Pasta de Waraku (Square 2)

I had a bad experience at this restaurant today. I was having lunch with 7 other friends. I ordered one of the lunch combos - grilled fish with cod roe spaghetti. My friends all got their food before me. Most of them were finishing their food but my food had not arrived yet. I asked a waiter about it and he went off to check. He came back 5 min later saying I had to wait 3 more min. My food came 5 min later and nearly all of my friends had finished eating.

Was there over the weekend for a belated birthday lunch.  It wasn't crowded so it was easy to get a table.

There were too much varieties that we really had no idea what to chose so we all got different kind of set:

1. 2 small pasta

2. Pasta + pizza

3. Pasta + baked rice

Please never to expect much from such places.  I knew the pasta isn't gonna be al dente.  However the aglio-olio has good standard...as good as mine!!  hahaha

The other 2 pasta, 1 is with some kinda fried fish & the other is sukiyaki...decent.

The last pasta is creamy mushroom...I think?  Can't recall..err don't order this :(

The pizza is edible, better than the creamy pasta.  The baked rice is something unless it comes in the set, otherwise forget it cos for most baked rice. You have the rice nicely absorbing the gravy while being baked but this is different, it's totally separated.  So it's as good as eating economical rice thrown in with side dishes of fish and a bit of seafood.  Oh btw you can only choose what kinda pasta you want.

Tonite I am going again but to a different branch @ Central cos of economy, we have to eat "cheap" :)  I will be back :)

Pasta Waraku is not exactly on the top of my dining list.. hell... it's not even on the list! Not that i'm a food snob but when i want good pasta.. Waraku just doesn't do it for me..But not being a food snob doesn't mean i'm not a cheapo lor.. so like any good old sporean... i went there just to utilise my discount voucher! haha. Don't laugh.

There's a pretty economic set of half & half where u can choose a pasta and a pasta/ gratin/ pizza/ doria/ curry complete with a salad a soup and a drink @ $17.80.. quite a decent deal! So after scrutinizing the agonizing list of pastas where the "taxidermised" pastas on e wall didn't exactly help.. i settled on the gratin set with the prawn spicy carbonara and seafood gratin...

For a start, the accompanying salad and soup is too sad to warrant much words...

The prawn spicy carbonara pasta looks quite pretty on picture but not so pretty in real-life... The creamy carbonara is typical of such a joint of such calibre so no surprises there... the prawns tasted totally of frozen tasteless prawns and the red threadlike thingy atop looks and perhaps tasted exactly like it sounds.. seriously what's that?

The seafood gratin fared a little better as e scallops n squids r alrighty and anything with cheese baked in it is yum for me but otherwise it's unexciting as well..

We ordered ourselves some desserts (ahem discount need mininum spending ok... told u i'm cheapo haha!) and had the banana choco parfait and macha monaka.. the banana choco parfait is quite okie coz banana + choc + cornflakes is juz a good combi anywhere while e macha monaka is juz typical macha ice cream...  

Overall deep down inside we all do know that waraku is not gona be stellar and we r kukus if we think it is... But it's a fun casual place for some pasta and amidst that mind-boggling array of pastas.. there must b a couple of gems which tasted good...So do be kind-hearted and let me know which r e good ones! 

I really liked my eel and egg pasta. I always thought there were only 3 kinds of sauces - creamy, tomato, or oil. But this one was special. It was different. I don't know what it was but it was incredibly yummy. There wasn't much egg in it but there was a big heap of pasta. And the spag was really nicely done. Loved it to bits.

We shared the fried tofu thing - it was interesting but forgettable. We also had the salmon something (side dish) - it was alright.

Ambience was pleasant. They had the usual Waraku Wall of Pasta but the actual interior and decor was kept simple and pleasant

Service: It wasn't too busy but we had a tough time catching anyone's attention for refills of water

Nice that they had lunch time promos. Will definitely go again if in the area.

Haha. I guess it's very tiring to have promotions with conditions...

The service staff had to explain to almost every customer that the 1 for 1 is limited to 1 for one table. As a customer, we were of course a little disappointed too.

Nevertheless, We were surprised that the water they provided was in such a small cup! Unfortunately, my friend was having a little bit of cough, and we had to keep asking them to re-fill the water for us. On a brighter note, after awhile, the service staff would automatically re-fill the cups for us. Thumbs up!

The portion was not impressive- especially the calamaris. We loved the cabonara, it was creamy and yummy. However, the salmon with mushroom pizza didn't appeal to us. It was too dry for us. The complimentary pasta was also okay, the prawns were nice, but other than that, the pasta did'nt seem to have anything else.  

I do like the deco, it's nice. We could chat and chill comfortably.

One particular female service crew was'nt friendly, but the rest of the service crew were great! 

 

I LOVE JPANESE PASTA. I may be rather boring since all my visits to this place has been orders on the wafu pasta ( w/o tomato sauce/cream sauce/ basil sauce) just the plain wafu WITH extra chilli and garlic(does the magic) but my wafu pastas never fail to please, or comfort(:

the cooking can e relatively erractic, some days with the pasta aldenta and delish, some days it being a tad dry and hard. But overall, when the pasta is just right, the meal is wonderful. Not too filling yet satisfactory.

The recent lunch set has been a steal at 9.80 with choice of pasta and pizza/curry irce/rice with cream baked. Portions ar smaller but my scallop with asparagus pasta came with four HUGE scallops! Tomato basil pizza with its OH SO THIN AND CRISP crust is the best amongst the threepizzas offered in the set, with the salmonmushroom being theblendest.

They used to have a tuna pizza and some bean pizza that is no longer on the menu and that i miss terribley!

service is prompt, fast even and usually staff are patient and polite!

great meal for a quick pasta fix, or for pasta lover who wnt an oriental twist to their normal noodles.

First impression: Exciting menu

Real impression: Tiny portions, salty beyond words.

To add salt to wound (pun intended) service staff were constantly rushing around, not filling up our glasses of water until we asked (after trying very hard to attract their attention). Disappointing.

I just wanted to say something about their strawberry sundae – it’s absolutely delish. Japanese ice cream always intrigues me with its ability to be both light and creamy at the same time. The sundae here comes with a few pieces of the actual fruit and a strawberry sauce that doesn’t taste artificial in spite of its violently red hue. The best thing about it though was its crushed –up- cornflake base. The combination of strawberry syrup, ice cream and cornflakes worked very well together. Getting a mouthful of it was a bit like biting into a semi –solid version of my favourite sweet breakfast cereal; doused in icy cold creamy full fat milk. Shiok beyond belief! But light enough so that you don’t feel like a complete glutton (hey you even get some vitamins from the fruit).

The pastas are ok I guess. I’ve had the bolognese which comes with a raw egg cracked in the middle. It’s interesting, the raw egg coating gives the meat sauce a kind of smooth and silky texture but doesn’t overpower it. The actual sauce wasn’t amazing, it was a bit on the sweet side and the pieces of meat used were pretty much microscopic. If you like a chunky Bolognese sauce, then this is definitely not for you. For the price though, I felt I had a satisfying enough meal. Certainly I think you pay more for the quirkiness of the dishes and the wide selection than you do for the actual ingredients on your plate.

But that sundae though. YUM.

I was at Square 2 recently....and told myself... why don't I just have my dinner there since I've not visited Waraku for quite sometime....Looked thru the menu and spotted their fried king prawn set. Set came with a free corn soup...and at S$ 18.80...seems decent value...so pulled the trigger...

To be frank...king prawns are usually served grilled....so I was having second thoughts....all that ??? vanished when the dish arrived....2 large fried king prawns with an equally large serving of Jap rice and some salad + the all important cream sauce that was applied on the prawns....whoa...this is the first time I'm enjoying king prawns this way....especially with their homemade white sauce....it's really good...and I was telling myself Waraku must make this their "signature dish".

My only gripe is just the missing 3rd prawn...if they've included that....it will be perfect...but 2 large ones plus the rice is already quite filling.

For those of you scratching your head as to what to order next time you are there....this is the one u should try....especially if u are a prawn lover !

It was more of an impromptu decision when we decided to lay foot into the restaurant.

Im not sure what in pasta de waraku appealed to them.

For me, the plastic model dishes on glass display outside the restaurant certainly did look tantalising.

Rather it seemed capable of evoking increased salivation.

That did play a role afterall.

Alright, so i had decided to get a $12.90 lunchset meal order which is supposed to comprise of a salad and a bowl of corn soup,as seen on the website.However, what greeted me was a menu that replaced the salad and soup with a complimentary dish of japanese curry rice. I was relatively disappointed, but since it's cheaper why not?

Mentality of a cheapskate diner hooray!

Who cares?

Japanese curry rice complimentary with any special lunchset menu order



I personally find it relatively mild and average. Perhaps the slimy oil layer is a letdown and kills all appetite. Perhaps my expectations are high. One thing for sure, it is definitely fragrant and i would not mind keeping my nose near the dish a while longer before tucking into the dish. My friend, the picky one, surprisingly like it alot.

I was like half full by the end of it.And guess what? Pasta is next?Not a very good idea to load a lunchset menu with so much carbo,isnt it?

YESSSSSS!!I would so love to get the salad and corn soup instead.



Carbonara Waraku Style, bacon&yolk w carbonara sauce.Lunchset menu price:$9.90++

Original price: $10.80++ (Mini) $12.80++ (Reg)

The carbonara pasta came as a pleasing delight. As a matter of fact, I have always preferred to have my pasta donned in sticky tomato gravy. The tricky creamy concoction tends to go awry most of the time,making me sick in the stomach. More often than not, i am just too fainthearted to take the risk. I have no wish to provoke my temperal stomach.

Yet, the carbonara spaghetti here is different from what ive tasted elsewhere. It is way more dry; so dry that it actually feels weird to describe it as creamy. Still, the cream is rich, yet thankfully, not so dense as to make one get sick of it after a few mouthfuls.

But then again,the serving (mini) is probably so small that it's quite impossible for one to eat enough to feel nauseous. i guess that's probably the reason behind their decision to replace the salad and soup w rice. Come to think of it, a very smart move, isnt it?

The oozy egg yolk adds to the fun and the luscious overall feel of the dish. The thought of poking the beautiful egg yolk just perk one up. The fun of poking never dies. Ohwells, i guess that's why facebook comes out with the poking function. Poke poke! (:

And what more can i say? Nothing much can go wrong with eggs and bacon. Safe combination of all times.



Prawn spicy carbonara; $13.80++ (M) & $15.80++ (R)



Tasted like my carbonara dish, except that it comes along with more bite and crunch as introduced by the very springy prawns. We heart the texture of the prawns totally. Not those mushy 'ngiam ngiam" type but really chewy and lovely. However, we really have no inkling what those red shreddings are. In fact, initially, we are quite tempted into asking the waiter if they are prawn feelers lol!

Other dishes that my peers have ordered.

Hamburg Steak; $12.80 ++



Bacon&egg with carbonara sauce Wafu Pizza

M: $10.80 ++

R: $12.80 ++

Conclusion:

Overall, we felt that the place felt rather cramped and it would have do much better if the supervisor could address the employees earlier. We could clearly hear the contents of their conversationwhile our famished stomaches awaited for the serving of our dishes. But then again, like what i have said before, maybe we really arrived way too early.

The waiter who served us was humourous and quickwitted and i must say, that did compensate for the prior dissatisfaction arisen from the addressing of staff abit.

For the meagre serving provided, many would consider the price rather steep, especially when it lacks the "wow" factor that makes one disregard its competitors like pastamania etc.

While it fails to impress generous patrons who would probably court a dining place with even better ambience and quality of food, it also fails to attract diners on a relatively tighter budgets.,,Nowhere in between? It's up to one to judge.

In the meantime, i think i should just keep my mouth shut, at least till the prices show a significant dip.