I finally had the chance to dine at Ristorante De Parma, a small family run Italian restaurant, one wet weekday evening. Strangely enough, although its been around for quite a while and I've always gone past it, I never had the urge to try it out, till that fateful evening.

Quietly located towards the end of a row of shophouses at the fringe of the hustle and bustle of Serangoon Gardens, Ristorante De Parma cuts a contrasting figure to the exuberance of the area. Decor is kept simple and no frills with soft, warm lighting and classy table arrangement. Soft easy listening music wafts through the air, setting the tone right for a relaxing meal.

Complimentary Bread - I presume that each person was only entitled to one slice of bread, seeing that we were only served 2 slices. Though served warm, the bread was a tad too dry for my liking and neither the margarine or olive oil helped.

Funchi Triffolati al Moda Dello Chef ($12.90)- This dish is essentially a Portobello mushroom garnished with grilled bell peppers, sun dried tomatoes & olives with the house dressing. And notice I mentioned a mushroom, not mushrooms. The mushroom was huge, bigger than anything I've ever seen before, which of course doesn't say much because I haven't really seen a lot of mushrooms to begin with. Taste wise, it was juicy with a nice chewy texture to boot, but somehow it lacked the oomph factor. Not that it wasn't nice or anything, just not outstanding.

Calzone aka Folded Pizza ($24.90) - According to the menu, the Calzone is a Neapolitan specialty and means 'Trouser Leg', which honestly makes no sense to me. Introductions aside, I had a major grouse with it. The crust was a little too burnt, resulting in a rather hard exterior, which made slicing or chewing through it a chore. The filling of ham, bacon, onions, mushrooms, capsicums and smoked cheddar cheese was decent though.

Filetto Di Mento ($32.90) - For a change, I ordered my steak medium instead of medium rare this time round and it came as per instructions. Italian restaurants certainly aren't known for their steak so I was pleasantly surprised by the juiciness and texture of the meat as well as the beefy flavours which were complemented by the subtle red wine sauce. I would dare say the steak can give some of the more reputable steakhouses a run for their money. On a side note, the potato ball that came with it tasted weird.

Chocolate Fondant ($11.90) - Beautifully presented, the Chocolate Fondant was compact with a slightly hardened exterior, unlike the ones that many Italian restaurants have taken to doing nowadays. This made eating it all the more enjoyable especially when the molten chocolate started oozing out through a break in the crust. Paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it was really quite enjoyable. Pity about its small size though.

Tiramisu ($12.90) - High marks in the aesthetics department for the Tiramisu as well. The sponge to mascarpone cheese ratio was quite balanced and it came across as light and fluffy with a lingering taste of alcohol sans the wetness. Its probably one of the more notable tiramisus I've eaten in a long while.

I am most reluctant to admit, but $105 for 1 appetiser, 2 mains and 2 desserts definitely tends towards the expensive side. Food quality is particularly impressive for a restaurant that utilizes only local chefs and service is attentive yet non intrusive. If prices could drop a notch or two, I'll be more than happy to return for dinner. Until then, I'll have to content myself with their seemingly reasonably priced set lunches (starting from $12.90++ I believe).

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My first visit to this place was for dinner and I was pleasantly surprised at the delicious pizzas and entrees up for offer. A must try is the tender calamari rings with a non-acidic tomato sauce. I'm usually not a big fan of tomatoes but the tomato dip was light and refreshing. Also, i recommend the pizzas, which are lightly sauced and have a thin crispy crust. The veal is also good. Service seemed good as waiters were very knowledgeable about the menu.

My second visit for lunch was very disappointing. Although there was 1 for 1 pastas offered when u paid by Amex, there was no one else in the restaurant. I was curious about this since on my first visit, the restaurant was full. The same waiter from my first visit was there and he was very pushy. He kept suggesting to us to get the most expensive items, drinks, desserts and appetizers. He even tried to recommend us expensive items even when we did not request a recommendation. Upon his recommendation, we ordered a lobster entree and lobster pasta, at the pricey cost of $68 each. He claimed that the lobster was freshly brought in. To our great disappointment, there was hardly any lobster flesh in the dish and the lobster tasted fishy and stale. I have had much better lobster for cheaper, e.g. Jumbo seafood restaurant which gives u a large, juicy lobster for about $50.

I am utterly disappointed by the service. However, if you have some money to spend their calamari rings, pizzas and certain entrees are of good standard. I would advice to avoid the lobster though as it is just not worth the money.

nice cosy interior, prompt & polite service. we had the dinner set menu - the bread was fantastic! definitely up there with garibaldi's etc. smoked salmon salad was quite nice, but lacked a certain kick. the pumpkin soup was very good, and i finished my wife's soup as well. our mains were delicious as well - her pasta was nicely al dente and the clams and mussels were perfectly done. my lamb shank was cooked to tender, tasty perfection too. dessert was yummy, the mango mousse was a cut above the usual bland fare and the carrot cake was splendid!

definitely going back there in the near future. :)

Its great to find a quiet spot at Serangoon Gardens amidst all the hustle , bustle and noise on a Friday night. Wait staff were pretty attentive and efficient, although I do feel that the place may be over-staffed, looking at the 'crowd' they had. I just hoped these guys survive, I'm all for family-run eateries and I do know how difficult it can be in Singapore's environment.

Ah, back to the food before I get too carried away... I had only a beef lasagne though I very much would like to try the pizza, its seems a bit much for one person. Personally, I would prefer the lasagne to be a tad more al dente and more ricotta. The tomato beef sauce gave quite a zesty surprise but could be more robust to give this traditional recipe its well-deserved wholesome taste.

A nice dining spot if you are tired of the ubiquitous chicken rice in this part of the world and carving for something Italian that is not microwaved.

Although I do see some reviews of this place being steep on the pricing, I must say their set lunch and card promos give quite a good deal.

I found this restaurant after searching HungryGoWhere so I decided to go there with my colleagues. As it was a Friday night, I quickly made reservations as I'm worried it'll be very crowded since the restaurant is in Serangoon Gardens.

To our surprise, the restaurant had many empty tables. In my mind, I was thinking if I had chosen the wrong place for my colleagues to have dinner. However, after the food arrived, I was relieved as the food tasted great. The price was reasonable as well and the service was good.

The one thing I find puzzling is the cost of the set dinner which was $40++.I couldn't remember the actual cost but I remembered thinking that the set dinner was not worth it.