Al Dente Trattoria (Esplanade)

Four score and seven years ago our fathers... oops, wrong speech. it was my 34th, and i'd credit bro JWNY for organizing & rallying the close knit band of bros to the table for my bday feast.

quite honestly, as it was a surprise stunt for me, the venue was kept a secret from me, and i was merely given the directions to present myself & my empty stomach. standing at the entrance, the wall of awards was staring at me, and i was feared for everyone's wallets. the waiting staff were generous with their smiles and we were ushered the 6 seater with a view of the bay, and MBS towering over the water.

lo & behold, there's actually quite a comprehensive list of wines & beverages for patrons who've come of age. well, foodie as we all were, we paid closer attention to the foods available.

on the order list:

minestrone

coda alla vaccinara (aka oxtail stew)

foie gras di pomodoro e cipolla marmellata

prosciutto di parma melone rock con riduzione di balsamico

alla angus bolognaise (choice of pasta)

angus alla lasagne

alla marinara (choice of pasta)

pizza hawaii

the opinions collected are as follows:

minestrone & oxtail stew were pretty neat- wholesome flavors, true to the taste.

foie gras - was my 1st attempt in all my yrs, and the buttery texture that melts in the mouth, no lingering bitterness compared to all other forms of livers... i believe i'd be looking out for more variants of foie gras hereon after.

angus bolognaise - beyond doubt that its probably the best bolognaise i've tasted so far. me being a meatarian, i was enjoying the chunks of minced angus... u can be certain its definitely not the sort that went through the grinder.

marinara - evidently fresh choice shells of scallops/mussels/clams.

*the tomato sauce for the pastas is nothing short of fresh... definitely not from the tin can.

pizza - ultra thin crust pan pizza, the lightly charred crust adds to the fragrance, if i didnt guess wrong, i think it was kiln baked.

to top it all off... a nice little brownie cake with piped sugar inscriptions. honestly, a little too sweet for my palates. (the cake wasnt from the restaurant)

review dedicated to: JWNY, WRX, WFG, YY

Visited this place for a weekday lunch last week.

The restaurant was not crowded considering it was a Friday. In fact, it was less than half filled.

My partner and I shared the rock melon with parma ham for starter. This is a straight forward dish that does not require great culinary skill to prepare. What is important is the fresh ingredients which for this case did not disappoint. The melon was sweet and nicely chilled and the rockets fresh and crunchy. My only complaint was the quantity of the parma ham. I prefer Prego's version of this dish which comes with a more generous serving of the parma ham.

I had the lobster linguine. The pasta turned out totally different from what I had expected when I ordered the dish. It looked very much tomato based instead of the bisque version stated on the menu. Nevertheless, the lobster meat was fresh and overall a hearty dish.

My partner ordered the lobster meat ravioli. The filling was tasty although I could not really taste the lobster meat. If I were to cook this, I would pair the ravioli with a creamy sauce instead of the lemon butter version.

The chocolate and Kahlua cake was too hard for my liking and I could not really taste the coffee alcohol.

Overall, I find the pricing on the higher side for the average pasta dishes and services. We spent a total of $160 for 2 with wine (house pour).

Chef and Sommelier

For a more detailed review with pictures, please head to http://thehungrybunnie.blogspot.com/2012/02/al-dente-trattoria-esplanade.html

The floor-to-ceiling windows of the restaurant affords a very lovely view of the water and lots of foot traffic for people watching.

We had:

1) Capesante e Insalata di Caldo Spinaci ($22) The pan-seared scallops were executed perfectly, succulent and juicy, and laid on a bed of sauteed baby spinach, pinenuts and a drizzling of aged hazelnut vinaigrette. Special mention must be given to the pearl onions, caramelized and so incredibly sweet that, even me, an onion hater, gleefully lapped it up.Best dish of the meal, hands down

2) Insalata Caprese ($18) a tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad with mesclun. The mozzarella was fresh, chewy and milky, while the tomatoes tart and juicy

3) Spinaci Risotto con Gamberoni ($28), a creamy spinach risotto topped with a pan-roasted king prawn. The cream was too heavy and excessive, so much so that even the prevalence of baby spinach couldn't cut through the richness of the risotto. The prawn was good though, would have liked to have 3 of these on the dish and a lot less risotto

4) Mushrooms Lover ($10 under the Al Dente's $10 Pizza Promotion), with a duo of king oyster and shitake mushrooms, portioned just right for just one person. This wasn't too bad, the wood-fired pizza had smoky hints but the base was a little hard and crusty, it reminded me a little of those frozen pizza bases that you'd find in the supermarkets

THIS RESTAURANT D*** NICE THE SCENERYYYYYYY ! It's an italian restaurant & we went on valentine's day. 

It was a 6 course dinner but we only had 4 and went off. We arrive at around 8pm and by 930 they haven't even get their main course ready for us? They seriously need to work on their serivce. SERVICE IS REALLY D*** BAD VERY SCREWED UP. The only good thing there is their ambience and scenery. However, I like their idea of champagne with icecream!

gonna keep this short.

had a dinner there a couple months back. ambience was not bad. the restaurant was clean and well lit. staffs are friendly and service was good.

price wise on the middle range but the food was horrible. pasta i had was on par with pasta mania. tiramisu was below average as well.

definitely a place i will never visit again.

Returned within a week after my first visit.

Going alfresco on the rooftop is compulsory for a wonder experience. All the seats are arranged in such a way whereby you either face East (Singapore Flyer and Marina Bay Sands) or West (CBD skyline). Watching the backdrop turns orange to blue in the evening while waiting dinner to be served can be described as breath-taking (or the closest you can get in this island).

Food-wise I have to admit the only Italian food I have from an authentic Italian restaurant is Modesto. But even so, the food served satisfy my taste buds so much that I would actually miss the food! And it's not a few of the items but all that was ordered.

Their kind of service reminds me of Bintan Resort, whereby the crews bow, make a lot of eye contact and smile. Saw one girl spilling drinks and immediately 3 servers attended to it. One was attending the little girl, one was switching away the wet chair and drying the wet chair while the manager watch to ensure everything was done right. Even after my bf got back his credit card, the waitress waited for me to look at her before beaming me a very bright good-bye smile. Walked off feeling like a rich couple!

We were in the mood for something decent and relatively cheap, so looking at Al Dente Trattoria's "daily wood-fired pizzas from 10$", we decided to give it a shot. Turns out "daily" is defined by them as Monday to Thursday only, so the wood-fired pizzas would be about 20$ each. I wasn't bummed about paying that much for a pizza, but about the fact that such information is so deceptively communicated on the wall outside the restaurant. 

While & after ordering the pizzas, we asked for ice water atleast 4-5 times. It was served after the pizzas arrived. 

The pizzas looked unappetizing. The margarita pizza was a chunk of cheese & a big slice of tomato put atop pizza bread and half-baked. It looked so bad that I couldn't even get myself to try it. The mushroom & vegetarian pizzas were slightly more edible, but just about. The cheese was rubbery, the vegetables short of fresh, and the overall taste, bad. 

I'll never go there again and wouldn't recommend anyone to go either.

I had previously dined at Al Dente Trattoria a couple of years ago. Back then, the colours of the bay was still a new concept. In fact, the Esplanade was still rather new. I recall Al Dente having some executive lunch set which included free flow of anti pasti. I loved this for how else was I going to get all my buffalo mozzarella cheese from the usually expensive caprese dish. The set was pretty cheap I recall, although the pasta and pizza were not exactly outstanding.

Well here I was again, and here’s what I ordered:

Insalata Caprese



I always have to order this at any Italian restaurant. It was alright. Not the best I have had but not the worst either. Again, I think the key thing is, it wasn’t outstanding. Valentino’s serves caprese like no other and I will always remember them and their caprese. This, for me, was just ordinary.

Mushroom Soup



I didn’t try this but I heard from my folks that it was not bad and definitely didn’t taste like it was served out of a can.

Ravioli with Spinach served with Salami



I am not too sure what the name of my dish was but what attracted me to it was the mention of truffle oil. I lurve the taste of truffles hence my repeated patronage of HOUSE at Dempsey for their Truffle Fries as the truffle taste is distinct and it lingers in the fries. The Ravioli in this case failed in that there wasn’t an ounce of truffle taste. The pasta it self wasn’t bad. Served with wild rockets and (extremely salty) salami, it was pretty good except that I was really disappointed at the lack of truffle presence. The portion served was also adequate for a single person.

Hawaiian Pizza?



Honestly, I ain’t too sure what pizza Dad ordered but it had ham, cheese and pineapples so I am assuming something near to Hawaiian. This was actually quite nice. The crust was thin and the base was very palatable. Not too crispy and not too bread-like. Just the right amount of flour I think. The cheese was also nice and melted and the ham slices all went very well together. There wasn’t too much tomato ketchup like some hawaiian pizzas and the pieces of ham and pineapple were in suitable amounts.

All in all, I would say the meal was satisfying. I walked out feeling full and there wasn’t any displeasure except that with OCBC credit cards you were entitled to a discount which they didn’t give us even though we paid via OCBC. It was only when we spotted it that they void the bill and re-billed us. This left me wondering if they were banking on us not to check the bill so as to forgo the discount. As a rule of thumb, I think it is important and a form of goodwill that staff remind customers of discounts and promotions. The onus may be on the customer to find out, but it would be a gesture of good faith if staff actually pointed such out to customers. Just a thought…

Will I be back again? Perhaps…nothing spectacular no doubt, but nothing so awful that I won’t step back in again.

foodgossip.wordpress.com

Al Dente Trattoria is the only Italian offering at performing arts venue Esplanade for now. It boasts of a romantic dining experience with its scenic rooftop area that overlooks the Singapore river.

THE FOOD:

Al Dente is the only place for a number of Italian favourites such as wood-fired pizzas, risottos, and homemade ravioli in the Esplanade area. For starters, try the portbello mushroom infused with mozzarella and parmesan cheese, which is excellent and well worth the calories.

Fans of foie gras will also enjoy the foie gras risotto ($22.90). We sure looked forward to it - a combination of two of our favourite foods of creamy rice and luxuriously sweet foie gras. Al Dente's foie gras risotto is a generous helping of smooth creamy rice, which adds to the richness of a medium-sized slab of pan fried foie gras. A bite of the coveted goose liver reveals a tenderness that almost melts in your mouth. The dish was well-executed but sadly leaves our stomachs for almost nothing else, which could well be an excuse why we were greatly disappointed by our wood-fired pizzas ($10 each). Both of which are soft and soggy when served and unworthy of any other descriptions.

For the grand finale, end the night with a cup of cappuccino instead of the Italian Tiramisu, which we found devoid of a good balance between coffee and alcohol. On the other hand, Al Dente does its cappuccino with a strong delightful aroma. A dinner for two costs about S$100 without wine. And for the grape aficionados, Al Dente offers an extensive wine list with mainly Italian and Australian wine.  

But contrary to the many awards won by the restaurant, the standards must be have dropped by quite a significant bit - premium ingredients are used but the chef did not do them justice the two times we were there.

THE MOOD:

An al fresco sitting arrangement on the second level of the restaurant offers breathtaking views of Marina Bay and the rest of Esplanade. But it disappoints with dirty chairs that look weathered by rain, bad air ventilation that left us sweating and music nearby at Esplanade that was way too loud, not that it is their fault. Nonetheless, it is still hardly a good place for an intimate evening as promoted to be.

The courteous staff hails from various parts of the world, a practice taken up by many other restaurants on the island as well.

Al Dente Trattoria has two other branches in Holland Village and Boat Quay but if not for the scenic rooftop views offered at Esplanade, we would say check out Glutton's Bay next door.

For photos, go to http://www.freshgrads.sg/index.php/articles/lifestyle/dine/630-al-dente-trattoria.html

You know I don’t think much of a restaurant when the post is so short that I take less than 10mins to type it out. Al Dente Trattoria at Esplanade is an example. The food was very so-so (read: Bor-ring), which was why the foodie-girlfriend and I were surprised that the place was quite packed on a weekday night. Maybe it’s the nice rooftop ambience, or it could be that huge banner you see below.

 

Spinach and ricotta ravioli ($24++): Sauteed in a white wine truffle broth, mixed with garden rucola and topped with parma ham.

This was the only dish I like, mainly cuz I’ve got a weakness for ravioli and anything starting with a T and ending with a E =) Plus, I love how green this looks cuz green = healthy, haha. 

 

The chef’s signature ($24++): Linguine in white wine ragout with tiger prawns, baby clams, mussels, scallops, and tossed with italian herbs.

Disappointing, considering how it’s the chef’s signature. Undercooked pasta, fishy broth.

 

Red snapper ($30++): Whole fish wrapped in papillote with vegetable in EVOO, served with roasted potato and rucola salad.

Very fresh, and so simple that it’s easily replicable at home. Roasted potato was nowhere in sight though -_-

 

So average that I can’t imagine why I would go back again. That $10++ pizza sounds like a steal though, considering the location!

 

For photos/reviews, do drop by www.myfoodsirens.wordpress.com =)