve never liked the stink of parmesan. The vegetable stuffing in ravioli verdi (spinach) was perhaps too little since it’s hardly discernible.

I had alla pugliese ($16.90) and the traditional sauce with broccoli, anchovies and pecorino cheese in chili, garlic and olive oil was delightful. A bit salty due to shavings of the hard crumbly cheese but it complemented the chewy gnocchi (potatoes). The mild spiciness also added flavor and interest.

We rounded off the meal with tiramisu al mascarpone e caffé ($9.30). This rendition of the traditional italian mascarpone cheese and coffee cake was firm yet moist.

The restaurant was cozy and intimate (read: small tables placed close together) with dim lighting. Our quiet dinner turned out pleasant and service was attentive. Moreover, questions about the VIP card were met with patience and friendliness.